Paul Tomlinson was Director of Productions at the new Queen’s Theatre in Hornchurch for 10 years from 1974 to 1984. He is a graduate of the University of Cape Town (B.A.Teacher’s Diploma in Speech and Drama) He started as an actor in productions at the Strand Theatre (West End) the Mermaid and the Arts. Paul was in Sally Miles’ Margate Stage Company for 18 months and in regional theatre in Newcastle, St. Andrews and Salisbury.
He has directed at a dozen British regional theatres. He was artistic director for a season at the Byre St. Andrews and ran Theatrescope at the Salisbury Playhouse for three highly fulfilling years from 1971 to 1974. He has also directed at the Belgrade Coventry, the Swan Theatre Worcester, Dundee Repertory Theatre and the Traverse Theatre Edinburgh. Productions ranged from DEATH OF A SALESMAN to ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD, from THE HOSTAGE to LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS.
As a FREELANCE DIRECTOR he has directed the National Tour of THE NORMAN CONQUESTS; Tours of Sweden of ROMEO AND JULIET and BEDROOM FARCE; commercial Pantomimes including JACK AND THE BEANSTALK with Charlie Drake. He has been to South Africa for BBC Radio who produced his Documentary / Drama IF THE SNAKES DON’T GET YOU, later broadcast on Radio 4 with himself as the Narrator.
At the Queens Theatre in Hornchurch he directed over 50 plays. He directed a number of new works including the premiere of Barrie Keeffe’s SHE’S SO MODERN with Charlotte Cornwall; a large number of classics including MACBETH with Duncan Preston. HAMLET with Karl Johnson and Lisa Eichorn and a wide range of other plays including ALPHA BETA with Gareth Hunt and FROZEN ASSETS with Alfred Molina.
His production of The Who’s TOMMY, which he adapted for the stage, transferred to the West End:
For the Dilated Theatre Company he has directed the highly acclaimed production of Barrie Keeffe’s SUS and in 2014 directed the equally well received production of Keeffe’s MY GIRL 2 at the Old Red Lion and in 2016 he directed Lyle Kessler’s ORPHANS at the Southwark Playhouse.
“This production is a notable work by any standards and the stage version at Hornchurch is so good that its value should not be confined to suburban Essex alone. If an outer London Theatre can put on work of this quality … a multi-media production which works perfectly … it is justification for every regional theatre.”
The GuardianCreative Director of Dilated Theatre Company.
From 2010 he has been directing one-off theatre productions in professional theatre or drama schools:
Drama school productions have included productions by Fielding, Sheridan, Wycherley, Vanbrugh, Etherege, Shakespeare, Zuckmayer, Chekhov, Brecht, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Howard Brenton, Edward Bond and many others.
He has also directed professional theatre in Vienna, Paris and Greece. He directed the German classic THE CAPTAIN OF KÖPENICK at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival and Fin Kennedy’s MEHNDI NIGHT at the Southwark Playhouse.
As a FREELANCE DIRECTOR he has directed the National Tour of THE NORMAN CONQUESTS; Tours of Sweden of ROMEO AND JULIET and BEDROOM FARCE; commercial Pantomimes including JACK AND THE BEANSTALK with Charlie Drake. He has been to South Africa for BBC Radio who produced his Documentary / Drama IF THE SNAKES DON’T GET YOU, later broadcast on Radio 4 with himself as the Narrator. In 2013 he directed the highly acclaimed production of Barrie Keeffe’s SUS and in 2014 directed the equally well received production of Keeffe’s MY GIRL 2 at the Old Red Lion.
He directed a Platform Performance of “MASTER HAROLD” … AND THE BOYS by Athol Fugard for NT2000 in the Cottesloe Theatre. The cast included Daniel Evans and Femi Elufowoju.
He has directed at the Central School of Speech and Drama, Drama Centre, East15, the Royal Scottish Academy, Mountview, Guildford and Rose Bruford.
“I need hardly mention how very much I’ve valued all your work with the students. I really feel you have an uncommon knack of getting the best out of them even with difficult texts.”
Nik Simmonds
Ex-Head of Acting – Mountview
Drama school productions have included HITLER DANCES by Howard Brenton; Brecht’s THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE and THE MOTHER; ABSOLUTE HELL by Rodney Ackland; MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD by Charlotte Keatley; FEN by Caryl Churchill; THE RED DEVILS Trilogy by Debbie Horsfield; Chekov’s UNCLE VANYA; Shakespeare’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, ROMEO AND JULIET and TITUS ANDRONICUS; EQUUS by Peter Shaffer; THE CRUCIBLE by Arthur Miller; Molière’s LE MALADE IMAGINAIRE; Richard Roger’s musical TWO BY TWO; Edward Bond’s SAVED and THE SEA; THE GRAPES OF WRATH by Steinbeck; Nick Dear’s THE ART OF SUCCESS; TERRORISM by the Presnyakov Brothers; Terry Johnson’s version of THE LONDON CUCKOLDS.
My Central production of THE CAPTAIN OF KÖPENICK won an award from the Scottish Daily Mail to enable it to play at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival.
“An amazing, skillfully acted, intense 90 minutes of drama. Some moments of high comedy as well as a number of poignant scenes which were beautifully understated and moving. Surprisingly topical with it’s military theme. The best thing I have seen at the fringe this year.”
WEST END: STRAND THEATRE (Virtue in Danger) MERMAID THEATRE (Galileo) ARTS THEATRE (Mourning Becomes Electra) REGIONAL THEATRE: Salisbury Playhouse, Byre Theatre St. Andrews, Margate Stage Company, Newcastle Playhouse,
I have directed GORILLA IN THE ROSES – a short film celebrating the anarchic wit of Joe Orton written by myself. GORILLA IN THE ROSES was selected for screening at the BBC British Short Film Festival and the Raindance Film Festival. Other short films include GLIMPSES OF THE MOON by Murray Woodfield, SCRUFFY by Mark Tufano, WICKET MAIDENS by Peter Dawson and THE STONE CIRCLE by Richard Martin.
Adapted DISTANT POINT, a feature length film, from the play by Afinogenev.
Adapted DREAMING THE HARDEST, a film for Television from the play by Vince Foxall (Co-written with John Ashton)
Wrote IF THE SNAKES DON’T GET YOU a Dramatised Documentary for radio based on the 1820 British Settlers to the Cape of Good Hope.
Devised GORILLA IN THE ROSES, a compilation based on Joe Orton’s “Edna Welthorpe” letters (Young Vic and King’s Head) and then wrote it as a short film
Devised the stage version of TOMMY by The Who (Queens, West End)