AN ACTOR, director and writer is planning to create a fringe theatre company and is calling for like-minded people to join him on his venture.

Jon Brown, of Hitchin, has enjoyed a diverse acting and directing career through his involvement with the town’s The Bancroft Players and Welwyn Garden City’s The Barn Theatre and now has plans to start up his own touring company.

Jon’s main focus for the company will be on fringe theatre and new writing - all staged in small, intimate spaces - but he’s keeping an open mind on its future and has aspirations to expand and evolve in time, and hopefully break onto the London fringe scene.

The 36-year-old, who has been involved in the theatre scene for the last 16 years and trained with Big Spirit youth theatre, said: “I am really excited about this project and I’m keen to see how it will develop. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and I have given it a considerable amount of thought.

“I am appealing for like-minded, creative and imaginative people who share my passion for cutting-edge fringe theatre and new writing to contact me to talk more.

“Last summer, I attended a one-week course called ‘Devising Theatre’. This pretty much cemented my thoughts and plans. I learnt so much and was inspired even more. Theatre can be produced from just a simple idea or task, or even a couple of lines of dialogue. The challenge is to then ‘workshop’ and to watch those creative seeds grow and blossom into a performance.

“I am huge fan of physical and street theatre too, with movement and music. I want to really embrace and get more involved in cutting-edge, risky theatre which pushes the boundaries and that focuses on challenging and real life issues.

“I don’t think Hitchin has got something quite like this at the moment. I have lots of ideas and I would love to chat more with anyone who is interested in joining me on the project!”

Those who are interested in the project can contact Jon on 07768 494039 or email jonathan.brown2@ntlworld.com