Decorative image of piles of scripts

Welcome to the site

Welcome to my website where I write a bit about writing and directing I've been doing for the theatre. This isn't intended to be a marketing or self-promotional site as such; rather, it's just a point of reference for anyone wondering what I'm up to, what I've done in the past, or how to get in touch with me.

NEW! The big big big catchup

Saturday November 10th: Good afternoon everyone. I've not updated this website since May, which is quite embarassing, and I really need to try to get things in order. I last left this in the run-up to Brighton Fringe, with various bits of advance media coverage on the page, and I really ought to finish this off.

Anyway, the main things that happened since then are:

  • I had a great run at Brighton Fringe with Waiting for Gandalf, getting four-star reviews from Broadway Baby (again) and The Reviews Hub. Also got extremely good coverage from the previews at the Assembly Rooms, which possibly had the best post-show discussion of the whole run. Many thanks once again to Mankind for giving this wonderful opportunity.
  • Haunting Julia had a good run at Durham Dramatic Society. I had to delegate a lot of the directing responsibilities owing to Brighton Fringe falling slap bang in the middle of the rehearsal period, but the play was left in excellent hands in my absence.
  • The unexpected development on the back of those two things is that I'm now involve in Theatre Elysium, a professional theatre company that set up last year. Their next production is The River by Jez Butterworth, and I'm doing the lighting and sound for this. It runs at Durham City Theatre on the 29th November - 1st December, followed by a final performance at Queen's Hall, Hexham, on the 5th December. Theatre Elysium will be producing their own web page imminently - in the meantime, here info about the play on their booking page.

However, the one thing I do not have coming up is a mainstream production for Durham Dramatic Society 2019. I opted out of this earlier in the year so that I can spend more time focusing on longer-term creative projects. I have various ideas in the pipeline, but nothing is confirmed as of yet. As soon as I have anything to announce, I will update the site again. Before then, however, I will try to get the rest of the site updated too. But I have a big backlog to clear. I can see you smirking.

The big big big news

Sunday Feburary 4th: Yay! Some of you have already heard this unofficially, but I can finally announce this properly. I have been invited by Mankind to return Waiting for Gandalf to the Brighton Fringe in 2018. This will be at Sweet Werks on the 14th-20th May, and Mankind will be the producers.

If you know about Mankind's involvement in the Brighton Fringe, you will know why this is a big deal, but if you're not a Brighton Fringe regular, this will take a bit of explaining. Mankind is one of the few charities in the country who provide support to male victims of sexual abuse. One thing they do is raise awareness of the issue through theatre, and this came to prominence in 2016 when Patrick Sandford performed Groomed, a frank story of his own experiences. This was by far the best-reviewed play of the whole festival, and scooped just about every award going.

Also, Patrick Sandford himself is directing me. He is the former artistic director of The Nuffield Theatre, Southampton, so this is a huge deal too. I am writing this on the way back from Brighton, where we have just had our first rehearsal.

Since this is massive news, it's right at this point to thank those people who helped me get to this point.

  • Adrian Marks, of course, for writing this play and entrusting it to me in the first place.
  • Everyone at Durham Dramatic Society who let me use their theatre for rehearsals and previews.
  • Sweet Venues for having me at Brighton Fringe, without whom I would not have got the attention of Mankind.
  • Underground Venues for hosting me at Buxton Fringe before then, where I first developed the play that ended up in Brighton.
  • Richard Stamp, whose passing reference to my play in the Buxton Fringe recommendations for a different play persuaded me to take on the gamble of Brighton.
  • And, of course, I must thank Live Theatre for starting this all off. I know I frequently argue with them over theatre in general, but the fact remains that had they not invited to the same writers' group as Adrian Marks, I would never have known about this play.

Finally, apologies for anyone who expects by usual bitter and cynical rants, but I am going to do some inspirational quotes for a change. Here we go:

  • You know the saying about giving a good performance no matter how small the audience is? The one about you never know who's watching? That might sound like a platitude, but it's true. The performance I did at Brighton that landed me this breakthrough had an audience of three. Yes, three. (And that wasn't even the worst one.)
  • You do not need the approval of local cultural gatekeepers to get somewhere. In the five years I've been bringing my work to festival fringes, I have received no coverage from the local arts media (North East Theatre Guide excepted), and no support and next to no encouragement from the local new writing theatres. This is proof you can do it without.
  • Most importantly, you can do this on top of a full-time job. It requires a lot of energy and dedication, but it can be done. Don't let anyone tell make you think you're not a proper performer just because you haven't gone through a "proper" drama school route.

I will create a new Waiting for Gandalf page as soon as I can. I'm looking forward to May.

Stuff in the site:

On this page you'll find links to take you to the following places:

About me: Brief resume about how long I've been writing and who for.

News: Archive of previous announcements like the one above, plus a few odds and sods that don't make it to the front page.

Productions: Section listing all the upcoming and recent plays I've done where I was writer, director, or solo performer. All upcoming productions now have their dedicated pages.

Frequently asked questions: Short list of the questions I really do get asked quote often. Sadly, this doesn't yet include: "I'm a film producer, would you be interested in a multi-million Hollywood deal?"

Gallery: Pictures of what I've done, so I can prove I really did do this and didn't just make it up.

Samples and freebies: A few calling cards - samples of things I've previously had on stage, and some bits and bobs that anyone's welcome to who wants it.

Links: Things I'm involved in, or just things I like.

Contact me: My all-new all-singing all-dancing contact page with new exciting anti-spam features.