Who’s Who
The Bear Pit Theatre Board
Our Board is chaired by Waseem Mahmood OBE and is made up of 7 directors, chosen for their skills and experience. They work closely with our dedicated volunteers and Associate Artists in leading and steering the company.
President of The Bear Pit
Actor and writer Paul Greenwood is our President. For more information about Paul, please click here
Paul was born in Stockton-on-Tees and trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has played many leading roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company including: Feste in Twelfth Night; Antipholus of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors; Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Mowbray in Richard II; Kent in King Lear; Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz with Imelda Staunton; Goodlack in The Fair Maid of the with Sean Bean and Polixenes in The Winter’s Tale with Jeremy Irons;
Paul’s work in the West End includes, Jerry in the RSC’s Once in a Lifetime opposite Zoë Wanamaker and Theo in Piaf opposite Jane Lapotaire (Piccadilly Theatre) and Maples in John Osborne’s production of Inadmissible Evidence (Royal Court); For the RSC at the Barbican Theatre, credits include: Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol and Tom in The Time of Your Life.
Paul starred as Grandpa Potts in the national tour of the West End production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Other regional theatre productions include: Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls (UK Tour); the title role in Peer Gynt (Cheltenham Everyman); Dorn in The Seagull (Compass Theatre, UK Tour); Maurice in Peter Skellern’s two-hander musical You Can Always Hand Them Back (Mercury Theatre, Colchester); and, for Stoke’s New Vic Theatre, Scrooge in A Christmas Carol.
Film work includes: Mike Leigh’s Peterloo, Alan Bennett’s A Day Out directed by Stephen Frears and the Hammer Horror Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter. On television Paul played the title role in the comedy series Rosie, for which he wrote and sang the title song. Other TV appearances include: Superintendent Yelland in Spender, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole; Our Friends in the North; Casualty; Holby City; Lewis; Heartbeat; Coronation Street; The Bill; Pie in the Sky; Father Brown; Midsomer Murders; Crossroads; Z Cars; and Doctors.
As a writer, Paul’s plays include Dancing in the Dark which was performed at Stratford’s Other Place as part of the 2000 RSC Fringe Festival. It also had a run at the Gate Theatre in London. Paul’s thriller Playing Dead was given a rehearsed reading at the Bear Pit. His play Head and Heart was highly commended in the 2020 King Lear Prize and was performed at The Bear Pit Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, directed by Paul, in January 2024.
Patron of The Bear Pit
Actress Kim Hartman is our Patron. For more information about Kim, please click here
Our Board of Trustees and Company Directors:
Waseem Mahmood OBE, Chair
Simon Allen
Andrew Fincham
Fiona Robson
David Derrington
Dominic Skinner
Roger Ganner
Honorary Directors
Anne Bowen
Kevin Hand
Adrian McCarthy
Phil Gray
Associate Artists
Abi Sloan
Adrian McCarthy
Anne Bowen
Belinda Derrington
Brian Darnley
Cait Fannin-Peel
Carol Roache
Charlotte Froud
Christine Taylor
Claire Johnson
Colin Lewis Edwards
Dan Jones
David Derrington
David Draper
David Mears
David Southerd
David Stevens
Dominic Skinner
Elspeth Dales
Gareth Bernard
Gill Butler
Graham Robson
Graham Tyrer
Hefin Robinson
Howard Scott
Ioana Trocin
James Wolstenholm
Jen Franey
Jose Alberto Perez Diez
Karen Rowley
Keith Lane
Lesley Simms
Lily Skinner
Lindsey Allwork
Margaret Lowe
Margot McCleary
Mark Spriggs
Martin Cosgrif (In Memoriam)
Martin Egglestone
Natalie Danks-Smith
Nicky Cox
Niki Baldwin
Noel Dolimore
Pamela Hickson
Paul Tomlinson
Peter Ward
Philip Hickson
Ralph Davis
Richard Ball
Roger Ganner
Ruth Linnett
Sheila Bligh
Shirley Allwork
Steph Surrey
Steve Farr
Tim Johnson
Tony Homer
Vanessa Comer
Viv Tomlinson
Bear Pit Associate
Audrey Spencer
Chris Jackson
Ginny Oliver
Pauline Jackson
The Bear Pit Theatre Limited is a not-for-profit company and a registered charity no: 1156259.