James William Thomas Cundall is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals and theatrical shows. He is a founder of Lunchbox Theatrical Productions and The Imperial Ice Stars, conceived York's annual Christmas ice-rink The Ice Factor and created York's Shakespeare's Rose Theatre.
In 2019 his principal company Lunchbox Theatrical Productions Ltd went into administration following the business failure of Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre Ltd, with creditors including the
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...
claiming unpaid debts of over five million pounds from a series of companies run in different parts of the world by Cundall under the umbrella of Lunchbox Theatrical Productions.
Early life
Cundall was born into a farming family at the foot of the Wolds near
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
. He originally qualified as a chartered surveyor and worked for the family firm of estate agents and auctioneers. In 1985 he opened Cundall's estate agents office in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
.
Cundall moved to London and a career in finance, where he became Director of
Global Asset Management
GAM Investments is an independent, pure play asset management group headquartered in Zurich.
In 1992 his work took him to Hong Kong where he and a group of like-minded businessmen decided there was a market for bringing West End musicals to local audiences. There, Cundall founded Lunchbox Theatrical Productions and over the next six years brought many international productions to the city such as ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...
'' and the acclaimed ''Alegría'' from
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...
.
In 1998 Cundall left the world of finance to help Lunchbox expand its reach to Singapore. In 1999 Cundall moved to Sydney to take up the role of Director of Arts and Entertainment for Australasia with
IMG img or IMG is an abbreviation for image.
img or IMG may also refer to:
* IMG (company), global sports and media business headquartered in New York City but with its main offices in Cleveland, originally known as the "International Management Gro ...
, where he was responsible for over 30 productions in the region during his four-year tenure. (including ''
Cats
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...
'', ''
Miss Saigon
''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...
'', ''
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
'', ''Chicago'', ''
Oliver!
''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens.
It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...
'', ''
Riverdance
''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions Jean ...
'',
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...
,
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...
,
Ricky Martin
Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...
,
Bryn Terfel
Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, (; born 9 November 1965) (known professionally as Bryn Terfel) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', ''Leporello'' and ''D ...
and
Kiri te Kanawa
Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa , (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a retired New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". Te ...
Clive James
Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.Pam Ayres.
That same year Cundall and fellow producer
Tony Mercer
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...
established The Imperial Ice Stars, an international troupe of former Olympic, World, European and National Championship skaters. The troupe have since successfully toured the world to much acclaim with their productions of The Sleeping Beauty on Ice, Swan Lake on Ice, Cinderella on Ice and The Nutcracker on Ice.
In 2004 Cundall returned to the UK and his home near Malton, where he established the international headquarters of Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, which at its peak had subsidiaries in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Cundall Produced the Outdoor Opening Ceremony of
Expo 2010
Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the t ...
in Shanghai China, on behalf of
David Atkins
David Atkins, OAM (born 12 December 1955) is an Australian dancer, choreographer, music-theatre director and producer.
Career
Stage and television
Atkins began his performance career aged 12 with a role in the musical ''Mame''. As an adult p ...
Enterprises.
Productions by Lunchbox since 2004 include the musicals ''
The Phantom of the Opera
''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...
'', ''
We Will Rock You
"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album ''News of the World''. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and it placed at numbe ...
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...
''; international artists
Bryn Terfel
Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, (; born 9 November 1965) (known professionally as Bryn Terfel) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', ''Leporello'' and ''D ...
,
Elaine Paige
Elaine Jill Paige (née Bickerstaff; born 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, making her first professiona ...
,
Jamie Oliver
James Trevor Oliver MBE OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants.
Oliver reache ...
,
Rick Stein
Rick may refer to:
People
*Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name
*Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality
*Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...
,
Hale and Pace
Hale and Pace were an English comedy double-act that performed in clubs and on radio and television in the United Kingdom in the 1980s and 1990s. The duo was made up of Gareth Hale and Norman Pace, with the ''Hale and Pace'' television show r ...
,
Roy Chubby Brown
Roy Chubby Brown (born 3 February 1945) is an English stand-up comedian whose act consists of offensive humour, high profanity, forthright social commentary and outspoken disdain for political correctness.
Early life
Roy Chubby Brown (born ...
,
Anthony Warlow
Anthony Warlow (born 18 November 1961) is an Australian musical theatre performer, noted for his character acting and considerable vocal range. He is a classically trained lyric baritone and made his debut with the Australian Opera in 1980.
...
Slava's Snowshow
''Slava's Snowshow'' is a stage show created and staged by Russian performance artist Slava Polunin. The show won the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event.
Produc ...
,
One Night of Queen
One Night of Queen is a touring 2-hour stage show, paying tribute to the stage theatrics and music of Queen. It is performed by Gary Mullen & The Works, a band headed by Freddie Mercury imitator Gary Mullen, who had previously won the talent sho ...
,
Circus Oz
Circus Oz is a contemporary circus company based in Australia, collectively owned by its Membership, founded in 1977. Its shows incorporate theatre, satire, rock 'n' roll and a uniquely Australian humour.
History Early years
Circus Oz was inco ...
,
Potted Potter
The immense popularity and wide recognition of J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' fantasy series has led to its being extensively parodied, in works spanning nearly every medium. The franchise holds the record for the most fan fiction parodies, a ...
,
Stomp
Stomp may refer to:
*Stomp (strike), a downwards kick using the heel
Music and dance
* ''Stomp'' (album), by Big D and the Kids Table, 2013
*Stomp (jazz), a type of rhythmic jazz tune popular in the 1920s
*Stomp (theatrical show), a percussive ph ...
Stuff Happens
''Stuff Happens'' is a play by David Hare, written in response to the Iraq War. Hare describes it as "a history play" that deals with recent history. The title is inspired by Donald Rumsfeld's response to widespread looting in Baghdad: "Stuff ...
The Mousetrap
''The Mousetrap'' is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. ''The Mousetrap'' opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be temporarily discontinued during the COVID-1 ...
'', ''
Grumpy Old Women
''Grumpy Old Women'' is a British television series, continuing in the same vein as its predecessor, '' Grumpy Old Men''. Both programmes are shown on BBC Two. The first two series were narrated by Alison Steadman, and the third by Judith Holder ...
Barney the Dinosaur
''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomo ...
,
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is an anthropomorphised fictional tank locomotive in the British ''Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945. He became the most popular and famous character in the series, a ...
Peter Rabbit
Peter Rabbit is a fictional animal character in various children's stories by English author Beatrix Potter.
A mischievous, adventurous young rabbit who wears a blue jacket, he first appeared in ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' in 1902, and subs ...
.
In 2018, James was awarded an MBE for services to the entertainment industry in the
2019 New Year Honours
The 2019 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...
Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace (pronounced ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non-royal, non- episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, on ...
, Lunchbox Theatrical Productions Ltd was placed in administration, owing over five million pounds to creditors.
Events
The Ice Factor is an annual open air Christmas ice rink in York, UK, run by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions. It was first conceived by Cundall in 2005 and was built as a temporary structure at The Eye of York for the Christmas season (mid-November to the New Year). The rink returned for five successive seasons to the same place until it was forced to relocate to York Designer Outlet in 2010 after protestations"10,000 sign Ice Factor rink petition at the Eye Of York" ''The Press, York'', 5 December 2009 from
HM Courts Service
Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) was an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and was responsible for the administration of the civil, family and criminal courts in England and Wales.
It was created by the amalgamation of the Magi ...
located next to the rink.
After relocating the Ice Factor became the centre-piece to a new concept entitled Yorkshire's Winter Wonderland intended to draw the crowds to the out of town shopping centre for more than just ice skating. The event now includes a traditional funfair and Christmas market.
In 2010 he produced, on behalf of David Atkins Enterprises, the Outdoor Opening Ceremony for the Shanghai World Expo.