About Kei
Hello & Welcome.
Kei studied Theatre, Film and English Literature at University in York, graduating in 1999. His directorial career began in Lincoln with Other Voices Theatre Company, which he co-founded. During his time with the company, he directed productions such as Loot and Abigail’s Party.
In 2003, Kei became Production Director at Blackfriars Arts Centre. His professional productions there included Educating Rita, Teechers, Talking Heads, and several pantomimes including Puss in Boots which he also wrote. He was also responsible for community and youth theatre, directing a variety of productions including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Stepping Out, A Murder Is Announced and Bugsy Malone.
As a freelance director, he has worked with a number of organisations on a variety of projects. These include the Shakespeare for Schools Festival for the BBC, Sheringham Little Theatre’s pantomime, various Stage Experiences for ATG at the Liverpool Empire and Grimsby Auditorium and a touring production of The Miracle by Lin Coghlan with a cast of older teenagers from Stamford Senior Youth Theatre. Most recently, he directed Holding Baby by Jan Watts at the MAC in Birmingham.
Kei has been writing theatre and short film scripts for over twenty years now. He has written a large number of pantomimes and family shows for professional and amateur companies which have been performed all over the country. He has also written many productions for youth theatres groups across Lincolnshire. These include Samantha Strewth Super Sleuth, Suburban Witches and Lydia Hector the Word Collector.
In addition to this, Kei has penned plays for amateur and professional groups including a comedy drama called Spilt Milk and a cosy murder mystery entitled Dead Weight. Three of his one-act comedies, Where the Mushrooms Grow, Clever Clogs and Sunny Side Up, have all won ‘best script’ awards in drama festivals.
Kei runs his own theatre company, Bailey and Burns, with his choreographer colleague, Gil, where participants are provided with an opportunity to create theatre through drama, dance and movement workshops. He also runs several local creative writing groups and has been involved with many poetry and script writing workshops in schools and for the community across Lincolnshire.
Kei lives in Lincolnshire with his husband and their two dachshunds, Otto and Auntie Coco. He enjoys watching Carry On films, Stephen Sondheim musicals, classic Doctor Who and the birds in his garden.