My Passion: Theatre

In the 1970s and 1980s I performed with school and amateur companies and went regularly to my local theatre, seeing some of the old comic greats such as Arthur Lowe, Eric Sykes and John Inman.

In the 1990s I went to drama school in London and became a professional actor. Working in theatre in London gave me access to the most amazing shows and I used to see two or three a week - some good, some poor, some even in Japanese.

I never ceased to get a buzz when I settled into my seat - waiting for the unexpected.

By 2001 I had moved on from acting and was producing plays and musicals in and around the West End and finally on Broadway.

I thought I was the luckiest person alive spending every day working on my passion and then being paid to fly to New York.

In 2006 I moved to Sheffield to take up the post of executive producer of Sheffield Theatres and my eyes were opened to the breadth and quality of theatre happening everyday all over the country, which is shamefully ignored by the London ‘luvvies’.

In Sheffield I was particularly struck with the scale and quality of the community theatre companies performing across the city.

In 2009 my passion for theatre was beginning to fade. After 25 years the politics of professional theatre had got to me. I even stopped seeing shows.

So, I quit theatre and decided to follow my other passion, photography.

However, I continued my support of local theatre groups and ended up being invited to direct for Sheffield’s STOS Musical Theatre Company, which I have done twice now.

This year I will be stepping foot on stage as an actor for the first time in 20 years in the STOS production of White Christmas at the Sheffield Lyceum from November 11 to 15 - the theatre I used to run.

This is amateur theatre as I could never of dreamed in the 1980s, with a budget of £100,000.

Although, I’ve left it a bit late and have to play a grandfather on my return to the stage, my passion is back and I can’t wait.