Raised in rural Nottinghamshire, I began performing at an early age with local children's theatre group, 'Kaleidoscope', inspired by my mother's amateur dramatics…

1987- Equally interested in Art and Theatre, I did a foundation in Art and Design followed by a BA in 'Creative Arts', both at Nottingham Trent University.

1991 - I graduated with a 1st class degree, relocated to Manchester on a romantic whim, where I ushered at the Green Room theatre, taught myself the drums, collaborated with sound artist Matt Wand, and got involved with anarchic outdoor arts troupe 'The Dogs of Heaven'.

1993 - I worked with Ailie Cohen on a fringe show in Edinburgh and ended up staying for five years. During this time, I set up and ran the infamous'Bongo Club Cabaret', and worked as a puppeteer with the Edinburgh Puppet Company.

1997 - Following a stint of clown training with Philippe Gaullier, I moved to London to do an MA in Performance Studies at the Central School of Speech and Drama.   Here, I became infatuated with postmodern theory and started drumming with the band 'El Sid'.

1999 - Soon after completing my MA, I taught on a Shakespeare project at Rose Bruford, and then began teaching at the University of Brighton.

2001 - I became a Senior Lecturer and Level 4 co-ordinator at UoB on a permanent 0.5 contract, which continued for 17 years. I’ve also been a guest lecturer at Goldsmiths, Italia Conti, UCA (Farnham), the University of East London and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, where I had a great time making 'The Twisted Ladder'.

Throughout my teaching career, I continued to make and present funny, arty shows at venues such as the 'CCA', 'ICA', ‘Omsk’, ‘Shunt Lounge’, the Edinburgh Fringe, and often at the Marlborough Theatre in Brighton.

2003 - I did more clown training at 'The Actors Space' (Spain) and then accidentally became a street theatre performer, working with Mikey Martins in The Incredible Bull Circus. We did summer tours for 6 years, performing throughout the UK and Ireland, and to Canada, France, Belgium, Holland, Australia and New Zealand.  

I also toured the show ‘Inside Out’ with Fraser Hooper for a couple of years, and directed 3 outdoor shows for Jon Hicks.

2009 - I began making indoor work as 'Inconvenient Spoof' with Silvia Mercuriali, such as ‘Navie Dance Masterclass’, also co-writing her audio tour 'Wondermart'.

2012- I worked on 3 more Spoof shows with Joe Mulcrone and Merry Colchester, taught puppetry at Shanghai International School, and ran The Happy Clap Trap cabaret at the Marlborough theatre for 3 years.

2015 - I worked as the External Examiner for the Inclusive Performance courses at Chickenshed Theatre for 4 years.

2018 - I left my University job to work with Rick Conte on the puppet-based adaptation of The Time Machine. I also began teaching drama to children at Stagecoach in Brighton, which I did for the next 4 years.

2020 - I began creating and performing outdoor arts shows with Jon Hicks. We’ve made The Visionary, Tony and Ray find their Feet, and the indoor children’s show, Silent Jon and the Magical Egg Quest.

During COVID, when teaching and performing work disappeared, I also began writing Arts Council applications for other people and making more puppets. In 2021, I began performing with the puppet show, Mischief & Mystery in Moomin Valley.

2024 - With Rick Conte, I co-write the one-man show ‘An American Love Letter to Edinburgh’.

2026 - My life has settled into a happy balance of ACE application writing, street theatre projects, puppet commissions and writing…