In the uppermost room of a very old building in Newcastle, the 17th Century Alderman Fenwick’s House on Pilgrim Street, exciting plans are afoot that could shift the region’s theatrical profile.
They’ve been afoot for some time but not here because this is day one for Eastlake Productions (EP) in its new HQ.
Previously Jamie was based at the Theatre Royal where EP works in partnership on its Open Door talent development programme.
The move away was his decision, he says.
“Separation was a good thing because everyone thought we worked for the Theatre Royal rather than with them. This feels like the start of a new chapter, I think.”
Jamie’s at his desk in front of the single window, looking the part of a producer in his baseball cap but without the cigar and haunted look sported by Max Bialystock in Mel Brooks’ famous film of 1967.
Max was down on his luck in The Producers, reliant on handouts from doting elderly widows to keep his ailing theatre projects alive.
But Jamie’s on the up, as befits the new location, and aiming to build on the success of Gerry & Sewell, the show he took from Laurels, the little theatre he created in Whitley Bay, to London’s West End via Live Theatre and the Theatre Royal.
He has a good team with him.
Seated alongside are EP head of development Mark Calvert, Northern Stage’s one-time associate director, and young actor and writer Jay Robinson, creative development producer, who also happens to have a degree in law and a master’s in international geopolitics.
Jamie calls it “the most mental background for a guy in theatre”. My sense is it could come in handy.
Not present is Jade Young, one of the company’s directors and Jamie’s partner who stage managed (and did around 40 other roles!) in Gerry & Sewell, and Rosie Bowden, EP associate director.
This is just as well since it means I’ve got somewhere to sit.
On part of the slanted ceiling is a poster for Gerry & Sewell. Nearby is one for Our Friends in the North, opening in October at the Theatre Royal.
This new stage adaptation of Peter Flannery’s famous TV drama is a high profile co-production between the Theatre Royal, Live Theatre and EP whose role, says Jamie, is to try to secure for it a life beyond Tyneside.
“We took a third of the risk on it so are looking to take it forward, which the other organisations aren’t set up to do.”
Jamie’s ambition is to launch commercial theatre in the North East that will benefit the region and provide opportunities for its many talented creatives.
Brilliant shows have been developed here, he says, but if they’ve enjoyed commercial success it’s generally been a London producer taking the profits and kudos.
“Nobody’s done this before,” he insists. “Nobody’s really set out to make commercial theatre in this region, which is to say shows that tour, go to the West End and maybe abroad.
“Everyone keeps telling me you can’t do it up here, that you have to be in London.
“We’re out to prove it can be done, although there’s no language for it up here so we’re sort of starting from scratch.”
Jamie’s no naïve beginner. Born, like Jay, in Blyth, he was taking shows to the Edinburgh Fringe at 18 and, having moved to London in 2015, earned an Olivier Award for producing a show called Flesh and Bone.
EP was established eight years ago and has been involved in more than 50 productions, but now Jamie wants to do it from Newcastle and is setting his sights high.
“Some amazing producers have come out of the region,” he says.
“Michael Harrison (from Wallsend) is one of the biggest in the world, but we’re setting out our stall and saying we want to start here with work made here.”
Mark Calvert, who directed the stage version of I, Daniel Blake, says: “Jamie and I met at the Theatre Royal about 18 months ago and then kept bumping into each other.
“I’ve been working in this industry now for 20 plus years and can’t think of a North East company that’s regularly been knocking on doors and taking work to Europe and the States.
“Listening to Jamie, I was thinking: Why hasn’t it happened?
“We have shared ideas and goals, and Jamie has drive like I’ve never seen before.”
They’re currently working on a raft of exciting projects, including a stage adaptation of Life on Mars.
It was a big hit on BBC TV 20 years ago, along with follow-up Ashes to Ashes, and EP have commissioned the original scriptwriters to write the play.
They recall discussing the project in a London pub with Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah, revered TV names.
“Matthew Graham couldn’t come because he was working on a project in Hollywood,” smiles Jamie.
“It’s amazing that we’ve managed to get them. They said they’d Googled us and seen bits of Gerry & Sewell and loved it.”
The writers even mentioned the EP initiative in a Radio Times interview, adds Jamie delightedly.
Discussions with theatres are in progress but he says the ideal scenario would be previews at the Theatre Royal, a premiere near Manchester, where the time-travelling cop drama is set, and then a major tour.
Then there’s Between The Lines, the debut play by Paul Ferris, the one-time Newcastle United player and physio whose memoir The Boy on the Shed was massively successful.
“He’s an amazing man,” says Mark. “I think he’s lived about 15 lives.”
“I think it’s a definite winner,” adds Jamie.
There’s more. EP are working with writer Tamsin Rees and director Anna Ryder on their stage adaptation of The Lamb, the folk-horror tale by Cumbrian author Lucy Rose.
“It’s exciting,” says Jay, who’s close to the project. “I think it’s really got potential.”
Then there’s the musical putting a contemporary spin on the story of 19th Century sea rescue heroine Grace Darling, uniting the talents of TikTok historian The History Gossip (Katie Kennedy, from Chester-le-Street) and musician L Devine (aka Olivia Devine, from Whitley Bay).
“We call it the sleeper hit,” says Jamie. “Liv’s music is grungy and the contemporary retelling is going to make it seem like Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
“Grace was someone propelled into fame who never wanted it, sort of Keeping Up With the Northumbrians.
“We’ll showcase it in December to see if it’s got legs. The music’s astonishing.”
Finally, for now, EP have secured stage rights to The Phantom of the Open, the book by Simon Farnaby and Scott Murray telling of Maurice Flitcroft, the Barrow-based dreamer immortalised as “the world’s worst golfer” because he entered competitions he couldn’t hope to win.
He was played by Mark Rylance in the 2021 film version.
This isn’t the only reason Jamie has organised a golf invitational at Close House on September 15 with prizes for the worst golfers.
In a way that Max Bialystock would have understood, EP is seeking investors – or, as Jamie puts it, “people who want to go on an adventure with us”.
“Like any producer,” he says, “every day I sit here going: How are we going to find money?
“The reality is it’s all about fundraising and we’re at the point now of wanting to shout about what we’re doing. We’ve just finished our investment memorandum so now it’s about speaking to people.
“There were people who invested in Gerry & Sewell and made a few quid and people on ‘Our Friends’ who’ll make a few quid as well.”
Adds Mark: “We know how hard it is to make work up here and we’re not the magic key that unlocks everything. But theatre is about collaboration and I think there are going to be interesting conversations ahead.
“There isn’t really a legacy up here of people saying, ‘Oh, I’ll invest in theatre’. It doesn’t cross people’s minds. But it’s up to us to make it a viable option.
“We want to see money from our region invested in shows made in our region. We’ll see what happens but that’s the plan.”
As I leave, there are no elderly ladies clutching cheque books at the door. But it’s unlikely they’d be turned away.