Festival Director

Gareth has lived and worked in Sussex for 40 years. Graduating with a degree in History and Archaeology from the University of Birmingham,  he briefly pursued a career in Archaeology,  but this was evidently not his calling. 

 

He then trained to be a teacher, becoming a Drama teacher, Head of Drama, Head of Year and then Head of House, achieving accreditation as an Advanced Skills Teacher. He also became a school governor and the Secretary of the Town Farm Community Association, running the college’s inclusion unit, and specialising in working with Gifted children. 

 

As part of his work as an AST Gareth staged major events, including preparing students for National Youth Theatre, co-ordinating hundreds of supporting artists for the World War I feature film ‘Distant Bridges’,  shot in Hellingly, running the college film club, county wide talent shows, chess tournaments, quiz competitions and educational conferences for children.


Alongside this, Gareth has had published a drama textbook, a travel guide, plays and a musical adaptation of John Masefield’s ‘The Box of Delights’ with composer Jon Francis. This was performed at the Brighton Festival and the Devonshire Park Theatre. 

In 2007 he wrote, produced and directed the feature film ‘Get Santa’ (not the Warwick Davis version), premiered at the Devonshire Park Theatre.

 

In 2014, Gareth took on the role of Global Curriculum Advisor for what is now Pansophic Eduction, revising their humanities curriculum for global distribution.

 

Now retired, Gareth has finished all the books that he had half written, and some more besides, and he now has over fifty in print ranging from textbooks to plays to short stories to novels.

 

Gareth is now the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Hailsham Pavilion, and with colleagues has started Shining Knight Productions Ltd., a small independent film company who are in preproduction with their first short film.