Neil has written more than fifty plays and adaptations which have been staged extensively throughout Britain and abroad. In 2006, he won the Arts Council England Children's Award 'for work which displays excellence, inspiration and innovation in children's theatre.' Recent work includes Dancing in my Dreams (Oxfordshire Theatre Company); A Christmas Carol (Octagon Theatre, Bolton); Leopard (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield); The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Lost Warrior (Dukes Theatre, Lancaster); The Snow Queen, The Jungle Book and Arabian Nights (Watermill Theatre, Newbury); The Firebird (Northumberland Theatre Company); and The Secret Garden (Helix Theatre, Dublin). He lives in Bolton with his wife, theatre director Eileen Murphy.