A FORMER student from Stratford-upon-Avon College has gone from performer to playwright, with his first play debuting at a local arts venue.
Chris Callaghan, from Stratford-upon-Avon studied Performing Arts at the College from 2015-2017 with the aim to be a performer.
But his journey since has taken him on a path he never thought possible.
After completing the course, Chris found that though he loved acting, he had enjoyed learning about other elements of creating theatre more.
Now Chris is the Assistant Manager of local Arts venue The Music Café and has been since its opening in 2021.
Chris said: “It is a great space to be a part of and it offers variety. Music, poetry, play reading and art shows, it allows me to be exposed to such an amazing range of the Arts.”
“During lockdown I had some time and realised I had a story I wanted to try and develop. After a lot of work, Colourblind was created.”
The play is about a painter who is stuck in a rut so tries to combat this by live streaming his art.
But when a new person swings by the live stream, a relationship develops.
This show is intimate and engaging so Chris thought the café would be the perfect location to showcase it.
Ian Meeson, venue owner, was happy to help Chris with his venture: “We love the arts, with myself and co-owner Carl Walker both coming from a performance background.
“We are passionate about helping young creatives. And this will be the first fully realised theatre show in the space which is incredibly exciting!”
The show is being performed on the 11th April and Chris is hoping this is the start of something exciting: “I have a great venue, am using West End actors and have amazing support so I hope it goes well. Afterwards I plan to take it on tour around art galleries round the country.”
