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charlie
 theatre & music
walking out
four dames in search of a panto
robinson crusoe
the extraordinary tale of colonel cody
Mark has been Artistic Director of two companies: proteus, one of the south’s leading touring companies (1998 - 2004) and West 28th Street, Company in Residence at Fairfield, Croydon (1992 - 1998).  He also also worked extensively as a freelance director and musical director.
During the time that Mark was Artistic Director at proteus, the company produced a diverse education programme, including the award-winning Chaser which was funded as part of the Home Office’s national strategy to tackled drug issues at a community level.
The company regularly toured professional productions to non-theatre venues in urban and rural local locations. Mainly new commissions targeted at family audiences, the shows included:
Four Dames in Search of a Panto by James Barry;
Walking Out by Andrew G Marshall;
The Extraordinary Tale of Colonel Cody by James Barry;
Around the World in 80 Days by Deborah Shaw;
3 Musketeers by James Barry;
I Do!  I Do! by Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt;
Charlie by John Townsend;
Sherlock’s Excellent Adventure by James Barry;
and The Lost Voyage of Sinbad by James Barry.

 Do look at the website to see what proteus is currently producing: www.proteustheatre.com
Mark founded West 28th Street in 1992 to produce touring shows and educational projects throughout South East England.  On the strength of its highly successful Shakespeare education programme, Kicking Bardom, West 28th Street was invited to become company in residence at Fairfield, Croydon.
 
Mark produced a number of shows in both the Ashcroft Theatre and Concert Hall which subsequently toured to a number of venues throughout the region.  These included:
Macbeth;
Romeo and Juliet;
The Taming of the Shrew;
Educating Rita;
Great Expectations;
Hard Times;
Starting Here, Starting Now;
The Fantasticks;
and the UK premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s A Grand Night for Singing.
As a pianist, composer, musical director and accompanist Mark has performed in numerous productions, cabaret and concert engagements.  He has composed over 80 songs that have been performed professionally and written the score for eight shows, including several of the family shows for proteus mentioned above.
More recently he composed the music, and musical-directed, Aladdin and Robinson Crusoe, both written by James Barry, at the Theatre Royal Winchester.
Image Credits
 Around the World in 80 Days by Deborah Shaw and Mark Helyar: Nisha Daayne and Tim Machin
 Walking Out by AndrewG Marshall: Erin Geraghty and Andrew McDonald
 WonderVision by Phil Smith: Kate Russell-Smith and Dominic Burdess
 The Extraordinary Adventure of Colonel Cody by James Barry and Mark Helyar: Justin Webb
 Charlie by John Townsend: Dominic Burdess
 Four Dames in Search of a Panto by James Barry and Mark Helyar: Gerald Fox, Alison Fitzjohn, Steev Cornwall and Penny McDonald
 Robinson Crusoe by James Barry and Mark Helyar: Damiian Lynch, Susie Anton, Keddy Sutton, Clive Flint, James Barry

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around the world in 80 days
"A wonderful two hours of pure escapism...
a feast of entertainment"
The Stage on Around The World in 80 Days
“a tour de force... This short tour should be the prelude to a longer run.”
The Stage on Charlie
"An all-action production that entertains
from start to finish"
The Stage on Sherlock’s Excellent Adventure
wondervision

© 2009 empty canvas

From This Day On

from Aladdin

(without vocals)

The Fishy Song from

Robinson Crusoe

(with vocals)

Everything Has a Purpose

from Colonel Cody

(without vocals)

Save Me Now from

Aladdin

(without vocals)

Abanazer’s Palace

from Aladdin

(instrumental)

Overture from

Sherlock’s Excellent Adventure

(instrumental)

A selection of Mark’s theatre music:

For enquiries about Mark’s music or

theatre work, please click here

All recordings © Mark Helyar