A KNUTSFORDIAN with acting credits across the country will be directing his first play at the town's Little Theatre next month.

Geoff Holman, of Leycester Road, will be the man in charge of Knutsford Little Theatre's production of Alan Ayckbourn's play 'Relatively Speaking'.

Geoff has acted and directed at the Altrincham Garrick theatre for many years.

Roles have ranged from Shakespeare (Prospero, Theseus/Oberon, Hotspur) to modern drama and comedy, including four Ayckbourn plays.

He has more recently been seen as the Chief in Whipping It Up and Dr Wicksteed in Alan Bennett’s Habeus Corpus.

Directing credits at the Garrick include Pack of Lies, Someone to Watch Over Me, Ten Times Table and “period” plays such as Amadeus, The Winslow Boy and Anne of the Thousand Days.

In 1996 he turned professional and acting credits since then include three stints in Coronation Street plus Clocking Off, Emmerdale, Heartbeat, The Falklands Play, The Bill, Peak Practice, A&E and Hollyoaks.

Theatre work includes regional tours of Dealer’s Choice, Prime Pinter, Kafka’s Dick and Translations, to Bolton Octagon, Oldham Coliseum, The Dukes’ Lancaster, Chester Gateway, the Theatre by the Lake in Keswick and others.

Geoff said 2016 was the first year he had been to watch a performance at the Little Theatre in Queen Street, but he was looking forward to the performances coming up.

"It's a completely new theatre for me to work in and it's a delightful little theatre, with a very warm atmosphere," he said.

"There's a nice auditorium and stage and everyone is incredibly enthusiastic and it has been a pleasure.

"A big plus of directing a show at the Little Theatre compared to the Garrick is that we can rehearse on the stage from the beginning. At some venues you have to go in to the rehearsal room and that can cause problems when you go back to the stage.

"This year is the first year I've been to a show at the Little Theatre I'm ashamed to say.

"With being involved in the Garrick I just continued doing what I knew and I'd never had time to see stuff at the Knutsford Little Theatre and I thought 'I've lived here for 40 years, it's quite disgraceful that I have never been'.

"I had so much else going on that I never came down but I wish I had done now.

"It's like a lot of Knutsford institutions, they are run by volunteers and it's a terrific little theatre."

'Relatively Speaking' features two couples - one young, played by Fiona Primrose and Dan Ferguson, and one older, played by Tony Turner and Jacqui Buckley.

The play will run in Knutsford from June 1 to June 4, with performances in the evening starting at 7.30pm.

"It's one of Ayckbourn's big West End hits and it's one of his funniest," Geoff added.

"It's very well constructed and exceptionally funny.

"There's the odd bit of darkness but basically if the audience come and see this they will have a great night out."

Tickets for all productions are £10 and can be purchased by ticketsource.co.uk/knutsfordlittletheatre.

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