Alexander Campbell won a Manchester Evening News Award for Best Performance in a Studio Production for Private Peaceful and was nominated by The Stage for Best Solo Performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2007.

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo was Blue Peter Book of the Year 2005.

Private Peaceful relives the life of Private Tommo Peaceful, a young First World War soldier awaiting the firing squad at dawn. During the night he looks back at his short but joyful past growing up in rural Devon: his exciting first days at school; the accident in the forest that killed his father; his adventures with Molly, the love of his life; and the battles and injustices of war that brought him to the front line.

This remarkable, award-winning story is the latest by former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo. The inspiration for Private Peaceful came from Morpurgo's visit to Ypres where he was shocked to discover how many young soldiers were court-martialled and shot for cowardice during the First World War. Michael Morpurgo's reputation in the world of children's books is unparalleled, having won the 1995 Whitbread Award for The Wreck of the Zanzibar, the 1996 Smarties Book Prize for The Butterfly Lion and the 2000 Children's Book Award for Kensuke's Kingdom. Private Peaceful was published by Harper Collins in paperback in August, to coincide with the Edinburgh International Book Festival. It has just been awarded the Blue Peter Book of the Year 2005.

“The horrors of war and the joyfulness of life are bound up together in this magnificent one-man show….An extraordinary performance.” The Scotsman *****

“An infinitely touching, intensely acted account of a young First World War Soldier's final day.” Sunday Express *****

“As moving as the poetry of Wilfred Owen and as painfully memorable as white-hot shrapnel…" The Sunday Herald *****

“Morpurgo's magic, a masterly adaptation by Simon Reade .... This is one hour of your own life you will never forget.” Daily Mail

Image by kind permission of The Imperial War Museum