Jez Pike

Education

Equipment

My Equipment/Kit:

I can use:

About me

My directing experience spans new writing, modern classics and family theatre, ranging in scale from intimate chamber pieces to large-scale community work. I seek out moments of dynamism on stage and have a particular passion for sound design. For me, theatre should be a visceral experience that engages all the senses. I've recently returned to freelance practice, following four years as Artistic Director of The Maddermarket, Norwich's community producing theatre.
Additional skills:
Writing, adapting/editing, dramaturgy, devising
musical composition, sound design, set design, choral training,
workshop leading, actor training/coaching, community engagement
artistic direction, programming, project management
Industry awards:
Awards:
Janis - Best Show and Best Actor: Brighton Fringe Awards 2009

Nominations:
Janis - Best Solo Performer: The Stage Edinburgh Awards 2009
The Winterling - Best Supporting Actor: UK Theatre Awards 2014
We're Staying Right Here - Best Actor: Offies 2019
Referees:
Contact Details on request:

Alice Wright - Former General Manager of The Madddermarket Theatre
George Warren - Creative Producer of Metal Rabbit Productions
Robert Hastie - Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatre
Ian Forrest - Former Artistic Director of Theatre by the Lake
Nicola Haydn - Artistic Director of Otherplace Productions
Additional information:
Extracts from Reviews of past work:

Boudica:
'This risky production pays off […] a captivating and characterful retelling of a great local folk
story. ' (Norwich Evening News)

A View from the Bridge;
'See this masterful production […] the quality of the acting makes this an unmissable theatrical event in
Norwich.' (Norwich Eye )
'A bold and confident reworking [...] immensely powerful.' (Eastern Daily Press)

We're Staying Right Here:
'The razor-sharp dialogue and fantastic performances keep this morbidly dark yet utterly hilarious piece going' ★★★★★ The Upcoming
'The language is industrial, the violence visceral; the humour dark; and the conceit pure Beckett; the acting could not be bettered and the direction is inspired.' ★★★★★ Ham & High
'We’re Staying Right Here is a perfect play that has something to say about some serious issues, but with a unique and beautiful voice.' ★★★★★ The Upcoming
'Unexpectedly funny, a heady mix of absurdist humour and lad-banter' ★★★★ Theatre Weekly
'Danny Kirrane leads the cast as Matt, and it is a truly magnificent performance' ★★★★ Theatre Weekly
'Devas’ script is brilliant, his jet-black comedy works perfectly... incredibly funny and had the whole audience laughing out loud' ★★★★ The Spy In The Stalls
'An immersive manic black comedy... fantastic dialogue and superb performances by the four actors, this play is well worth seeing.' ★★★★ Artiscape
'The four-strong cast let off verbal grenades with ease... the writing is powerful and vicious' The Stage
'The acting overall was superb... an impressive play' ★★★★ The Spy In The Stalls
'Jez Pike directs this production with dexterity' British Theatre Guide
'Devas and his director Jez Pike have plunged full-pitch into the labyrinth of the mind' The Arts Desk
'Strikes an affective balance between comedy and pathos' Reviews Hub

Jerusalem:
'Norwich Players and UEA Drama students together achieve a standard of performance that many
professional companies would envy.' (Norwich Eye)

The Winterling:
'Exhilarating...In Jez Pike’s fine, fittingly rustic revival, this underrated piece gains in stature' ★★★★ (The Daily Telegraph)
-'First intrigues and then transfixes the audience...Each of the actors ensures their character has dug so deeply under the audience's skin they will live long in the memory' (The Stage)
'Jez Pike ensure that the dialogue between the city boys cracks past at an exhilarating pace...a dizzying tour-de-force of breakneck patter' ★★★★ (What's On Stage)
'The sound of low-flying aircraft sears through you and makes you duck; the sickening smell of putrefying meat, cooked on stage, fills the room; and the superbly apt music by Mogwai ramps up the menace and sends shivers down your spine…a brilliant and unusually immersive production’ (Cumbria Life)

Not About Heroes:
‘A tightly-focused and moving production of a play exploring the lived experience and after-effects of last century's war to end all wars’ - What’s On Stage
‘There will be many other such dramas to move you to tears this year, but seldom as simply effective as this’ - Lancashire Evening Post
‘Two extraordinarily noble performances’ - News & Star

The Shape of Things:
'This is a great production and a great piece of modern theatre' - Cumbria 24
'Audience members leave hotly debating' - The Stage
'Performances of compelling subtlety and depth'
'A gripping and provocative journey through what love might do to (or for) you' - What's Onstage
'The constricted space of the studio is used very well by director Jez Pike. Minimal sound effects help create everything from a cafe scene to a ball park. Pike springs a nice twist by having the normally aloof stagehands join in the action'
- Workington Times &Star

Knives in Hens:
'Jez Pike's production has the precise measure of this intense play, where the tough originality of treatment creates the world and characters peculiarly vividly.' - Reviews Gate
'With such a slow-burning narrative, the challenge is to keep the momentum building, and Jez Pike's direction maintains the focus of the piece without neglecting its quieter and more atmospheric elements.' - What's on Stage
'...a challenging, sensual and edgy production...Director Jez Pike leads the audience on an hour-and-a-half long journey that draws on almost all of our senses' - Cumbria News and Star
'Actors Helen MacFarlane, Adam O'Brian and Liam Smith give faultless performances squeezing every last nuance from the sizzling script'
'This is a play which makes you say a small prayer of thanks for the gift of theatre'
-The Whitehaven News

Janis:
"Director Jeremy Pike creates a real sense of the singer's world...He draws an intense, swaggering physicality out of the character which matches her mood, and highlights the sad fact that she never felt accepted" -Fringe Report
'A fascinating if lurid insight into the private and public personas that created a legend.'
-The Stage

Tipping:
"In the miniscule performance area the story became engrossing but the play would have been similarly claustrophobic in a larger theatre, testimony to the core merits of the writing and abundant stagecraft show by director Jez Pike"
-Plays International

Three Vanek Plays:
'Throughout all three performances director Jez Pike emphasised the absurdist humour and comical cyclical repetition in the plays to create a surreal atmosphere, preventing the tales from ever feeling dated.'
-Brighton and Hove Argus

One for the Road / Ashes to Ashes:
"Otherplace Productions have produced two flawless Harold Pinter plays"
-Brighton and Hove Argus

Skills

Secondary Job Title	Artistic Director
Job Titles	Writer, Director, 1st AD (Assistant Director), Production Coordinator, Production Support, Sound Designer, Set Artist / Designer, Creative Director, General Staff, Teacher
Years in industry	6+ years
Organisations / Memberships	DGGB (UK)