Ian Flintoff

Ian Flintoff has worked with the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and on the stage at the Old Vic, London - three early ambitions from the outset. He has appeared in numerous television programmes, including Coronation Street, Brookside, Prime Suspect, A Touch of Frost, The Bill, and many TV dramas. His other stage work includes many tours around main house regional theatres, as well as the Edinburgh Festival and on the London fringe. He has directed in main houses such as the Lyceum Theatre in Crewe, and for several London fringe productions.

His writing includes the new and popular novel about "the great" Gatsby at Oxford in 1919 - Gatsby at Trinity - and also three film commissions shown on general release and on television, fiction for BBC radio, and a musical version of A Christmas Carol, together with modern and relevant dramas on the fringe, in his own translations or original composition.

More recently he was asked to Sao Paolo, Brazil, to lead a special Shakespeare celebration, and more recently still, to direct a version of Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby in an open air production in Sonoma County, California.

In the summer of 2019 his adaptation of his novel, Gatsby at Trinity, was performed by the Trinity Players in an enthusiastic and faithful version in the gardens of the college. It was directed by Imogen Edwards-Lawrence.

He has also tried to be active in other ways, having served as a local councillor, stood for parliament (14,000 votes but unelected), and played a participatory part in the Actors' Union, Equity, including as a candidate for the union president. He was also asked to join the European Commission's Spokesman's Group in Brussels, Belgium, and while there he launched the first English-language Shakespeare productions at the Theatre Ile St Louis and the first Brussels Shakespeare Festival. Thanks to others' hard work and enthusiasm this is now a thriving annual event and the Brussels Shakespeare Socety a brilliant contribution to Belgian arts and culture. To understabnd the human story better he recently (2020) completed a course on Social Anthropology with the Oxford University Continuing Education Department.

With colleagues his aim has been to provide good drama for audiences at low cost and easy accessibility, and, importantly, provide challenging and rewarding work for actors of all ages and at all stages of their careers.

Ian is also director of Pitchfork Production.