Tony Earnshaw

Tony grew up in a family where theatre was a passion, and his own love affair with the stage started with a lead role in a gang show – awarded to him simply because, in the cub troop he had joined, he was one of the few who could read. He then progressed through school productions and student theatre before a career in pensions and investment took over. He never stopped writing though, and in 2008 he switched careers to make that his focus.

Following this switch, he found early success with his play The Door on the Edinburgh Fringe; it later transferred to a run at off-Broadway 59E59 Theaters in New York. Somewhere along the way Tony met Darren Cheek and the idea of forming Damn Cheek Productions was born. A double bill of a revised version of The Door along with Tony’s prophetic political The Speech became the new company’s first production and toured covering London, Birmingham and various fringes and other venues around the UK. Tony’s further work with Damn Cheek includes Sex is another Language, Fred and Georgie and Passion for the Planet.

Tony’s first novel, Blessed Assurance, was published in 2019 and has been adapted for the stage by Damn Cheek. His latest poetry collection, Paths and Digressions, was published in May 2021.

Tony’s other activities include a book for children, a millennium review and (as co-writer) a libretto for the choral pageant George and The Dragon. He also finds time for running writers’ groups, choral singing and playing saxophone. Tony is also a director of Terrestrial, a Bristol-based arts company.