SPOTLIGHT ON... JED SPITTLE
- theatrereviews
- Jun 13
- 4 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Ahead of the premier of his own musical, we caught up with Jed Spittle...
Q. Where in Lincolnshire are you based, and what was your first ever live performance that you participated in?
"I’m based in Theddlethorpe but spend a lot of my time in Louth. My first ever performance was in 'My Fair Lady' at school (Col.Pickering) but my debut in Lincolnshire was in Louth Playgoers (LPS) Summer Concert last year where amongst other songs I sang “If I were a rich man” from 'Fiddler on the Roof.'"
Q. What was it that first drew you to the local theatre/arts scene? Has it been a constant in your life, or was there a hiatus due to work/life commitments? What sparked or, indeed, re-ignited your interest?
"Theatre and Music have been constants in my life. I was very into the amateur musicals scene after leaving school around the East Anglia area. I then went to Guildford School of Acting and graduated from their Musical Theatre course (Class of 1988). A career as a professional actor followed undertaking seasons at The Wolsey Theatre Ipswich and Queens Theatre Hornchurch before joining the West End tour of 'South Pacific' starring Gemma Craven, which toured Japan. On returning from Japan, I set up my own music production company and helped form the band 'Sharp' for which I co-wrote the songs. 'Sharp' signed a development deal with Sanctuary Records but, despite recording 2 albums, nothing came about for the band. I then moved to Leicester where I opened recording studios and worked developing young songwriters. I was asked to put together the team that re-opened Leicester’s Haymarket Theatre. I was Artistic Director/CEO there until the theatre closed following the COVID 19 pandemic. After the pandemic, my wife and I decided to move to Lincolnshire and I have subsequently found a new theatre family at Louth Riverhead Theatre with LPS."
Q. Quite simply, give me three words that describe what theatre means to you.
"Community, expression, passion"
Q. Delving a bit more into your background, Jed, could you share a favourite memory directly linked to your theatrical work, and could also share a memory that perhaps you wish you could forget?
"Possibly my proudest moment was when we re-opened Leicester’s Haymarket Theatre, a much-loved local venue that had lay dormant for years, particularly co-producing our first Christmas show 'Treasure Island' written especially for us by Sandi Toksvig and her sister Jenny. My worst memory was having to lay-off the team at the Haymarket when COVID struck – it was like having to make the members of your family redundant people, who you had grown to love and who shared your passion for theatre."
Q. Who would you say your idols are?
"Someone the other day described my song writing style as a cross between Stephen Sondheim and Victoria Wood - so clearly I must wear my idols “on my sleeve”!
Q. What is the current production you're involved in, and your role within the company?
"My music production company MMP ltd is co-producing my new musical 'Dressing Rooms' with Louth Riverhead Theatre. It is the third musical I’ve written, and it won the award for best new script at last years Riverhead Scratch Night. I am it’s writer/composer/director and am also in the show – (something I couldn’t do without incredible support from my Assistant Director Sarah Elliott and an extremely talented and experienced cast and crew."
Q. Talk me through 'Dressing Rooms'... What can people expect when they come along to see it at the Riverhead?
"Set in dressing rooms across the country, Dressing Rooms follows the complex entanglement between rising star Clare Malone, her seasoned theatre-producer husband Bill Taylor and her charismatic co-star Alex Graham. Opening on Clare’s hen night, the show pulls back the curtain on life backstage — where egos clash, emotions run high and secrets unfold. One recent commenter said “With witty dialogue, toe-tapping, jazzy, original songs and a story packed with heart and humour, 'Dressing Rooms' is a celebration of the behind-the-scenes world that audiences rarely see.”
Q. Sounds like a lot of fun! What would you personally say are the joys and pitfalls of new writing, and how are rehearsals going?
"I gain a huge amount of satisfaction from starting with a blank piece of paper and creating something new. It’s the same in my acting career; I love rehearsals and bringing something to life and this is probably what led me to directing. It’s the joint enterprise of realising a vision with others.
The pitfall of new writing is the difficulty in having to ask others to commit a leap of faith to the project, be it venues, cast and eventually audiences. How to convince people they want to engage with something new, particularly in a world that wants to view something online before they commit to engaging. However, without new writing, theatre is in danger of stagnation."
Q. What other creative work is on the horizon for you?
"I’m currently in the process of writing a one-man show provisionally entitled 'My Family and Other Songs', a kind of “Who do you think you are” with songs. The idea is to explore my backstory and life using songs from the musicals I have written and explaining where the ideas came from and how they manifest in song."
Q. Back to 'Dressing Rooms', could you give me one popular song title that describes the 'Dressing Rooms' experience for the audience.
"I guess “There’s NO business, like show business!!“
Tickets for 'Dressing Rooms', being performed on Friday 27th June at 8pm and Saturday 28th June at 7.30pm at Louth Riverhead Theatre, can be purchased by clicking on the link below.
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