We have, within the borough of Tameside, some very talented people, in all walks of life. You’ll find many of them featured within the pages of the Tameside Reporter and Glossop Chronicle or featured on our website tamesideradio.com every week.
Within the World of stage and musical theatre, which I focus on here every week and on my radio show, I’ve been chatting to two such talents just recently. Mark Hilton has been on stage in the West End and is also a producer of some of the biggest shows around. His mother, Judith, is a member of Dukinfield Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society so it obviously runs in the family. We should be very proud of Mark and his family.
Jonathan Sayer is the joint Chairman of Ashton United Football Club alongside his father. His Grandad played with great distinction for the club, which is based at Hurst Cross. I’ve met Jonathan several times, usually when he’s been watching his beloved Robins and I can tell you that he’s emotional. He kicks every ball and loves every minute of the game. Maybe that’s why he’s so talented as a playwright, actor and producer; he has empathy.
Jonathan is an Olivier Award-winning Creative Director of Mischief. He’d just returned from a stint performing in his latest success, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, on Broadway. I was lucky enough to see his previous show, the Play that Goes Wrong, when it was at the Opera House in Manchester. I went with my friend John and if I’m honest I didn’t really know what to expect; neither of us did. That’s often the best way to go to a show by the way.
It was hilarious. I’ve not laughed out loud at a theatre show as much in my life. It felt like a cross between the humour of Buster Keaton and Laurel & Hardy, with a bit of Faulty Towers thrown in, but it was completely original. Although it has yet to be confirmed, I know that the UK version of Peter Pan Goes Wrong is touring and I’m hopeful it will be visiting Manchester. If it does, I’d recommend you try and get tickets, it’ll be brilliant.
I had two reasons to chat to Jonathan recently, while he recovered from jetlag, firstly for my radio show but also because he was written a book titled, “Nowhere to Run” which he says, “chronicles the euphoric highs and bitter disappointments of the less glamourous side of the beautiful game.”
I was at his book launch and he chatted to a packed house about his motivations and methods. He insisted that all the names have been changed so that the characters he writes about can’t be identified and often bits of several people put into one. His speech was hilarious and I’m sure the book will be too.
It’s published today, the 10th of August and he promised that a percentage of any profits made with go to Ashton United, and any profits from a Hollywood film that might come from it. I think he was just quipping about that last bit but then again look at what’s happening at Wrexham, who’re now owned by Hollywood A lister Ryan Reynolds. I told you we had some amazingly talented people in Tameside.
You can hear the first part of my interview with Jonathan Sayer on my Tameside Radio show Break-a-Leg, this Sunday from 7pm, when you’ll also hear part two of my interview with Tameside’s Mark Hilton.
