Christopher Beeching

From a very early age Christopher Beeching led a life of total immersion in theatre, music hall and the history of theatre, not only as a performer, but also as a director, choreographer and designer, in a career which spans almost 60 years. In 1958 he made his first television appearance on ATV's Carroll Levis Junior Discoveries, with marionettes he had created. For the Romford County Technical School Drama Society he played several roles, including Peter Quince and the Headmaster in The Happiest Days of Your Life. For other groups, Lord Edgard in Thieves Carnival and Captain Lesgate in Dial M for Murder. On leaving school at the age of 16, from August 1959 he was a Stage Assistant at the original Queens Theatre, Hornchurch, on a 42 week Equity 'apprenticeship' scheme. In June / July 1960 he was ASM / DSM at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham. Mid July saw his return to Hornchurch as Assistant to the Designer. There he made his first professional appearance on any stage in the glamorous role of the back - end of a comedy pantomime cow! From summer 1961 he took full time training in Musical Theatre at Bush Davies Schools, Romford. In September 1962 he went to the Ballet Rambert School for two years training in classical ballet. He trained privately in voice, with John Dalby, and Helen Hillier FISM. After appearances in pantomime there followed by several years with the Sadler's Wells Opera Ballet (later the English National Opera), under the direction of Western Theatre Ballet, where he danced leading roles. His debut in London's West End theatre was made as Brent Tarleton in the first musical version of Gone With The Wind at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Other West End appearances include The Card; Cole - a musical celebration of the life and songs of Cole Porter (a show with which he also toured to Canada); and the original London production of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music as Bertrand and covering Henrik. Also in London, Chris was the original Victor in the hit show Cats, and whilst with the show he played the roles of Mungogerrie and Gus the Theatre Cat. During the run of Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber invited him to play a lead in the first public airing of his musical Starlight Express at the Sydmonton Festival - Elton - the character re - named Electra in the West End production. After appearing for two years in Cats, producer Cameron Mackintosh asked him to be the Assistant Director on tour and in the West End with Oliver, including another trip to Canada. During this tour for each new venue he was responsible for directing the Oliver's and Fagin's Gang of boys. Other musicals he has appeared in include Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat; Salad Days; Nell; and the first French production of Bob Fosse's Sweet Charity, as a lead dancer, also playing Charity's boyfriend, Dark Glasses. He has also performed in repertory theatres around England in roles as diverse as Sergius in Arms and the Man; Dr Chasuble in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest; Gratiano in the Merchant of Venice; and Mr Punch in a specially written musical play Mr Punch and the Pirates. A popular Pantomime Dame, he has played seasons in Hebden Bridge, Huddersfield and Rochdale. Chris has also made many appearances on TV (including The Six Wives of Henry VIII; Elizabeth R; The Strauss Family; Pennies from Heaven) and in Film (Quilp; Billy Wilder's The Secret Lives of Sherlock Holmes;) and worked in Radio. He was assistant choreographer on the film of Breaking Glass, and in theatre has directed and choreographed productions of Guys & Dolls, West Side Story, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Fiddler on the Roof, Charlie Girl, Hello Dolly. In Spring 1992 he was a guest teacher in ballet and Elizabethan dance for the Arts Week at James Madison University, Virginia. Throughout his performing career he still created the occasional set designs, and in 1991 he returned more fully to the side of the profession with which he started his theatrical career. With colleague Douglas Foote he formed a company building and hiring out stage sets for musical shows. Called Prosceneium based in the North of England; it became a highly successful company. In 2000 they sold it to their business partner before deciding to divide their time between the UK and the island of Crete; however Chris was still called upon to design the occasional set for Prosceneium and to date has designed the sets for over 30 musicals for plus many pantomimes the company. In London, Chris designed operas sets for the international concert and opera promoter Raymond Gubbay at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, as well as plays in the Fringe and repertory. On Crete, Chris was seen on Kydon Television's English news programme Crete News and Life, presenting a series of 20 - minute documentaries about life on Crete. As co - presenter with Douglas Foote, Chris has also made pilot episodes for a travel / cookery / comedy series about Crete called, A Little of What You Fancy, directed by the Greek television director, Michalis Lefakis. The first pilot episode won an award in the UK at an International Film and Television Festival. He worked in Athens as the Associate Director on a new Greek play, O Kyrios Episkopakis, based on the best selling novel of the same name it starred Stelios Mainas, Costas Kasanas and Katia Speralaki. Stemming from his performances in music hall, Chris became interested in the life and career of George Leybourne. In 1984 the distinguished playwright and director Glyn Jones wrote a one - man show Champagne Charlie for Chris to mark the 100th anniversary of death of the first British Super Star of the Music Halls, George Leybourne (1842 - 1884) creator and singer of the songs Champagne Charlie and The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze. In the years since 1984, Chris has performed the show all over Britain at a large variety of venues, including the historic New Tyne Theatre in Newcastle, Arts Centres, Masonic Lodges, the famous City Varieties Music Hall in Leeds, and London's Mayfair Theatre. He has given many talks on the George Leybourne, the Lion Comique, and the difficulties encountered researching his life, whilst extracts from his one - man show, Champagne Charlie, have been televised several times. The full show being filmed at performance in Wiltons Music Hall and issued on DVD. For the ITV television series Bright Lights, Big City he performed George Leybourne's songs, which were used throughout the six programmes. He also appeared as Leybourne in the BBC4 television series Rude Britannia and he again performed Leybourne's numbers, as well as discussing the Lion Comique's career with Michael Grade, on The Story of Music Hall for BBC4 TV. Excerpts have been broadcast on the BBC Radio 2's Arts Programme, Radio London and Australia's ABC Classic FM. In 2011 he was invited to give the Society for Theatre Research's Maggie Collins Christmas Lecture: George Leybourne, the first Victorian Music Hall Superstar. The hunt for his true story. Volume I of his biography of Leybourne, The Heaviest of Swells, was short - listed for the Society for Theatre Research Theatre Book Prize 2011. In 2013 he was invited to speak at the first international conference on Music Hall: The People's Palace: Culture and Controversy in Music Hall and Vaudeville, an event organised by King's College, London and the University of Liverpool, his subject being, Social Resonances in the Songs of George Leybourne. A few months before he gave his final performance of the full Champagne Charlie show in October 2013, Chris's prostate cancer was diagnosed. The show went ahead to a sold out house at London's Wilton's Music Hall, and was streamed live around the world. A DVD has been released of this performance and there is also a studio CD of the songs. He is (August 2017) currently working on Volume II of his George Leybourne biography, The Heaviest of Swells. October 2017 will see the first performances of his new show, Occasionally on my Back or Adventures and Mishaps in Musical Theatre, in aid of St Bartholomew's Hospital Radiotherapy Department. For 54 years Christopher Beeching was the partner of actor and writer Glyn Idris Jones (died 2014). The last 28 years of their life together was spent as a very happy Throuple together with writer and publisher Douglas Foote. Douglas and Chris entered into a Civil Partnership in October 2015. The bulk of Christopher Beeching's career has been spent in theatre - see 'Other Works' in the 'Personal Details' section for those credits. Show less «