THE CREATIVE TEAM

PAUL BURBRIDGE - DIRECTOR & WRITER

Paul Burbridge is Artistic Director of Riding Lights Theatre Company. He has been a major influence behind the Company’s reputation for pioneering new work, for comedy and for powerful ensemble productions of classics and devised plays. He has been involved as actor, director or writer in all the Company’s major productions, from award-winning revues at the Edinburgh Festival to the recent world premiere of the hilarious comic masterpiece Augustus Carp Esq., and highly successful national tours of Dario Fo’s Mistero Buffo, The Winter’s Tale and the recent co-production with York Theatre Royal of African Snow, marking the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade.

Paul has overseen the development of Riding Lights from its community touring roots into one of the UK’s most productive and enduring independent touring companies. The Company’s first permanent home, Friargate Theatre in York, opened in 2000 with his ‘Yorkshire’ version of The Alchemist. Other notable productions for Riding Lights include his own adaptation of Three Men in a Boat (The Northcott Theatre and Theatr Clywd and revived at York Theatre Royal in 2008) and The Fire Raisers (The Northcott Theatre and The Bridewell, where it was Time Out’s Critics’ Choice). In 2001, a new award-winning musical Dick Turpin was one of a string of highly original ensemble productions for Riding Lights created with writer Bridget Foreman and designer Sean Cavanagh.

Other recent shows, addressing issues such as international debt relief, terrorism, science and faith, social responsibility and safe water provision, have included A Different Drum, Balancing Act, Love Fifteen, Wrestling with Angels, Science Friction, Saving Grace, Hope Opera, Remember Remember, Pipe Dreams and Salaam Bethlehem.

NIGEL FORDE - WRITER

Began his career as an actor at York Theatre Royal. He co-founded Riding Lights Theatre Co. and his most recent roles with them have been Polixenes and Antigonus in The Winter's Tale. He has been a contributor - writer and presenter - to scores of programmes on BBC radio, provided voice-overs for TV documentaries and is best known for presenting Radio 4's Bookshelf. He works primarily, now, as a writer. He has won several poetry prizes, and a musical written with Arnold Wesker was premiered recently in Japan. He wrote the screenplay for three of BBC 2s animated series Testament one of which was nominated for a BAFTA and won an EMMY and his latest film was awarded the Special Distinction in a TV Series at the 2002 Anneçy Festival. He won best screenplay for Unscripted, a short film directed by Paul Burbridge for the Hollywood 168 competition.

He has published eight books to date including four of poetry. His stage adaptation of The Screwtape Letters is being performed in Britain and the USA. He has just finished writing a feature film and his latest book of poems, A Map of the Territory, was published in November 2003 by Oxford/Carcanet and the next, The Choir Outing, has been accepted for publication in April. He has been a visiting lecturer at the University of York St. John, Newcastle and Durham and taught poetry and Shakespeare for Studio France in Toulouse. He has recently directed Bach's Johannes-Passion at York University. In Pocklington he runs poetry seminars for the London Poetry School.

SEAN CAVANAGH - DESIGNER

Sean has worked for many theatres throughout the UK and abroad. He is a long standing Associate Director of Riding Lights and has designed much of the company’s work over the past years, including Paul Burbridge’s adaptation of the classic Three Men in a Boat, the 2007 tour of Salaam Bethlehem and the national tour of African Snow commissioned by the CMS to celebrate the Bicentennial of the 1807 Act to Abolish the Trade in Slaves. Other projects include Who Do You Say I Am? for BBC Television, and multimedia events such as The Rock in San Francisco and Rock Me Amadeus in Vienna. Current UK and international tours include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Rat Pack - live from Las Vegas. West End credits include The Tempest, The Mikado, The Aspern Papers, Sherlock Holmes – The Musical, Of Mice and Men, Treasure Island, When Did You Last See Your Trousers? , Never the Sinner, The Miracle Worker, In Praise of Love, The Roy Orbison Story, Stepping Out – The Musical, The Fire Raisers, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Rat Pack – Live from Las Vegas, Dancing in the Streets, African Snow and Visiting Mr Green.