Biography - Stewart Nicholls
Stewart has directed and choreographed many productions: Robinson Crusoe, Sleeping
Beauty and Jack and Beanstalk for The Hall For Cornwall Truro and Hiss
& Boo Productions, Lunch With Marlene, National Tour (starring Kate O’Mara
and Frank Barrie), Booze Birds and Blackpool Rock! at the Blackpool Pleasure
Beach, Hetty Feinstein’s Wedding Anniversary at New End Theatre, London,
Copacabana, at GSA Conservatoire, Big Bruvva – The Musical at
the 2008 Edinburgh Festival, Lunch With Marlene at the New End Theatre,
London, Faith Brown and Her Boys In The Buff at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival,
Beatlemania at the Gothenburg Opera House in Sweden, South Pacific
(starring Kim Medcalf, Maria Ewing, Alan Opie and Les Dennis) at Birmingham Symphony
Hall with the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (also Broadcast on Christmas Day 2005
on BBC Radio Two), Into Thin Air! (starring Wayne Sleep) at the New Players
Theatre, and Over My Shoulder (starring Anne Rogers) Tour and Wyndhams
Theatre, Carousel at St David’s Hall, Cardiff (also broadcast on BBC Radio
Three, featuring Frank Thornton), A Little Sondheim On The Side and Happy
As A Sandbag at GSA Conservatoire, and the première of Charles Hart’s Love
Songs at the Bridewell Theatre, London.
Choreography includes: Cowardy Custard (National Tour starring Kit and Widow and
Dillie Keen), Noel and Gertie at The Cockpit Theatre, Cinderella at Hall For Cornwall,
Truro, Maggie May at GSA Conservatoire, Guildford, Kelly Brook’s tap-routine for
the short film In the Mood, Tim Rice’s revival of Blondel at the Pleasance Theatre,
London and the Vaudeville sequence in the stage premiere of The Young Ones, (based
on the 1960s Cliff Richard movie) at the Gatehouse Theatre. He has also staged two
shows on the QEII.
Stewart co-ordinated chat shows at the Edinburgh Festival: Lunch with Christine
and Neil Hamilton (2006 – 2008), Victor Spinetti’s A Very Private Diary (2007),
Hardeep Singh Kolhi’s Chat Masala (2010) and High-Jinks With The Hamiltons (2011).
Stewart is a leading archivist of British Musical Theatre: directing and choreographing
Love on the Dole, Popkiss and Noël Coward’s Sail Away (his restored version is published
by Warner/Chappell Music), A Girl Called Jo (for which he revised the script), Follow
That Girl, Zip Goes A Million, Vanity Fair, The Amazons (which he also restored),
Grab Me A Gondola and Ann Veronica. He co produced CD’s of many of these productions,
including The Amazons which was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Stewart has lectured on the history, direction and choreography of Musical Theatre,
is archivist for David Heneker and Julian Slade, is an Honorary member of the Noël
Coward Society and an Honorary Theatre Associate of Mercury Musical Developments.
Stewart has written sleeve notes for various CD’s and the editorial for four volumes
of music books entitled Legendary Ladies of Broadway.
Stewart occasionally appears onstage, including: Dandini in Cinderella at the Hall
For Cornwall in 2008 and tours frequently as pianist for David Benson sings Noel
Coward and Singalonga Glee Club and Lila La Scala’s Songs To Make You Smile.