About Phil Willmott and The REP

TRAINING
 

B.A hons Theatre Management ROSE BRUFORD COLLEGE

NATIONAL ARTS FUNDRAISING SCHOOL.

Graphic Design FILTON TECHNICAL

Illustration: SLADE SCHOOL OF FINE ART (Part Time)

 

RECOGNITION AND AWARDS

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HONARARY FELLOWSHIP Rose Bruford College, TMA AWARD

Best New Musical for ONCE UPON A TIME AT THE ADELPHI,

PETER BROOK EMPTY SPACE AWARD for the annual LONDON FREE THEATRE FESTIVAL,

5 SPIRIT OF BROADWAY AWARDS in Connecticut USA – Outstanding New Work, Outstanding New Score, Outstanding New Lyrics and Outstanding Direction, for the musical ATLANTIC CITY

THE BROOK ATKINSON PLAYWRITING AWARD New Dramatists New York / The Royal Court London.

 

TEACHING

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Head of Acting and Co-head of the Musical Theatre degree course ARTS EDUCATIONAL SCHOOL

Course devisor and teacher PLAYWRIGHTING ARTS EDUCATIONAL SCHOOL

Professor of London Theatre Studies MISSISSIPI UNIVERSITY

 

Guest Director/Tutor

CENTRAL SCHOOL,

RADA (Scenography)

GUILDFORD SCHOOL OF ACTING,

THE COURT TRAINING COMPANY,

ROSE BRUFORD.

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Creative Writing Tutor

THE BRIT SCHOOL,

BATTERSEA ARTS CENTRE,

ARCOLA (Advanced)

MINERVA CRUISES.

 

ARTS JOURNALISM AND BROADCASTING

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Weekly columnist THE STAGE,

Editor and Chief Theatre Critic LODONBOXOFFICE,

Weekly columnist THE STAGE,

Theatre Critic TV, Radio, and Website BBC LONDON,

Chief theatre critic ATTITUDE MAGAZINE

Editor and Co-presenter of the satirical magazine programme CAPITAL EYES Resonance FM,

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Guest Contributor WHAT’S ON IN LONDON, TIME OUT, THE GUARDIAN,

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ARTISTIC DIRECTORSHIPS

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CURRENTLY

 

Founding Artistic Director of THE REP (The Rotherhithe and East London Playhouse)

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The only theatre company entirely dedicated to re-examining every aspect of theatre making in the post covid landscape, from the way rehearsals are structured, to ticket pricing and where and when work is presented, placing equal importance on classic work from world and children's literature, and striving to enrich and unite new audiences from every cultural and economic background.

 

Productions at the heart of the East London community include

 

HAMLET on the Thames Riverbank,

THE MEDIEVAL MYSTERY PLAYS in a 16th century church,

A CHRISTMAS CAROL in a Pub courtyard,

GREAT EXPECTATIONS in a former Victorian Mortuary, and the grounds of the Museum of the Home, Hoxton, TREASURE ISLAND

THE MACBETHS

in a winter marquee at The Ship.

AL’LS WELL THAT ENDS WELL 

THE WIZARD OF OZ

in a The Hithe, a new office block.

 

Founding Artistic Director of THE FINBOROUGH THEATRE

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A tiny powerhouse of new writing and striking revivals, with an international reputation

 

Productions include the UK Premiere of Arthur Miller’s final play FIINISHING THE PICTUR

 and his earlier, rarely performed work INCIDENT AT VICHI (Transferring to the King’s Head)

 

The UK premiere of Joe Depietro's F*CKING MEN

(Transferring to the Kings Head, the Lowery Theatre in Manchester, and the Arts Theatre in the West End)

 

And adaptations of

Gorki’s THE LOWER DEPTHS (Published by Oberon)

Gilbert and Sullivan’s PRINCESS IDA

 

Original musicals

LOST BOY

(transferring for an extended run at the Charring Cross Theatre)

PRINCESS CARABOO

both subsequently licensed internationally by SAMUEL FRENCH (Now CONCORDE THEATRICALS LTD)

 

Founding Artistic Director of THE LONDON FREE THEATRE FESTIVAL

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A staple of the capital’s summer for 15 years, drawing huge audiences of regular and first-time theatre goers to innovative stagings of the classics and family shows, at the SCOOP, an 800 seat out-door amphitheatre, on the South Bank of the Thames at Tower Bridge.

 

Productions include his own adaptations and direction of the ancient Greek works of Homer, Sophocles and Euripides

OEDIPUS

ANTIGIONE

THE TROJAN WOMEN

THE ORESEIA TRILOGY

IPHIGINIA AT AULIS

THE ODYSEA 

& MEDEA in a new version commissioned from Stella Duffy

 

 

LA MORTE D’ARTHUR

A six-hour dramatization of Wagner’s RING CYCLE Librettos

A rock musical of CRIME AND PUNISHMENT with music by Toyah Wilcox

DON JUAN

Lorca's BLOOD WEDDING

Brecht’s CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE

& THE MOTHER in a new version commissioned from Mark Ravenhill
 

 

And children’s classics such as

TREASURE ISLAND,

JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS

 TREASURE ISLAND

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS (TOAD HALL)

DISNEY'S THE JUNGLE BOOK.

 

Founding Artistic Director of ESENTIAL CLASSICS at THE UNION THEATRE

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An annual 3-month winter season of topical masterpieces in which great writers of the past have reflected on the same issues we face today.

 

Productions include the modern world premiere of Shakespeare’s DOUBLE FALSEHOOD (Transfer Charing Cross Theatre) MEASURE FOR MEASURE, LEAR (Transfer the Tristan Bates Theatre) OTHELLO  and the apocrypha Shakespeare FAIR EM, Arthur Miller’s AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, Chekhov's THREE SISTERS, THE CHERRY ORCHARD, Brecht’s FEAR AND MISERY OF THE THIRD REICH, Sondheim's ANYONE CAN WHISTLE and the 1st UK revival of ROAD SHOW and classic  musicals FINIAN’S RAINBOW (Transfer Charing Cross Theatre) BLITZ, CARMEN and new Operetta CAN-CAN!  

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FREELANCE DIRECTING

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RESPOSIBILITIES: Researching and conceiving a vision for the text in performance and hiring, inspiring, and leading a cast and creative team through the process of bringing it to reality, on schedule and within budget, in consultation with the producer.

 

INTERNATIONALY

 

Productions include the new musical ATLANTIC CITY in Connecticut U.S.A, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and I LOVE YOU YOU’RE PEREFECT NOW CHANGE in Dubai, THE WIZARD OF OZ in Romania, RENT at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS for two German national tours and development of a new musical about the Young Krishna with Mahesh Duttani in Mumbai.

 

NATIONALY UK 

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Productions Includes KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN and ANGELS IN AMERICA at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre, BILLY LIAR and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at Liverpool Playhouse, MASTER HAROLD... AND THE BOYS at the Liverpool Everyman.

 

CENTRAL LONDON WEST END

 

Associate Director of The Pet Shop Boy’s ballet THE MOST INCREDIBLE THING at the Saddler’s Wells Theatre, the 10th Anniversary cast of FAME at the Aldwych Theatre, NAKED BOYS SINGING at the Arts Theatre, AND THEN WE WROTE and I’LL PUT YOU TOGETHER AGAIN at the National Theatre Studio, TREASURE ISLAND at the Mermaid Theatre, Eric Woolfson’s POE at Abbey Rd Studios, THE POEMS OF MICHAEL ROSEN at the Royal Festival Hall.

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PLAYS, ADAPTATIONS, LIBRETTOS AND COMPOSITIONS

PUBLISHED WORK

DRAMATURGY AND NEW WRTITING DEVELOPMENT

 

MUSICALS: Books, Lyrics and Composition

 

ONCE UPON A TIME AT THE ADELPHI

(Original Musical) commissioned as a centre piece for Liverpool as European Capital of Culture. Performed at the Playhouse. Published by Samuel French.

THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES

(Original Musical: book) In development with the Pet Shop Boys,

LOST BOY

(Original Musical) For Bristol Old Vic and produced for an extended run at the Charring Cross Theatre, published by Samuel French

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

(A Rock Musical with Songs by Toyah) for the London Free Theatre Festival.

MAD ABOUT THE BOY

(Bangre Musical) commissioned by Phizzical Theatre, Leicester

CAN-CAN A new operetta with music by Offenbach and contemporaries, for the Union Theatre.

THE DICK BARTON TRILOGY (Three musical comedies based on the classic BBC radio series) Commissioned by Croydon Warehouse, produced nationwide, and published by Oberon Books.

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (Original Musical) Commissioned by BAC, produced nationally and internationally and published by Samuel French.

THE GILES FAMILY MUSICAL (Jukebox Musical) commissioned by The New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich

DON JUAN IN KINGSTON commissioned as the opening production of the Rose Theatre Kingson.

UNCLE EBENEZER’S CHRISTMAS CAROL (Traditional Songs) Commissioned and performed at BAC and the Anchorage, Fire Island USA. Published by Oberon Books.

CARMEN 1786 (Libretto) for the Union Theatre.

PRINCESS CARABOO (Original Musical) for Bristol Old Vic transferring to the Finborough Theatre, London.

 

PLAYS: Original or Adaptations

 

DRACULA (play) Commissioned by the Open-Air Theatre, Regent’s Park.

THE KRAYS IN LOVE (play) Commissioned by the Globe Theatre,

LYSISTRATA – THE SEX STRIKE adapted with Germaine Greer. Published by Arora Metro Press,

Gorki’s THE LOWER DEPTHS directed at the Finborough. Published by Faber and Faber,

TREASURE ISLAND For BAC Produced nationally and internationally and published by Samuel French,

THE CHERRY ORCHARD,

TOM BROWN’S SCHOOL DAYS for the Union Theatre.

 

LGBTQ WORK

 

STUPID CUPID (Juke box Musical) Commissioned by Gay Sweatshop for UK National Tour,

THE MASTER’S BOY (A gay appropriation of Miss Julie) for Sean Duffy at the Actor’s Centre,

ENCOUNTER (A gay appropriation of Brief Encounter) commissioned and produced by Above the Stag,

Two LGBTQ Radio Plays for BBC R4

MERMAID SANDWICH
STEALING THE SCENE

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NEW WRITING DEVELOPMENT

 

Development of new plays or musicals with The Pet Shop Boys, Mark Ravenhill, Eric Woolfson, Toyah, Richard Harris, Joe DePietro, Mahesh Dattani, Stella Duffy, Claudio Macor, Diane Samuels, with choreographer Javier De Frutos, for producer Adam Kenwright, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, producer Adam Speigel, the National Theatre Studio and in consultation with The Artur Miller Estate.