As I Prepare for The Grinning Man...

I'm incredibly excited that Anything Goes Theatre Company has finally been able to announce our production for next year: The Grinning Man.

It's a show I've been wanting to talk about for a while, so finally being able to share the news feels very special. As we celebrate the company's 10th anniversary and look towards the next chapter, this feels like the perfect production to lead us into it. I'm excited by the story & by the grit and darkness of the piece.

Over the last few years I've directed some wonderfully fun, light-hearted productions, but there's something about The Grinning Man that feels like coming home. It's the kind of storytelling I love. Complex characters, beautiful music, big questions and a world that audiences can really get lost in. The score is stunning, and we're currently putting together an incredible creative team behind the scenes. There are some brilliant people involved, and I genuinely can't wait to start bringing this production to life. If you'd like to follow the show's journey, keep an eye on Anything Goes Theatre Company's pages over the coming months, as we'll be sharing plenty of updates along the way.

But as much as I'm looking forward to the show itself, I've found myself thinking a lot about the people I want to create it with, because great theatre isn't built by one person. It's built by a company, a group of people who share a commitment to telling a story and supporting one another along the way. That's why, when Anything Goes Theatre Company holds its Members Auditions later this year, people won't just be auditioning for a role. They'll be auditioning to become part of a company, part of a team, part of the future of what we're building.

Those auditions won't simply be about The Grinning Man, they'll be about the productions that come after it too. The stories we tell, the challenges we take on, the kind of rehearsal rooms we create, the kind of company we want to become. Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing a series of blogs called Building a Company, exploring some of the qualities I value most in performers and company members.

Not perfection. Not having the loudest belt. Not fitting a particular role. But things like storytelling, commitment, collaboration, kindness, preparation and supporting the people around you.

The people I've loved working with most over the last ten years all have something in common. They care. They care about the production, about the people they're working wit, about telling the best story possible and they understand that theatre is a team effort. Those are the people I want to keep making theatre with. So if you're interested in how I approach casting, directing and building a company, I hope you'll follow along.

This feels like the perfect moment to start that conversation.