YOU CAN'T BE IT
IF YOU DON'T SEE IT
so, here's the thing
I truly believe that theatre is not about making the performer feel good.
It's not about accolades. It's not about vanity. It's not about ego.
It's about holding a mirror up to ourselves and connecting with an audience.
Excellent actors are those who are in love with telling a story and engaging with truth:
not those in love with themselves.
The more you see: the better you'll be.
And if you are lucky enough to find a career which is also your passion:
why wouldn't you want to?
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I have been reviewing theatre professionally for twenty five years,
but as any committed thespian will tell you: we are never off duty.
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Some of my reviews below are still accessible on line (please click the link by hovering over the title)
Can't Stop Carrying On
Matt Forde: End of an Era
Eric Liddell: The Chariot of Fire
Pericles
Honk!
The Fantastical World of My Uncle Arly
One Man: One Poe
Hunchback Variations
Eleanor
Baby Steps
A Montage of Monet
Elizabeth I: In Her Own Words
Hagar: War Mother
Whirligig of Time
Dead Mom Play
The Cringe Effect
Levi's Last Lament
The Sun, the Mountain, and Me
Chatterbox
I Really Do Think This Will Change Your Life
Flight
Adam Hills: Shoes Half Full
Born in the USA: Leaving Vietnam
Spy Movie: The Play!
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Love's Labours Lost
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Here Be Dragons
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Blue Orange Theatre Arts, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Avalon, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Searchlight Theatre Company, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Royal Shakespeare Company, August 2024
Cup and Dagger Productions, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Newbury Youth Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Threedumb Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Tortive Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Ganymede Theatre Company, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Fruit Bowl Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Threedumb Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Flying Solo, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Mistletoe and Gorse Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Tortive Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Ben Blais, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Tortive Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Picture Pending Productions, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Bedivere Theatre Company, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
​Lubna Kerr, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Emma Louise Howell, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Darkfield, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Off The Kerb Productions, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Andy Jordan Productions, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
A Cabbage Presents, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Royal Shakespeare Company, June 2024
Royal Shakespeare Company, April 2024
Royal Shakespeare Company, February 2024
Newbury Youth Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2023
ADJUDICATING AND EXAMINING
I am an adjudicator for the
British and International Federation of Festivals
and sit on the Adjudicator's Council;
I am an examiner for the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA),
and a GCSE and A level specialist.
DIRECTING
Recent directing credits include OTMA & Tom Brown's Schooldays (Edinburgh Fringe), Tom Brown’s School Days (TCV The Other Palace Theatre, London), Torn, Coward Conscience, Lord of the Flies and
More Myself Than I Am Edinburgh Fringe.
for
In 2004, I founded the semi-professional Fringe company
Close Up Theatre, which was awarded the elite 'Sell Out' status every year since inception, and has garnered critical and commercial acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
In 2014, I was created a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts for my work in youth theatre, which includes facilitation and
Artistic Direction for No Prophet Theatre, Eleventh Hour Theatre
and Talking Shadows Theatre.
TEACHING
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I trained as a specialist Speech & Drama teacher with
Rona Laurie and Susan Ford at the Guildhall School
of Music and Drama, hold the LAMDA Teaching Licentiate;
and an MA in the Advanced Teaching of Shakespeare
from Warwick University. I work with a range of educational clients across the private and state and specialist sectors
and with learners of primary, senior and degree level
in communicative, performance, and musical theatre disciplines.
I am Principal of the Cheltenham School of Drama and teach students of all ages locally, nationally and globally.
WRITING
I studied Journalism, Film & Broadcasting at Cardiff University.
My career as a freelance writer began on The Guardian newspaper whilst still at University, and I am currently a freelance theatre critic.
I write to commission for children's theatre and youth performance.
Original works
OTMA - the final hours of the Romanov Grand Duchesses
Torn - hilarious jukebox musical set in a maternity ward
Coward Conscience - the aftermath of An Inspector Calls
More Myself Than I Am - the story of the Bronte sisters
Adaptations for the stage
Tom Brown's Schooldays
1984
Jane Eyre
Pride and Prejudice
Emma
Forthcoming
The Glass Town Confederacy - the young Bronte sisters
Gold - the D-day landings
Crime and Punishment - Dostoevsky's story of morality and guilt
The G
