ONLINE TRAILBLAZERS
The Northern Comedy Theatre has established itself as a trailblazer in the field of online theatre. With the closure of theatres in March 2020, they quickly moved their work online, exploiting the online platform, ZOOM. Collaborating with writer, David Spicer they have streamed 10 productions, each one especially written for this new medium and each one pushing the boundaries of what was possible.
Their work has been recognised with six ONCOMM awards and a special ONE OFF award from OffWestEnd, to recognise their contribution and achievements in online theatre. They were cited as one of 2020's ONLINE INSPIRERS by Reviewer Number 9 and were included in 2nd From Bottom's '20 From 2020' of things that amused, inspired, moved and delighted.
“It is hard to think of another company or venue which has done so much in such a short space of time or has provided as much fun in the process” - Off West End
“Northern Comedy Theatre re-framed 2020 so the audience could perceive the funnier and the lighter side, because we all need the gift of comedy” - Reviewer Number 9
"For sheer productivity it’s hard to beat this young company”
– 2nd From Bottom
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND C0-FOUNDER
Shaun Chambers
Artistic Director and Co-Founder
Shaun trained at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). Recent directing credits include Noises Off!, The 39 Steps, The Last Five Years, The History Boys, Abigail’s Party, STOP! ...The Play , Dead Funny, Hitchcock Blonde, A Christmas Carol and the world premiere of David Spicer's Health and Safety. Shaun also directed the world premieres of five award winning plays in a 'DOING' series written by David Spicer especially for live performance on Zoom during the lockdown of 2020 when all theatres were closed. He also directed the world premiere of ALL ABOVE BOARD by British comedy legend, Nigel Planer. Shaun lectures in Musical Theatre at The Arden School of Theatre and Jelli Studios Theatre Arts College and has made appearances on Sky TV and BBC2. In 2008, Shaun jointly set up award winning Phoenix Youth Theatre and in 2015 co-founded The Northern Comedy Theatre.