About Andy Evans

Freelance Creative

After a successful career in teaching, Andy Evans decided to take the opportunity to pursue his interest in the wider creative interests that he had enjoyed alongside his teaching career. He left teaching to become a freelance creative practitioner. This is his story.

Andy's Story

Andy Evans has had a lifelong interest in the performing arts. Born and raised in South Wales, he was an active performer in his school days appearing in West Side Story and Oh! What a Lovely War and participated in his school's theatre workshop. Andy also sang in a rock 'n' roll band. Upon moving to university where he studied Combined Social Sciences, Andy continued as a member of the university's entertainments committee and gig reviewer on the student newspaper. He worked as an performer at a number of summer holiday clubs. A short stint working for the NHS after graduation was followed by Andy going back to university to train as a teacher where Andy trained to teach Social Sciences, English, Drama and Sport.

Andy's first teaching job was at a sixth form college teaching Law. Whilst teaching Andy also developed an interest in writing for the stage. When his career led him to Humberside, Andy became involved with an amateur theatre group and ran a youth theatre for ten years. Andy developed his playwriting through work with the Caxton Theatre and his early script, Rodge! was published in the UK by Schoolplay Productions and was followed by Moonlight Marionettes being published by Playscripts Inc. in the USA. He continued to write and produce his own work and joined Hull Truck Theatre's Playwrite programme where he wrote two plays, Prison's Got Talent and Taking a Bullet. The latter was produced as a part of their A Play A Pie and a Pint programme. The former play was produced in Grimsby by the Caxton Theatre. Andy's writing continued and he worked in conjunction with Fusion Youth Theatre and composer Jack Pudsey to write three musicals, Chomp! a Zombie Musical, Cheerleader Apocalypse and Queen of the Seas.

Moving on, Andy began to write more widely for other companies including National Theatre Wales, Middle Child, Slung Low and Dirty Protest and set up his own new writing company Breakwater Theatre with actress Sara Beasley. Andy continues to produce new work for the stage with Breakwater and produced Sixteen Trees, a two-hander about the miscarriage of justice from the 1970s, With Love From Ruhleben about civilian prisoners in Germany during WW1 and Indomitable about children's author, broadcaster and inspirational campaigner for the disabled, Elisabeth Sheppard-Jones. His play Fit produced by Breakwater was performed in London in 2017 and the one-man show, Legend dealt with a rooftop protest by a teenager pursued by the police.

In 2023, Andy set up a new project - Kazbah Theatre. This is a company making theatre for children and family audiences specialising in puppetry and their shows include Cap'n Fishcake and His Fabulous Fish Fingers, Chip & Fish, Salty's Holiday, The Dog Show and Cirque de Pierre appeared at a number of festivals in Lincolnshire, including the Lincolnshire Show. The team also won two awards at the 2023 Bristol 48 Hour Puppet Film Challenge with their film, The Power of Love.

Andy was invited to join the Council of the British Puppet Guild and the national committee for BrUNIMA (the British arm of UNESCO's Union International de Marionettes). Andy is also a full professional member of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain and the National Association of Writers in Education. Andy is also an Associate Artist of Puppet Place in Bristol.

Andy took an MA in Theatre at the University of Lincoln in 2019/20 and obtained a distinction and went on to research and submit a thesis entitled The English Gaze: the negotiation of national identity in Welsh Anglophone Theatre and became a Doctor in 2025. Andy was also invited to teach on the MA Theatre course as an Associate Lecturer of the University of Lincoln and did some guest lecturing for performing arts students at Coleg Gwent.

Andy is available for hire and offers a wide range activities to suit your needs. Whether you require commissioned playwriting, dramaturgical support, puppetry, or directing, Andy is to help. He also provides teaching and mentoring, running engaging workshops for all ages in scriptwriting and puppetry. With an extensive track record of collaboration and individual projects, Andy is a published, professional playwright ready to bring your vision to life.