Entries Tagged 'Performing Arts' ↓

David Johnson kicked off his new drama classes yesterday at the Sunshine Studios in Manchester and according to my son Nick who said “We had a great day today” therefore I surmise a great day was had by all that turned up, including us mums and dads!  I was there; and I can tell you it was lovely to see such a loyal set of kids turn up for their classes, some like us travel miles each Saturday to make sure that our children are taught by one of the best acting tutors in the UK.

For those that don’t know about David Johnson and his career, I’ve listed a snippet of information below together with his contact details should you wish to be taught by the best in the business.  

A little bit about David Johnson probably the UK’s leading acting tutor.

The Oldham Theatre Workshop:  David’s most well known and acclaimed achievement:  Founded in 1968 he built it to be Europe’s largest Young People’s Theatre Company, with over 1,500 members operating 50 weeks a year.  David regularly mounted a minimum of five major fully-staged productions, with casts ranging from 40 to 600, playing locally and throughout the United Kingdom.  Foreign tours included Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Germany and Poland.  In addition members undertook ongoing professional theatre/TV/film work for all major companies throughout Britain, Europe and the USA (Warner Bros, Disney, Spielberg).

Please phone David Johnson for information on courses

Mob: 07969 183 481

First-night nerves is not something you would expect former Emmerdale actor, Ian Sharrock to suffer from. But when he appeared at The Theatre in San Eugenio a week last Sunday night, it was the first time he had taken to the stage for EIGHT long years. And Ian, who became a very familiar face on our TV screens as heart-throb farmer’s son Jackie Merrick, didn’t set himself an easy task either.

Ian SHARROCK (Emmerdale actor)

There was no cast to support him, not even one fellow actor. For an entire hour, Ian had only himself to rely on as he performed a chilling monologue based on the true story of mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer. “I have never been so scared in my entire life,” he confessed afterwards.  We were scared too. Not for Ian’s debut performance in what could well be a revitalised career but because he played the sinister character so well.

Every twitch of the neck, every strange hand movement, every wipe of the nose and, even more unnerving, the licking of the lips when he spoke about his corpses sent a shiver down our spines.
Ian Sharrock is back to what he does best - acting - and Tenerife holiday-makers and residents can see for themselves how talent has never left him and why they need to see this stunning new show.
Encouraged by his wife Sarrie, Ian has formed the English Live Theatre Company and chose It’s Not Mutton Jeff by Chris Kaoran for the first in a season of four short plays. For the launch party, the performance was complimented afterwards by singer Ian Anderson who performed songs from Broadway and beyond in his Showstoppers set. However, from now on, the show will only include Ian Sharrock’s play which you can see for 15 euros.  

 But why such a macabre topic for this debut, we asked Ian?  ”I was trolling the internet looking for one-man plays and it just seemed to strike a chord,” he explained.

Jeffrey Dahmer was found guilty of 15 counts of murder on February 17, 1992 and was sentenced to 957 years in prison. He only lasted around 18 months, however, as he was killed by a fellow inmate.

It might seem impossible to raise a laugh as Dahmer talks to one of his victims about his childhood, alcoholism, his first homosexual rejection, his parents and hated brother but Ian managed just that. With bitter irony, his character tells us “I didn’t ask to be born” and reveals how he kept a window display dummy in his wardrobe as his “first friend.” He even kept the skulls of some of his corpses, painting one grey so it would look like a hospital specimen just in case his mother popped her head around the door. He kept other parts of his male victims too - too delicate to mention here - which also reminds me that the play does contain a lot of swear words and cursing so it’s definitely not one for the children.

What this play does give you, however, is some cracking drama delivered solely in words with just a stool as a prop. It’s the sort of one-man show you can imagine going down a storm in the smaller theatres of Britain and now Ian has taken the plunge, it could well be the start of something big.
He already has plans for the rest of the season here on Tenerife with the plays chosen and all very different. They will include No 21 which is about a bus. “I get to play eight different characters,” says Ian.

Beginning his acting career at the tender age of eleven, Ian was a professional actor in the UK for more than 28 years and has worked in theatre, TV, film and radio with big names like Jodie Foster, Danny Kaye and David Niven. He has been in mysteries and romances, horror and sci-fi, crimes and comedies.

However, he became a household name when he joined Emmerdale Farm in 1980, playing Jackie Merrick for nine years before being killed off in a shotgun accident. His on-screen father was Jack Sugden, played by Clive Hornby, who would have been delighted to see his old friend back on the stage. Sadly, Clive died just recently.
Ian says he found rehearsing for It’s Not Mutton Jeff quite difficult and different as when on the professional circuit, he would have had the company of others to help and support. Nevertheless, he is grateful to his friends and wife Sarrie for their encouragement and assistance as he learnt his multitude of lines over a period of three weeks. It was the first time Sarrie had seen Ian on stage and when she met him eight years ago, she had never ever seen an episode of Emmerdale! Ian knows he wasn’t word perfect on the opening night but that was nerves, not lack of knowledge, which is understandable after eight years on Tenerife when he and Sarrie became stalwarts of K9 before sadly parting company with the animal rescue charity.

He hopes to take the English Live Theatre Company on the road around Tenerife and would love to hear from any venues who might like to host the show. They do need to have total black-out facilities and be quite happy for the bar to be closed for one hour during the performance. If you might be interested, do ring Ian on 628 616 607.

Similarly, he would be happy to hear from any other professional actors on the island who would like to get involved. It would be his dream, for instance, to set up an Agatha Christie group. The famous crime writer’s stories might be a bit twee but they are still as popular now as ever before.
Meantime, you can catch It’s Not Mutton Jeff, at The Theatre every Sunday night from 8pm, with doors opening at 7.30pm.  

Ian ANDERSON

Tickets are available at a number of selected excursion booths or at The Theatre itself. The Theatre is actually a show bar but has been decorated to look just like an old-fashioned theatre complete with stage, dramatic red drapes and chandeliers. You could easily be in Harrogate, North Yorkshire where Ian Sharrock was born and where, who knows, he might well be performing on its stage sooner rather than later. Rita Sobot 

Source: by kind permission of Nick Johnson of the Tenerife News

David Johnson former founder of the Oldham Theatre Workshop and “Arguably Britain’s most successful independent acting tutor today” will kick off his new business venture this weekend at the Sunshine Studios in Manchester and Helen and I along with Nick, Jessica and Christopher would like to wish him and his team at David Johnson Drama well, if the turnout is anything like the turnout that we witnessed on the 21^st of August at the ‘Friends Meeting House’ in Manchester then I am sure David’s new business will be a huge success.   

David Johnson is the Only Acting Tutor to have students with 6 Television Newcomers’ Awards

Anna Friel  ‘Brookside’

Lisa Riley   ‘Emmerdale’

Kelvin Fletcher  ‘Emmerdale’

Antony Cotton ‘Coronation Street’

Rob James Collier ‘Coronation Street’

Tina O’Brien ‘Coronation Street’

Only or major Acting Tutor for following long-term artistes
(short term occasional contract artistes not incl)

from ‘Coronation Street’:    

Anne Kirkbride  (Deirdre Rasheed)

Tina O’Brien  (Sara-Louise)

Rob James Collier (Liam)

Alison King (Carla)

Anthony Cotton (Sean)

Ryan Thomas (Jason)

Bruno Langley (Todd)

Sally Lindsay (Shelley)

Suranne Jones (Karen)

Jane Danson (Leanne Battersby)

Michael Le Vell (Kevin Webster)

Sally Whitaker (Sally Webster)

Brooke Vincent (Sophie Webster)

Andrew Whyment (Kirk)

Samia Ghadie (Maria)
Alan Halsall (Tyrone)

from ‘Shameless’:  

Gerard Kearns (Ian)

Rebecca Ryan (Debbie)

Rebecca Atkinson (Karen)

Samantha Siddall (Mandy McGuire)

Ciaran Griffiths (Mickey McGuire)

from ‘Emmerdale’:   

Kevin Fletcher (Andy)

Alex Carter (Jamie)

Joe Gilgun (Eli Dingle)

 from ‘Hollyoaks’:   

Andrew Moss (Sean)

Matt Littler (Max)

from ‘Heartbeat’:   

Mark Jordan (PC Bellamy)

from ‘Waterloo Road’: 

Chelsee Healey (Janeece)

Lauren Thomas (Aleesha)

Lucy Dixon (Danielle Harker)

Craig Fitzpatrick (Lewis)

Lauren Drummond (Mika Grainger)

Reece Noi (Earl)   

and additional series throughout Britain eg ‘The Bill’, ‘Casualty’, ‘Family Affairs’.Specific Ex-Students

 Anna Friel  Brookside’ Pushing Up Daisies’ ‘The Land Girls’ (film) ‘The Blue Room’ (West End)Suranne Jones ‘‘Coronation Street’ ‘Vincent’ ‘Some Good Men’ (West End)Michelle Holmes Coronation Street’ ‘Goodnight Sweetheart’ ‘Merseybeat’  ‘Rita, Sue and Bob Too’ (film)Lisa Riley   ‘‘Emmerdale’ ‘You’ve Been Framed’ ‘Fat Friends’  

William Ash ‘Burn It’  ‘Clocking Off’

Natalie Casey ‘Two Pints of Lager’ ‘Hollyoaks’

Sue Devaney  ‘‘Coronation Street’ ‘Dinnerladies’  ‘Casualty’ ‘When We Are Married’ (West End) ‘Wind In The Willows’ (Royal National)   

Nicola Stephenson  ‘Northern Lights’ ‘Clocking off’

 Amy Nuttall  ‘Emmerdale’ ‘Cabaret’ (West End)   

Marsha Thomason  ‘Burn It’ ‘The Haunted House’ (film: Disney) ‘Las Vegas’   

Clive Rowe ‘Carousel’ (West End: Olivier Nomination) ‘Guys and Dolls’ (West End: Olivier Award) ‘‘Honk’ (Royal National) ‘Simply Heavenly’ (West End)   

Gemma Wardle ‘Les Miserables’: Eponine (West End) ‘Fame’ (West End) Original cast   

Andrew Shore  ‘The Ring’ (Wagner): (Bayreuth) ‘Love for Three Oranges’ (West End) ‘Mr Punch’ (West End)

Cat Simmons   ‘Whistle Down The Wind’ (West End) ‘Simply Heavenly’ (West End) ‘Aladdin’ (Old Vic)‘History Boys (original production) Olivier Award (West End) Tony Award (Broadway) 2 of the 8 ‘History Boys’: Sasha Diawan/Andrew Knot

Mark of Cain’ ‘Award Winning Channel 4: Both leads 

Gerard Kearns  Malcolm McNulty 

Anyone interested in joining David Johnson Drama can make contact by following the procedure below. 

 Applicants are welcomed from the age - YOUNG PEOPLE: Ages from 8 to 18  ADULTS: From about 18 years… to whatever age you care to admit to

Email: toni.angel@ntlworld.com

Mob: 07763 254 571

For all written correspondence:

JOHNSON ASSOCIATES, LTD
P.O. BOX 618,
OLDHAM, OL1 9GU

FAX: 0161 620 6444

Legal notice:

Johnson Associates Ltd. To which all enquiries and correspondence should be made, acts on behalf of and is the sole owner and administrator of David Johnson.

Good Luck from David Wood & Associates