While They Were Waiting

Back in 2019 Gary Wilmot and I appeared together in the very excellent ‘Mr Gum and The Dancing Bear’ at the National Theatre. During the protracted tech period (where there is always an enormous amount of sitting around) we were sharing a dressing room and Gary had the idea of writing a play about waiting.

And so ‘While They Were Waiting’ was born. Yes, there are echoes of that other ‘Waiting’ play but this one is very Gary WIlmot. By that I mean its full of delightful word-play, silliness, but also acute observations and genuine tenderness. I met Gary about 18 months after that play to read a first itieration and I loved it ut then it was assumed Gary would be directing. Fast forward to the summer of 2024 and we were appearing on stage once more, this time in a few performances of ‘Something Rotten’ at the Theatre Royal Dury Lane. Gary mentioned that perhaps instead of him directing the show he and I should be in it together. Workign with Gary is always a joy so I was over the moon.

Last year he asked associate director on the play he was starriing in ‘A Man For All Seasons’, Sydney Stevenson, if she would be up for directing us and once Upstairs At The Gatehouse were brought in as co-producers things accelerated at a pace and we opened in March at this fantastic venue in Highgate.

Well I am happy to announce that the show has received 4 star reviews right across the board and audiences are loving it. We honestly didn’t know if it was going to be a hit but it is fair to say that it is.

We are on till March 22nd. Will it return? Who knows?

To book tickets :

The Circle & Star opens in December

For the past few months I have been working flat out on a new project. Those that know me well will know that I have always wanted to run my own venue and now that dream is becoming a reality.

From December 9th we open the doors of The Circle and Star Theatre in Hampstead. For half a century it was The Pentameters Theatre and I have been working with our landlords Urban Pubs and Bars to completely renovate the space and bring it into the 21st Century.

The Circle and Star will have brand new sound and lighting, cameras for streaming and recording shows and, most importantly, 4 toilets for our guests. We are launching with a raft of fundraising shows from some huge names : Matt Lucas, Dave Walliams, Mel Giedroyc, Guy Chambers, David Arnold, Jay Rayner, Liane Carroll.

Our website is live :  

Please click the link and join our mailing list to keep informed of all upcoming shows, or, even better become a member for some truly great exclusive offers.

IT’S NEW SHOWREEL TIME

I try to update my showreel every couple of years to include the latest TV work. I have been busy with a few musicals and this summer’s Crucible at The Globe so it was well timed that a couple of good television things came out at around the same time; ‘I Fought the Law’ on ITV with Sheridan Smith and ‘Testament’ which is modern retelling of the Book of Acts, both these parts are a world apart. Oh, I also added the ubiquitous Heinz ad on there too.

VICTORY TO THE MIMERS

Two years after wrapping, the short film I co-wrote with our director James Green called 'Victory To The Mimers' is now streaming online!

It is a bitter-sweet dramedy about the Mimers Strike and a comment on the state of publicly funded arts. It features myself and Lee Ingleby playing my brother and Toto Bruin as my daughter.

Watch it on Youtube, via the BIFA Qualifying platform @directorsnotes