Chris Bush (playwright)

Chris Bush

Chris Bush in 2008
Born 3 July 1986 (1986-07-03) (age 29)
Sheffield, England
Occupation Playwright, artistic director

Christopher Daniell "Chris" Bush (born 3 July 1986) is an award-winning[1] British playwright and artistic director, and forms one half of musical comedy duo Bush & McCluskey.

Overview

Bush was born in Sheffield, England. He studied at the University of York and currently resides in the city.

He is best known for his 2007 work TONY! The Blair Musical, which enjoyed sell-out runs and critical acclaim[2] at the York Theatre Royal and Edinburgh Fringe before transferring to the Pleasance Islington as winner of the inaugural Sunday Times NSDF Award[3] for a successful off West-End run. Its sequel, Tony of Arabia, debuted at the Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh in 2008, running in rep with the original show.

In 2012 Bush made his full-length debut as a writer/performer with The Loves I Haven't Known,[4] a musical comedy performed with regular composing partner Ian McCluskey.

In 2012-13 Bush completed a writer's attachment at the National Theatre Studio, and was the 2013 Pearson Playwright-in-Residence for Sheffield Theatres, where he is currently working on The Sheffield Mysteries, a contemporary take on the medieval Mystery Plays,[5] directed by Daniel Evans (actor).

Stage works

Political views

Despite lampooning him on stage, Bush described Tony Blair as "a decent, devilishly attractive man who made some bad decisions", and stated that he had "come to ridicule beautiful Blair not vilify him".[6] Some have argued that Bush is not critical enough of New Labour. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Dominic Cavendish claimed that "the country is angrier than [Tony, The Blair Musical] allows".[7] Contrarily, Paul Lowman of The Press (York) has praised Bush's even-handedness, stating that his greatest strength is his ability to "camouflage complex issues in a vastly entertaining, glossy, media friendly package."[8]

Bush has stated that he is proud of his British heritage, and is a supporter of immigration to the country. On a 2009 episode of Come Dine With Me he stated that "what makes [him] really proud of Britain [is] the number of people who want to be here".[9]

Trivia

In November 2009, Bush appeared on an episode of the Channel 4 reality television programme Come Dine With Me. Bush placed joint first and received £500 of the £1000 prize, which according to him equated to a "year's wages in the theatre".[9]

References

  1. ↑ Brit Writers' Awards: 2011 Winners
  2. ↑ Daisy Bowie-Sell: The Daily Telegraph
  3. ↑ NSDF: Edinburgh Award
  4. ↑ The Stage: The Loves I Haven't Known
  5. ↑ Sheffield Theatres: The Sheffield Mysteries
  6. ↑ BBC News: Singing out the Blair years
  7. ↑ Dominic Cavendish: The Daily Telegraph
  8. ↑ Paul Lowman: The Press
  9. 1 2 Dine With Me: Series 8, Episode 17

External links

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