When I was a kid, some stunningly talented and generous tutors at the council-run Seagull Theatre turned my life around from being a tricky, unconfident kid to someone who would eventually be able to express himself and pursue a career I’d always dreamed of. And I was by no means the only one.

The council pulled the funding in 2006 and me and a few others fought and managed to save the place, thanks to a strong campaign and some kind benefactors. The Theatre was saved. But then, they needed someone to manage it and rebuild from the ground up.

This has always been my dream job as a kid so I felt honored and leaped at the chance when the benefactors asked me to become Manager and Artistic Director. This former Victorian school soon went from being an empty building to being busier than it had ever been thanks to an amazing team of volunteers that helped us achieve the impossible. Soon it was a thriving community venue also attracting now huge companies such as the Birmingham Rep and Manchester Royal Exchange as well as top comedians, bands and theatre companies, as well as being home to community companies too numerous to mention but including three youth companies, a dance company, two professional resident companies, a theatre company for adults with learning disabilities and all sorts of other groups, not to mention apprentices, unlike the larger, publicly funded Marina Theatre in area. And all this with no statutory support at all.

I can’t possibly do justice to all the work at the theatre here so please do look them up for yourself at www.theseagull.co.uk or click on the Seagull at the bottom of this section.