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.