Clive Foskett

Clive’s first career was as a Merchant Navy officer on round-the-world passenger liners travelling to Australia, New Zealand, and to remote Pacific islands, including Pitcairn of mutiny on the Bounty fame. After leaving the sea, he worked in magazine publishing in senior roles, and then set up his own award-winning magazine company, with many diverse subjects ranging from home interest, cars, gardening, to children’s magazines. It was during this time that he first became involved in helping in the various onboard entertainment shows for passengers.

Having always had an interest in theatre, he took up playwriting in the last few years, and has enjoyed courses at Kingston’s Rose Theatre, Guildford, and Chichester Festival Theatre. Some of his short plays have been performed before a paying audience at G-Live Guildford, by students from the Guildford School of Acting, and also at their own performance studio.

He has also acted in the Rose Theatre community plays to see what the other side of the coin felt like as an actor. In one role, he was taught the craft of stage fighting by a professional stuntman, including punching, and sword play. Note, no fellow actors were harmed during the actual performance, although sometimes close in rehearsals!

Pinter is one of his favourite playwrights, because of that unsettling combination of offbeat but real characters, mixed with comedy but with an underlying menace.

Other interests have included driving race cars, golf, and a lifelong supporter of Brentford FC, all mixed in with a lot of trivia knowledge about all sorts of things! Clive says that it’s thrilling to have the opportunity for your words come to life in a live performance.

There is that special moment in a theatre show, when the script, the performance, the production, the actors and the audience all gel, and you embark upon a magical journey together. Plus, the exciting moment as a playwright, is when the characters feel like they have taken over writing the script for you!