The Director
Directing is often thought of with a stereotypical view of patriarchal hierarchy. Old men throwing their scarves back barking orders at actors, telling them where to stand ​and how to say their lines. My vision for creating work rejects this outdated stereotype and is rooted in devised, collaborative practice and can be summed up with three core values.
​
-
Collaboration. There is no hierarchy. There are no stars. There are no main roles. Every cast member and creative is an equal, integral and valued part of the ensemble. As a director, it's my responsibility to place the jigsaw pieces of creation together bringing the best out of the actors to showcase their talent.
-
Open-Mindedness. Every idea the ensemble presents is tried and tested. It is discussed and practically examined in the space.
-
(Playful) Risk Taking. Push the boundaries. Art isn't always pretty. Art isn't always for the sake of the audience. Enjoy yourself. Be bold. Take risks.
​
My directorial work is still in the beginnings of its career and I am actively seeking opportunities and developing my own work. I have outlined several of my recent projects that I have either taken a directorial and/or collaborative devised role within and, of which, my artistic ethos has taken inspiration from.
Thinner Than Water
Written by Melissa Ross
Directed by James Tudor Jones
The Cockpit
Summer 2026
Thinner than Water tells the story of three estranged siblings reuniting to help their estranged sick father. It is a heartfelt comedic drama that explores the pros and cons of familial relationships
This is an upcoming project scheduled to be performed at The Cockpit Theatre in London during the Summer/Early Autumn of 2026
​
​Thinner Than Water was originally produced by Labyrinth Theater Company and premiered in February 2011.
Bugsy Malone
Written by Alan Parker
Directed by James Tudor Jones
​
Education Youth Project
February 2025
​
A large-scale youth musical production exploring genre, physical comedy, and ensemble performance, with a focus on performer development, characterisation, and managing a complex rehearsal and technical process
End of the World FM
Written by Kevin Martin Murphy
Directed by James Tudor Jones
​
'Director James Tudor Jones keeps the acting space charged with energy' - Spy in the Stalls
​
London Tour/Wandsworth Fringe
June 2023
​
Best New Writing - Wandsworth Fringe
​
Edinburgh Fringe
2025
​
Fringe Theatre Award
**** - BingeFringe
**** - Pink Prince Theatre
***** - theWeeReview
15 years after the apocalypse, a lone radio host struggles to keep his show on the air. He ponders the warning signs that spelled our doom. Is anyone listening? Have they ever...?
The show follows a radio host through the apocalypse in segments including: Imaginary guests, letters from the past and surreal movement segments. A high octane, dark comedy on the encroaching sense of dread that is polluting our doom scrolling timelines. The show also tackles themes of isolation and learning to communicate with others after disaster strikes
The 100
By Christopher Heimann, Neil Monaghan and Diene Petterle.
Directed by James Tudor Jones and Isabelle Tyner
Camden Fringe
August 2025
An ensemble-led piece set in a liminal ‘Void’, where four characters are required to choose a single memory to inhabit for eternity. The work explored memory, self-knowledge, and the construction of identity through physical storytelling and fragmented narrative.
The Christmas Quizpocalypse
Devised by Broken Record Theatre
Dramaturgy by James Tudor Jones​
Drayton Arms Theatre
December 2024
An absurd, wacky, and wildly entertaining twist on the traditional pub quiz! Set in a small-town pub, this immersive theatre experience throws you into a real quiz with teams, prizes, raffles, and plenty of festive cheer. However, there's a catch: this quiz may be one of the nine layers of hell, depending on who you ask!
Expect unpredictable surprises, hilarious moments, and a thrilling holiday outing like no other. The Christmas Quizpocalypse is not your average Christmas quiz – but filled with outlandish fun and unforgettable chaos.
Brainstorm
Created by Ned Glasier, Emily Lim and Company Three
​
Directed by Kerry Robinson, Isabelle Tyner and James Tudor Jones
Camden Fringe
July 2024
A fast-paced, ensemble-led performance exploring adolescent mental health through verbatim text, physical theatre and direct address. The process focused on collaborative dramaturgy, performer ownership, and shaping documentary material into a dynamic, accessible performance for young audiences.
Brainstorm premiered at the Park Theatre, London, and was subsequently performed at the National Theatre between January 2015 and April 2016..
Ripper
By Jacob Marx Rice
Directed by Victoria Hadel
Assistant Director - James Tudor Jones
***** - Winner - Derek Award Special Merit​
**** - North West End
**** - Ferryhough Arts Review
Camden and Edinburgh Fringe Festival
July/August 2024
In London, 1888, a bold young woman reporter desperate to make a name for herself starts tracking a string of gruesome murders. When she finds herself face to face with the killer, they begin a deadly game of cat and mouse. Wickedly playful and deliciously terrifying, Ripper asks how far would you go for the story of the century? Ripper is a re-telling of the horrifying true crime and the media sensation that made Jack The Ripper a household name. This play is built on a unusual but possible interpretation of the real historical facts, as such, as such, the play is ostensibly the basis for a new theory.
A new play by New York-based playwright Jacob Marx Rice, Ripper made its debut at the Courtyard, London in 2023 with Prudencia Productions – director Victoria Hadel’s female-led company specialising in new writing. The show will preview in 2024 again at the Courtyard and play the Cockpit as part of Camden Fringe before moving to Edinburgh.
A Brief History of Chairs
Devised by Broken Record Theatre
Directed by James Tudor Jones​
​
'surpising and entertaining' - ReviewsHub
April - November 2023
Join Baillie Dobson (BA, MA, PhD, OBE) as they deliver their ground-breaking, noble-prize-winning examination and deep dive into the weird and wonderful world of the humble chair. The lecture delves into the etymology and construction of the chair before peering into the furniture future. From the mahogany stools used in the Last Supper to the porcelain throne that Elvis sat and died on. This keynote speech will be guaranteed to be sofa-scinating. It’s chairs, chairs and nothing but chairs!
​
"Although I may have some points to disagree with some points of this lecture, it was extremely informative and thought-provoking. I would race to see what this young scholar has in mind next" - Dr. R A LBC Pope Master of the Swing
School of Rock: The Musical
by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Julian Fellowes
Directed by James Tudor Jones​
Education Youth Project
February 2023
A riotous celebration of music, mischief and the transformative power of creativity, School of Rock follows the wild journey of Dewey Finn, a down-on-his-luck wannabe rock star who blaggs his way into a prestigious prep school as a substitute teacher. What begins as a cheeky con quickly becomes something electric when Dewey uncovers his students’ untapped musical talent.
​
This production demanded an intensive, ensemble-led process: live band performance, rigorous musical rehearsals, tight comic timing and a high level of physical and vocal stamina from a young cast juggling acting, singing and instrument work simultaneously.
The rehearsal room became a space of discipline as much as play — building confidence, musical precision and collective responsibility.
The Brontes: A Musical
By Theater in Asylum​
Directed by Victoria Hadel
Assistant Director - James Tudor Jones
​
The Space Theatre
August 2022
Sibling rivalry. Heartbreak. Addiction. Patriarchy. REALLY bad weather. Discover how literatures most volatile sibling hood penned their way to infamy against all odds in this new musical.Prudencia Productions, a brand new female-led theatre company, make their theatrical debut with the world premiere of The Brontes: A Musical.
In the European premiere of this New York-originated musical, young authors Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell Bronte navigate the turbulent world around them through both their art and their reliance on each other. As they mature and begin to experience love, loss, and the pressures of careerism, they find that their writing takes on a life of its own, empowering them as individuals and threatening to pull them apart as a family. With a lush, intimate score and witty, emotive lyrics, The Brontes is a heartfelt take on one of the most impactful families of artists the world has ever known
The Great British? F*** OFF!
Created and Conceptualised by James Tudor Jones
Devised by The Company
​
University of East London
23 June 2021
The pinnacle of my MA research - 'The Great British? F*** Off!' - is a culmination of a process that aims to explore British culture and question what makes Britain and its natives so "Great".
Set within a twisted version of the 'Bake Off' tent, this post-dramatic quasi-gameshow makes use of an American-Welsh cast to investigate the questionable aspects of a British society. Through a blended collage of inter-medial image and liveness, this work aims to appeal to a wide intersection of society. Theatre that can be accessible to the working-classes but also to a typical theatre-going audience. All without being inherently political in nature.
Brick Me Baby One More Time!
Devised by The Sweatbox Collective
​
In collaboration with Newham Heritage Month, V&A Museums and Brickfields
29/30 May 2021
'Brick Me Baby...' was a piece that examined the brick-making process and theories of social reproduction through a post-modern lens. The idea behind the performance was to explore the components and methods of brick-making and subvert them by linking the labour and the creation of the brick to the creation of man for the sake of creating new labourers.
The performance adopted a post-modern style whilst also drawing influences from ritual performance by utilising practices dating back to the Mesopotamian era. The synthesis of these two styles created a thought-provoking yet tongue-in-cheek analysis of the history of the brick and the impact it still has on society today.
Hanging with the Has-Beens
'Slow Aces'
Created and Conceptualised by James Tudor Jones
Co-created with Solomon Ayre-Lynch
​
Online
'Hanging with the Has-Beens' was originally a research project exploring narcissism, pastiche and man's place in a 21st century society. It is now a piece that I feel has potential to be revived and scripted into a sitcom one day in the future. The performance follows the washed up band 'Slow Aces' and their frontman, Leighton Starr, who are plotting their comeback in a post-covid world.
​
The comedy in the piece drew a lot of inspiration from the 'mockumentary' style popularised by Ricky Gervais with 'The Office' and draws parallels to 'This is Spinal Tap'. Further to this, the performance explored the relationship between persona and character and the blurred symbiosis between the two as vehicles for catharsis.
​
Watch 'Hanging with the Has Been's' here!
Dreamers
By Henrijs Arais and James Tudor Jones
Adapted from the original story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
​
'Dreamers' was an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's White Nights. It was co-written and directed by myself and Latvian theatremaker, Henrijs Arais, and performed at Theatre Orli in Brno, Czech Republic.
​
The piece utilised its international cast and included dialogue in English, Latvian, Welsh, Czech and Spanish to turn the classic Russian text into a truly continental piece of theatre.
I’m a paragraph. Double click here or click Edit Text to add some text of your own or to change the font. Tell your visitors a bit about your services.
Naturalism
Created by Above Reason with Sammy Metcalfe of Sleepwalk Collective
​
Rose Bruford College
13/14 February 2020
'Naturalism' took a deep dive into what it means to do nothing. How do we perceive boredom? What​
happens in the abyss?
A part of the 'Alternative Dramaturgies' season at Rose Bruford, this performance was inspired by the work of Tadeusz Kantor and Heine Muller. It was created under the direction of Sammy Metcalfe of the Sleepwalk Collective whose visual style and collaged aesthetic has greatly inspired my work and is something I aim to replicate and adapt to put my own spin on it.
Blodeuwedd
Directed by James Tudor Jones
​
Wales Week London 2020
Blodeuwedd was performed at a Welsh Gala event at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London during London Wales Week.
​
We devised a piece that re-told the legend of Blodeuwedd from the Mabinogion. The premise followed one Welsh actor (myself) trying to get a group of international actors to understand the grand mythos of Welsh legends through music, movement and comedy. The performance was a scratch and was due to be developed into a full hour performance until COVID put it on hold.
You Don't Need My Permission (But if you want it, have it)
Devised by the Company (AKA Sexy Death Cult)
Directed by Jonathan Grieve
​
Rose Bruford College
10/11/12 December 2019
'You Don't Need My Permission' brought live performance art to the stage in a twisted cross between Dantae's 'Inferno' and the 7 gates of Hell with the voyeuristic debauchery of Genet's 'The Balcony' sprinkled with a dash of Grotowski's concept of the Holy Actor.
​
The piece was a large scale collaboration between 15 performers each developing their own unique persona that highlighted part of their personality and ego. Personally, I wanted to examine sadomasochism as a diabetic man in society today. This resulted in my development of two set pieces in the performance - a waxing session and bathing in a bath of Coca Cola.
