About
Paul Ferris (du Fer)
I have 39 years experience working within the entertainment industry.
I trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London and whilst there worked on a variety of productions including Bernstein’s Mass under the direction of Leonard Bernstein himself, Bernstein’s musical Wonderful Town and Verdi’s opera Falstaff, both of which also performed at the Arts Theatre, Cambridge. I started my professional career by working on David Merrick’s musical 42nd Street at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1984 and on a Royal Variety Performance in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at the same theatre in 1985.
Early work
Included a repertory season at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing, various productions at the Brighton Festival and Edinburgh Festival as well as London Fringe productions of Miss Julie directed by Alan L. Strong at the Cafe Theatre and The Rivals directed by Carole Todd at the Boulevard Theatre. I have also worked on national and international tours of productions such as Blood Brothers, What The Butler Saw, Much Ado About Nothing, The Death of Arthur, The Dresser, Forty Years On, The Provok’d Wife, A Pageant, A Cricket Match, Move Over Mrs. Markham with Peggy Mount, Ray Cooney’s farce One For The Pot, Alan Ayckbourn’s play Affairs In A Tent, See How They Run, Birthday Suite by Robin Hawdon, Nobody’s Perfect by Simon Williams, Who Goes Bare? by Richard Harris & Leslie Darbon, The Game of Murder by Victor Leigh and a national tour of Hi-De-Hi! by Jimmy Perry and David Croft.
I have worked in France, touring with various productions as well as having worked on resident seasons in Paris on productions such as The Signalman’s Apprentice by Brian Phelan, Private Lives by Noel Coward and The Dining Room by A. R. Gurney.
Early work in the West End of London included productions of Lady Day starring Dee Dee Bridgewater at the Piccadilly Theatre, Anything Goes starring Elaine Paige and John Barrowman at the Prince Edward Theatre and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre as well as on an extensive tour of the UK.
Dance
Work with dance companies including the Georgian State Dance Company at the Dominion Theatre, London and on a extensive national tour, The Moscow Classical Ballet with their acclaimed production of Swan Lake starring Vladimir Malakhov and Don Quixote at the Sadler’s Wells and on a national tour, The Moscow Festival Ballet on tour and the English National Ballet at the London Coliseum, the Royal Festival Hall, London and on tours of the UK, Germany and Italy with amongst others, productions of The Taming of the Shrew, Coppelia, Romeo & Juliet, Giselle, La Bayadere, Don Quixote, Onegin and Scheherazade.
In 1992, I Co-Produced a national tour of the play Revenge with Fiona Fullerton and Patrick Mower as well as producing various plays such as the Award-winning Shimmer and Plaisirs D’Amour at the Mermaid Theatre, London, The Diary of a Provincial Lady at the King’s Head Theatre, London, the Edinburgh Festival and on tour, Redeeming Vices at the Orange Tree, Richmond and Nijinsky – Death of a Faun at the New End Theatre, Hampstead, Dame Hilda Bracket (Hinge & Bracket) in By Kind Permission at the Festival Theatre, Chichester as well as on a 30 date national tour and at the Players Theatre, London.
Pantomime
I have worked on 33 pantomime productions and was Associate Producer on pantomimes at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford (four years), Lyceum Theatre, Crewe (seven years), Harlequin Theatre, Redhill (six years), Arts Theatre, Poole (two years), Theatre Royal, Windsor, Hackney Empire and Queens Theatre, Barnstaple. I have also worked on two pantomime seasons at the Thameside Theatre Grays on productions of Cinderella and Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs; Cinderella at the Harlequin Theatre, Redhill, Cinderella at the Theatre Royal Margate, Peter Pan at the Playhouse Theatre, Weston-super-Mare, Cinderella at the Theatre Royal, Windsor and Jack and the Beanstalk at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham for Qdos Pantomimes.
For three years I worked on pantomimes at Cambridge Arts Theatre; Aladdin, Cinderella and Dame Trott’s Panto Palaver.
2021-22 Cinderella at York Theatre Royal and 2022-23 Aladdin at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton.
London
As Assistant Producer, I have worked on West End productions of Dead Funny with Belinda Lang and Kevin McNally (Savoy Theatre, London); Thing’s We Do For Love with Jane Asher (Gielgud Theatre, London); Elton John’s Glasses with Brian Conley (Queen’s Theatre, London); The Invention of Love with John Wood (Theatre Royal Haymarket, London); Alarms & Excursions with Felicity Kendal (Gielgud Theatre, London); Copenhagen with David Burke, Matthew Marsh and Sara Kestelman (Duchess Theatre, London); Comic Potential with David Soul (Lyric Theatre, London); blue/orange with Bill Nighy, Andrew Lincoln and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Duchess Theatre, London); Feelgood with Henry Goodman and Nigel Planer (Garrick Theatre, London) as well as national tours of Now You Know with Adam Faith, Silhouette with Stephanie Beacham, The Heiress with Frank Finlay, Arcadia with Sharon Maughan and Paul Shelley, Entertaining Mr. Sloane with Barbara Windsor, Marta, Josie and the Chinese Elvis with Belinda Lang, Straight & Narrow with Dora Bryan and Private Lives with Gemma Craven and Tony Anholt.
Touring
In 2014 I toured nationally with Bill Kenwright’s production of Fallen Angels starring Jenny Seagrove and Sara Crowe. Other National Tours in 2014 included Last of the Duty Free by Eric Chappell starring Keith Barron, Gwen Taylor, Neil Stacy and Carol Royle for Bill Kenwright Limited, Agatha Christie’s Murder on Air starring Tom Conti & Jenny Seagrove and Michael Attenborough’s production of J.B. Priestley’s Dangerous Corner starring Michael Praed, Colin Buchanan, Kim Thomson, Matt Milne, Lauren Drummond and Finty Williams.
In 2015 I toured the UK and Ireland for six months with a production of Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose starring Tom Conti, Andrew Lancel, Denis Lill, Robert Duncan etc as well as a tour of Before the Party with Tom Conti and Gwen Taylor.
In 2016 I toured with Bill Kenwrights production of Rehearsal for Murder starring Robert Daws, Amy Robbins, Robert Duncan, Susan Penhaligon, Steven Pinder, Lucy Dixon and Ben Nealon. He also worked on A Right Royal Knees Up – A Gala for The Royal Theatrical Fund starring amongst others Dame Maggie Smith, Sir Derek Jacobi, Imelda Staunton, Michael Ball, Brian Conley, Stephanie Cole, Rob Brydon, Robert Lindsay, Joanna Lumley and Emma Thompson. I also worked on Alan Ayckbourn’s How the Other Half Loves which played a 12 week season at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London and a further 13 weeks at the Duke of York’s, London before rejoining the National Tour of Rehearsal for Murder.
2017, I spent 11 months touring with Ruth Rendell’s A Judgement in Stone, again for Bill Kenwright Limited and starring Sophie Ward, Andrew Lancel, Mark Wynter, Deborah Grant etc.
2018, I completed a tour of The Importance of Being Earnest for Original Theatre Company as well as a tour of the new comedy Vulcan 7 starring Adrian Edmondson and Nigel Planer for Theatre Royal, Bath Productions & Jonathan Church Productions.
In 2019, I toured the UK & Ireland for six months with a production of Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones. This was a co-production with Theatre Royal Bath and the Rose Theatre Kingston directed by Lindsay Posner. I then worked on a production of The Night Watch by Sarah Waters at the Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne and the Theatre Royal, York for Original Theatre Company.
2020 A national tour of My Cousin Rachel starring Helen George, Simon Shepherd and Jack Holden for Theatre Royal Bath Productions.
2021 The World Premiere of Ben Brown’s play A Splinter of Ice with Oliver Ford Davies, Stephen Boxer and Sara Crowe, directed by Alan Strachan. The production was filmed at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham and streamed online before going on a national tour. I then toured with a production of The Dresser by Ronald Harwood, starring Julian Clary and Matthew Kelly and directed by Terry Johnson.
2022 started with a national tour of the play An Hour and a Half Late, starring Griff Rhys Jones and Janie Dee, directed by Belinda Lang. This was followed by a UK Tour of Noises Off by Michael Frayn, starring Felicity Kendal, Jonathan Coy, Matthew Kelly and Tracy-Ann Oberman. The production was directed by Lindsay Posner.
In 2023 Noises Off played an eight-week season at the Phoenix Theatre, London. I then did a twelve-week season on Accidental Death of an Anarchist at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London.
2024 started with a UK tour of Sleuth by Anthony Shaffer with Todd Boyce and Neil McDermott, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh and produced by BKL Limited. This was followed by a UK tour of George Orwell’s ‘1984’ with Keith Allen, Mark Quartley, Eleanor Wyld and David Birrell, directed by Lindsay Posner and produced by Theatre Royal Bath Productions.
2024 – 2025 soon to tour with a production of A Man for all Seasons with Martin Shaw. The production is produced by Theatre Royal Bath Productions and directed by Jonathan Church.