ABOUT | Andy Smith

I am a theatre-maker based in Lancaster, and a Lecturer in Theatre Practice (part-time) at The University of Manchester.

I make work that tries to reflect on, address and think towards notions of socio-political action and change. Most recently this includes the plays The Preston Bill (2015) and SUMMIT (2018), as well as the performance work COMMONISM (2018), a collaboration with the Norwegian artist Amund Sjølie Sveen.

I have collaborated with Tim Crouch since 2004, co-directing (along with Karl James) a number of plays including An Oak Tree, The Author and most recently Total Immediate Collective Imminent Terrestrial Salvation. Tim and I also co-wrote and performed what happens to the hope at the end of the evening together in 2013. You can find more information about all that work here.

Supported by Lancaster Arts, and in collaboration with Simone Kenyon and Louise Blackwell, I'm currently researching a new performance work called Song & Dance. When, where and how this will appear exactly is unknown at present, but you can see an early work in progress recorded at The Place in London way back in 2017 here.

As well as this, at the moment I'm also developing a wider project called plays for the people. Rather than be performed by actors for an audience, these plays are for groups of people to meet and read together. Each play aims to present ideas, questions and dilemmas that encourage discussion between participants.

A page of this website specifically dedicated to this project can be found in the tabs above. On that page you can find more information on the project as well as instructions on how to access and download the plays on a pay what you decide basis.

For now, thanks for visiting my website.

Andy Smith