signing off
Adrian Lloyd-James The producer of the Theatre Royal’s annual Colin McIntyre Classic Thriller Season, opening on July 30, shares a few secrets
What do you do?
I'm a co-producer for two theatre production companies, Angela Browne Ltd & Tabs Productions, along with my colleague Karen Henson (a stalwart of the Nottingham Classic Thriller Season). I also work as freelance director and jobbing actor.
How did you get involved in the thriller season?
I was in the first ten years of the season, over 23 years ago, and I have been back for more than eight years and I now run the company. It was originated by the late and great Colin McIntyre and the season from this year onwards will be named in his memory. In the early dates we'd tour the repertory, beginning with a month's slot in Chesterfield. Then the whole circus went on to Edinburgh followed by Kirkcaldy and, finally, Nottingham. This gave the cast and crew a good four months’ wo r k , which is very unusual these days.
Why is the season such a success?
I think its popularity is based on audiences seeing the same repertory company of actors in different roles and guises every week. Also the formula of four popular thrillers (five this year) at a normally theatrical barren time of the year is a winning one with affordable prices in a beautiful, hospitable building.
What motivates you to get up in the morning?
A desire to enjoy the day ahead and the need to get through a perpetual and incessant workload!
As a regular visitor to the city what do you like about it and the county?
I love Nottingham. I think the city centre is beautiful, historic and imposing with great shops, facilities and transport system. I live in London and find the comparative lack of hassle and bustle a huge relief. The county itself is also lovely and relatively peaceful.
Your favourite places in Nottinghamshire? The Theatre Royal, obviously, and the countryside.
How would I describe Nottingham to a friend? Nottingham is a great place to visit, to stay in or even move to! The
146 NOTTINGHAMSHIRE TODAY Lloyd-James (left) as Thriller Season fans know him
city is at the centre of the country and has everything you will need on tap!
Your favourite book?
The Monk by Matthew Lewis. It’s a fabulous, under-rated gothic horror novel.
Your favourite play? Macbeth by William Shakespeare. The greatest thriller of them all!
Favourite crime writer? Agatha Christie. Her plays are great fun to watch and perform! Her work is as popular now on stage and screen as it ever has been.
Who would you most like to invite to a dinner party?
Nelson Mandela. Charming, kind, generous of heart and, most of all, f o r g iv i n g .
Tell us something surprising about yo u r s e l f .
I am the son of a missionary and was born in Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising.
Actors are a superstitious bunch – do you have any rituals before going on stage?
I always have a little prayer before every performance – but I'm not superstitious.
If you weren’t in the theatre, what would you have done for a living?
I'd like to have been a journalist. I love the news and current affairs and have an inquiring mind. Otherwise, a barrister. – very much akin to an actor, really.
The five-week Colin McIntyre Thriller Season opens at the Theatre Royal on July 30. The five plays will be Whodunnit, by Anthony Shaffer (July 30 - August 4); Murder in the Small Hours, by Francis Durbridge (August 6 - 11); Tim Kelly’s adaptation of Frankenstein (August 13 - 18); The Final Twist, by Ken Whitmore and Alfred Bradley (August 20 - 25); Shock!, by Brian Clemens (August 28 - September 1). More details will appear in the August edition of Nottinghamshire Today. Box office: 0115 989 5555 or w w w. t rch . c o . u k .
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