Richard Gill began his theatre life as an actor, director and playwright. He was senior lecturer at Central before being head-hunted to run the Drama School at Dartington. In 1967 he founded the Polka Theatre for Children, which toured to all the major theatres of Britain for 21years. In 1979 he created London’s first permanent theatre for children and Polka is still flourishing in Wimbledon. In 1988 he moved on to create Parasol Theatre which toured all over the world until his retirement in 2005. He is the author of 37 plays, mostly for young people. In 1980 he was awarded the Lord Mayor of London’s Prize for “The outstanding contribution to the cultural life of the nation”.