Colin Blumenau (born

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, 7 August 1956) is a British writer and theatre director. He is the son of Tom Blumenau OBE and Eva Blumenau, both founder members of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

. He is the Artistic Director o
The Production Exchange
During his early career as an actor he came to public notice playing Francis "Taffy" Edwards in ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' between 1984 and 1990. After leaving the programme having appeared in more than 150 episodes he turned his hand to theatre management. He was variously Artistic Director of The Angles Theatre in

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...

991-1993and The Brewhouse Theatre & Arts Centre in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

993-1996 He was

Artistic Director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

of the

Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds The Theatre Royal, formerly the New Theatre, is a restored Regency theatre in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The building is one of eight Grade I listed theatres in the United Kingdom, and is the only working theatre operated under the a ...

between 1996 and 2012 and spearheaded its restoration project. During this period, under the banner of Restoring the Repertoire, he also led the Theatre Royal's initiative to rediscover and restore the much neglected English Drama repertoire of the 18th and early 19th centuries to the stage. Productions included ''

Black-Eyed Susan ''Black-Eyed Susan; or, All in the Downs'' is a comic play in three acts by Douglas Jerrold. The story concerns a heroic sailor, William, who has been away from England for three years fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. Meanwhile, his wife, Susa ...

'' by

Douglas Jerrold Douglas William Jerrold (London 3 January 18038 June 1857 London) was an English dramatist and writer. Biography Jerrold's father, Samuel Jerrold, was an actor and lessee of the little theatre of Wilsby near Cranbrook in Kent. In 1807 Dougla ...

, ''Wives as they Were and Maids as they Are'' by

Elizabeth Inchbald Elizabeth Inchbald (née Simpson, 15 October 1753 – 1 August 1821) was an English novelist, actress, dramatist, and translator. Her two novels, '' A Simple Story'' and '' Nature and Art'', have received particular critical attention. Life Bo ...

, ''

The London Merchant ''The London Merchant (Or The History Of George Barnwell)'' is playwright George Lillo's most famous work. A tragedy that follows the downfall of a young apprentice due to his association with a prostitute, it is remarkable for its use of mid ...

'' by

George Lillo George Lillo (3 February 1691 – 4 September 1739) was an English playwright and tragedian. He was also a jeweller in London. He produced his first stage work, ''Silvia, or The Country Burial'', in 1730, and a year later his most famous play, ...

and the world premiere of Inchbald's ''The Massacre'' two centuries after it was written. In addition there were public readings of some seventy five plays by authors as diverse as Hannah Cowley and

John le Planché John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, Since 2012 he has resumed a freelance career as well as being the Artistic Director o
The Production Exchange
a theatre production charity whose objective is to provide support, mentoring and opportunities for early-career practitioners in Theatre and Dance. The current Chair is

Angela Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon Angela Evans Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon, (born 7 January 1959)
UK Parliament i ...

. Under the pseudonym of Daniel O'Brien he is a prolific writer of work for the stage and his pantomime scripts are performed annually in a number of theatres notably at The

Riverfront Arts Centre The Riverfront ( cy, Glan yr Afon) is the principal and newest theatre and arts centre in the City of Newport. It is located on the west bank of the River Usk on the Bristol Packet Wharf in the city centre. Designed by architectural firm Austi ...

Newport, Wales Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2 ...

and the

Theatre Royal, Wakefield The Theatre Royal Wakefield is a theatre in Wakefield, England, which dates back to 1894. The theatre was originally known as the ''Theatre Royal and Opera House'' and dates back to the 1770s. Today's theatre was designed in 1894 as the Wakefiel ...

. In 2020, Blumenau shared his memories of working on the first three series of ''

'' for the boo
''Witness Statements''
He has also recorded two Video Commentaries fo
''The Bill Podcast Patreon Channel''
where he was also reunited with eight of his Sun Hill co-stars for a three-part Zoom reunion. In 2021, Blumenau returned to television acting, guest-starring in an episode of ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

''. He is married to Casting Director Debbie O'Brien and has three sons Dan, who works for Disney in Paris, academic

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

and Casting Director Harry.

External links

Personal Website

The Production Exchange Website

Guardian review - Wives as they Were, Maids as they Are

Guardian review - Black Eyed Susan

References

1956 births Living people British male television actors Male actors from London British theatre directors {{england-actor-stub