Biography
I was born in Westminster, attending Churchill Gardens Primary School
and subsequently Elliott Comprehensive in Putney. From here I won an
Exhibition to Christ’s College, Cambridge where I gained an Honours
degree in English Literature. As far as I'm aware I was the first
student from a state comprehensive to enter the hallowed portals of
Christ's College and I am the first lad from one of those 'bog standard'
comprehensives to gain a soccer blue when I played at Wembley against
Oxford! Now well and truly into the academic way of life I then
successfully studied for an MA at Kent University on Sean O’Casey, a
playwright I love and admire.
An idea that had been tempting me for a number of years finally came
into focus while I was teaching in the post-16 sector. Wasn’t it time to
stop studying other playwrights and do what I’d always wanted to do -
become one myself?
I wrote and directed ‘Best Friends’ for the
National Student Drama Festival with my college students
(highly commended by the assessor). I followed this up with a number of
‘fringe’ productions of my own plays: ‘Keeping Faith’
at The Kings Head; ‘First Timers’ at
The Duke’s Head, Richmond and then ‘Suits and
Blouses’ at The Room, The Orange Tree,
Richmond.
I was subsequently commissioned to write a community touring play,
titled ‘Down The River’ for the Theatre Royal,
Stratford East, which toured local schools, community centres
and had a final showing at Scruttons Maltby Dockers Club.
For BBC Radio Four I wrote ‘Changing Gear’
starring Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres and for Hessischer
Rundfunk, ‘The Revolutionary’.
I’ve been short-listed once for the Verity
Bargate Award with my play ‘James Bonney MP’
and forwarded to the second round twice for ‘Enigmas’
and in the latest Verity Bargate award - ‘The Return’.
‘The Return’ was also long short-listed for the most
recent Bruntwood Playwriting Award. ‘The Moment
We Met’ was long short-listed for The Bench New Writing
Award in 2009, and was recently described by the Soho Theatre
as being the work of a ‘strong voice’ in the theatre.
I was awarded an Arts Council Writer’s Bursary to
complete my play ‘Dr Richter and Pero’ which is based
on Lenin’s first meeting with Trotsky in London. My comedy ‘Keeping
Faith’ was short-listed in The Maddermarket
full length play competition and ‘Isabel and the Matador’
was runner-up in the National Festival of Community Drama Award.
I've recently produced a number of my
plays on the London Fringe at Barons Court Theatre with my production company
RedNeedle Productions. We presented The Tailors' Last Stand in Feb/March 2013,
followed by Picasso's Artful Occupation in March 2014. The same theatre is
booked for The Moment We Met, showing in March 2015. Please look under the
PRODUCTIONS section for further details and reviews for the two produced plays.
I currently write and direct for Actors And Writers of London
and attend the new writing group ScriptTank
MEMBERSHIP OF ORGANISATIONS
I am a full member of the Writers’ Guild of Great
Britain. I’m a member of the Actors and Writers London
Group. I’ve been involved as a writer with the Theatre
Royal, Stratford East; the Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford;
the Orange Tree, Richmond; Lazarus Theatre Co;
the Kings Head and the Soho Theatre And Writers
Centre in Dean Street. I attended the writers group
Downstage Write at The Soho Theatre, and the
Playwrights Group at the Palace Theatre,
Watford led by Joyce Branagh
Until 1997 I was Section Head of Performing Arts at West Herts
College, where I co-wrote the Performing Arts Degree which we
taught in partnership with the University of Hertfordshire. I teach up
to and including degree level Performing Arts.