Jonathan Guy Lewis

(Playwright/Jasper)

Jonathan Guy Lewis has worked extensively as an actor, writer, director, teacher, mentor and coach for over thirty years and has won a number of awards for his work. An ex-army scholar, he has a degree from Exeter University in Politics & Society and is a graduate from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Whilst there he adapted and performed a highly acclaimed one-man musical, ‘Skylark’, which he subsequently performed with the National Student Theatre Company. After leaving Drama School he worked in Repertory Theatres up and down the country, including Harrogate, Colchester, Leeds, York. Plays included ‘She Stoops to Conquer’,  ‘Colours’, ‘London Assurance’, ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’, ‘How The other Half Loves’. He then joined the NT and was in the production of ‘Peer Gynt’ directed by Declan Donnellan as well as helping to develop a number of projects at the NT Studio. He went on to play Gerald Croft in Stephen Daldry’s highly acclaimed production of ‘An Inspector Calls’ at The Aldwych Theatre in The West End. He toured the US with a production of ‘Hamlet’ and appeared in Derby Playhouse and Hampstead Theatre’s European premiere of Andrew Bovell’s ‘Speaking in Tongues’ as well as Neil Simon’s ‘Gingerbread Lady’ with Lesley Joseph. Another highlight was acting alongside Rob Lowe and Suranne Jones in the West End premiere of Aaron Sorkin’s Broadway hit which subsequently became the movie ‘A Few Good Men’ at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He also starred in Ayckbourn’s ‘Absent Friends’ at Watford Palace, and ‘Protest’, ‘Mountain Hotel’, and ‘Green Wash’, all at the Orange Tree in Richmond as well as ‘Myth, Propaganda, and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America’, by the Australian playwright Stephen Sewell. Further productions at Hampstead include ‘Alphabetical Order’ and ‘Elephants’, and ‘Perfect Pitch’ at The Soho Theatre. Since then, he has played Eddie Carbone in a National Tour of ‘A View from The Bridge’ for The Touring Consortium, directed by Steve Unwin. And Dr John Hall in Peter Whelan’s ‘The Herbal Bed’, directed by James Dacre, originating in Northampton and then a UK tour. He also starred in a production of his play, ‘The Be All & End All’ at York Theatre Royal and on tour. It was directed by Damian Cruden.

Back in the late 90’s, his regular television roles made him a familiar face on the small screen. They included Sgt Chris McCleod in ‘Soldier, Soldier’, and Station Officer Chris Hammond in ‘London’s Burning’, both for ITV. Whilst starring as Ian Bentley inCoronation Street, over twenty million viewers tuned in to see bride-to-be, Sharon’s (Tracie Bennett) attack on Ian at the alter! He was then seen as Ray Winstone’s brother-in-law in the series for Granada, ‘Vincent’. Other television credits include, ‘Skins Redux’, ‘Endeavour’, ‘Desperados’, ‘Silent Witness’, ‘Sea Of Souls’, ‘Holby’, ‘Heartbeat’, ‘Casualty’, ‘Inspector Morse’, ‘Peak Practice’, and ‘The Governor’. His most recent television appearance will be in the forthcoming reboot of the classic UK detective series Bergerac.

His first play as a writer was ‘Our Boys’. Based on his own experiences of being invalided out of the military, it won The Writers’ Guild Award for Best New Fringe Play, and he was named as the TAPS new Television Writer of The Year, as well as being nominated for The Lloyds Bank Playwright of The Year. His other work includes ‘A Comedy of Arias’ at The Pleasance, Edinburgh and as part of ‘A Pick Of The Fringe’ season at The New Ambassadors Theatre in London’s West End, as well as his own play ‘All Mouth’ at The Menier Chocolate Factory. He wrote and directed ‘Pitch Perfect’ at Soho Theatre, and again at Tristan Bates, and a further production at The Tabard, as well as writing and performing in ‘My First Trainers’, also at The Tristan Bates Theatre in Covent Garden. He has also freely adapted a German play, ‘Rock and A Hard Place’, which he directed at The Tristan Bates Theatre and at the Brighton Fringe Festival. More recently he co-wrote ‘I Found My Horn’ which he has performed all over the world – from London’s Hampstead Theatre and The West End to theatres and festivals in Buxton, Bridport, Ludlow, and in Copenhagen, Lisbon, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Bangalore, Zurich, Toronto, New York, LA and The Laguna Beach Playhouse. He has also directed ‘The Club’ by David Williamson and Chris England’s hit, ‘Breakfast with Johnny Wilkinson’ also at The Menier Chocloate Factory and at the Edinburgh Fringe, as well as Chris England’s comedy ‘Twitstorm’ at The Park Theatre. He has also written for television, including primetime dramas for Granada, Carlton, LWT, Pearson and The BBC as well as writing and directing a number of short films.