About

Brighton Theatre Collective is a production house that aims to produce vibrant and relevant theatre for Brighton and Hove. Founded by Janette Eddisford and Daniel Finlay, BTC is flying in the face of the current theatre funding crisis and is determined to create a new model for funding and producing.

Artistic Directors Janette Eddisford and Daniel Finlay have almost 60 years of theatre experience between them - acting, directing, stage managing, writing, producing and teaching.

Brighton Theatre Collective is the realisation of their long cherished ambition to establish a resident, producing Theatre Company in Brighton and put our extraordinarily exciting and creative city on the theatre map. Their shared artistic vision has been developed through their work at the Academy of Creative Training - the only Drama School on the South Coast offering professional training for actors. With a 65% graduate employment rate and having attracted the services of some of the South's leading actors and directors, ACT's undoubted success has established Brighton as a key contender for students choosing a contemporary actor training. Janette and Daniel have achieved all this with no funding or subsidy of any kind and, moreover, whilst operating with a not-for-profit ethos so as to offer maximum accessibility to new talent.

Taking the similarly un-funded Globe Theatre as a source of inspiration, Brighton Theatre Collective aims to build upon and extend this reputation for excellence - creating a high quality repertoire using exciting and dynamic established local actors alongside newcomers to the profession, including the cream of ACT graduates.

Artistic Directors

 
Daniel Finlay started work backstage in the West End at the age of 15 and later gained his degree in Visual & Performing Arts in 1987 from the University of Brighton. Since then he has worked extensively as an actor and his stage work includes: CAMILLE (Old Red Lion), A LESSON TO FORGIVE (Man in the Moon), JOSEPH J JOSEPH (Latchmere), The UK tour of BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT; Giorgio Joyce in SIMPLES OF THE MOON at the Lyric, Hammersmith and Dr Harry Trench opposite Lisa Harrow in WIDOWERS' HOUSES. Film and TV credits includes: IN THE SECRET STATE, THE BILL, SHERLOCK HOLMES, LONDON'S BURNING, WHAT'S THE CAPITAL OF MADAGASCAR, and TRIP. Daniel has directed many professional productions, recent work includes TRUNKS for BTC at the Old Ship Hotel, Brighton and the site specific LOSE THE PLOT on the Volks Railway for Arts Agenda. He has directed over 25 full scale student productions. He was an associate producer of Tandem Theatre, whose critically acclaimed productions include: DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, PVT WARS and THE GAMES RULE, in Edinburgh, London and on tour. Daniel is an Artistic Director of The Brighton Theatre Collective and has twice been the adjudicator for the Brighton & Hove Arts Council annual Drama Competition. A seasoned workshop leader, Daniel has coached performers in both the private and corporate sectors as well as lecturing in Performing Arts at various schools and colleges including City College, Brighton and Hove where he was Head of Performing Arts and Media.

Janette Eddisford has worked extensively as a director, writer and producer of theatre for the last twenty five years. She also works as a voiceover artist and actor in television, film, theatre, radio and in the corporate training sector. Janette has been a workshop leader and tutor for many years - both in mainstream education and in other contexts such as prisons, rehabilitation and probation programmes and youth work. She ran the Warren, a Hull based Community Arts/Welfare Centre from 1982 -1985 and ran the Nightingale Theatre, Brighton's premier fringe theatre venue, from 1987 - 1991. Janette was a co-founder and member of several touring/ producing companies including The shameless Hussies, Footprint Theatre, Alarmist Theatre and Interact, a children's company. She studied Drama at Hull University, MA in Performing Arts at Middlesex University and Post Graduate Diploma in TEFL/Applied Linguistics at Brighton University and is currently studying an MA Dramatic Writing at Sussex University