Tim Anscombe and Stephen Holroyd are established professional in their respective fields and collectively they work together through their production company Anscombe Production Associates.
Earlier this year they brought their production of DIAMOND the story of East End cross dresser Diamond Lil and her tempestuous relationship with partner Maisie, to the Studio Theatre at the Dome complex for a short run and later this month they are producing Privates on Parade starring Jason Sutton aka Miss Jason at the Theatre Royal along with West End producer Kevin Wood.
In between those two projects they have kindly helped put the 80th Birthday Show for Maisie Trollette at the theatre Royal Brighton together to raise money for the Sussex Beacon and Rainbow Fund.
Tim has been a producer for a number of years. Trained as a tenor in the operatic style he has performed with many leading companies in both opera and musicals, following in the footsteps of his hero, Tom Burke ‘The Lancashire Caruso’ a great opera singer with whom Tim has an affinity.
However, it is as a producer, production manager and company manager that Tim is best known.
Early in his producing career, Tim’s production company persuaded those gifted ‘Ladies’ George Logan and Patrick Fyffe who performed as Hinge and Bracket back to live performances which led to sold out concert tours all over the country and overseas. He also produced tours of Cantabile in South Africa and Europe.
His production skills caught the attention of major players who engaged his company to manage tours of their productions and he has gone into theatre history books as the manager who has toured Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat to every major theatre in the UK. His West End runs include Gerry Springer The Opera and earlier this year, he managed the Osmond’s in Boogie Nights which toured the UK and has remained good friends with the boys since.
Meanwhile Tim fulfills his dream, producing quality productions from a company based and managed in Brighton & Hove using local professional talent and giving performance experience to newcomers and graduates in the the industry.
Stephen Holroyd started his professional career in theatre at the age of 15, as apprentice stage electrician at the Brighton Theatre Royal. A training that took him on a journey through five years of production administration and design skills in drama, opera and ballet. He has worked with all the major national companies of the time.
In the mid 70s he became Arts and Entertainments officer for Lambeth in London producing community musicals and drama. It was Stephen who gave the legendary Dockyard Doris his first job in Pantomime. During this period he organised the yearly Lambeth Country Show which, with crowds of 200,000 was the largest outdoor show in London.
By 1980 he had joined the staff of the Barbican Centre for Arts and Conferences as deputy Technical Manager working with the London Symphony Orchestra and The Royal Shakespeare Company. With two theaters, a concert hall, two exhibition halls and three cinemas, the Barbican was then the largest arts centre in the UK.
It was during this period that Stephen moved to Brighton and Hove, a city he has been in love with since he was 10 years old. He eventually became a freelance Designer and Production Manager and then in 1986 he was asked to help with re-establishing the Connaught Theatre in neighboring Worthing.
The theatre had been closed for a year, Stephen took charge of the technical side of the venue and with his team of students and seasoned professionals, he rebuilt the stage area to enable the theatre to stage bigger shows. After a short time, he was invited to become the General Manager, a post he held until 1999, The millennium saw Stephen working in Dubai with the legendary Dougie Squires and headed a team working for Universal Live Shows producing large scale arena shows and musicals for the United Arab Emirates, Doha and Thailand with casts of hundreds!
While in Dubai Stephen fell in love with his now Civil Partner, Alejandro and they moved back to the UK where he has remained working as a freelance designer. In 2012 he was invited to be a camera manager for the Olympic Broadcasting Services and spent the entire London 2012 games in the Aquatic Centre. What could be better!
It was during the Connaught period of his professional career that he first worked with Tim and they formed a friendship which has lasted for 37 years. Two years ago they decided to produce together under the partnership of Anscombe Production Associates and their alliance has already produced DIAMOND the Musical and Privates on Parade jointly produced with West End producer Kevin Wood which opens at the Theatre Royal on Thursday, August 22 and runs till Saturday August 31. The production stars Jason Sutton aka Miss Jason in the title role.
Stephen is thrilled to be back at his beloved Theatre Royal in Brighton walking through a stage door he first entered in July 1970 for a job interview – to forty three years later returning to help produce the 80th Birthday Gala Show for Brighton legend Maisie Trollette and Privates on Parade which everyone hopes will launch Jason Sutton to be a huge star.
WHAT: Privates On Parade
WHERE: The Theatre Royal, New Road, Brighton
WHEN: August, Thurs 22 – Sat 31 August at 7.30pm; matinees Thurs & Sat at 2pm
COST: Tickets: £23.50 include a glass of Prosecco
TO BOOK TELEPHONE: 0844 871 7650 (booking fee applies)
No booking fee if you book in person at the Theatre Royal box office
TO BOOK ONLINE, CLICK HERE:
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