About Jack and the Beanstalk writer & director Amy Phillips:

I loved reading and writing as a child which fortunately my parents encouraged, as did a brilliant and inspirational English teacher at school.  After a degree in English Literature from Royal Holloway, I continued pursuing a career as a professional actor but kept writing whenever I had the chance. I studied script-writing at the Writers’ Boot Camp in LA and finished my first screenplay the same week I had my first baby. I’ve got a great pic of her lying next to the script - they were about the same size!

My West End debut wasn’t an acting gig - it was at the Soho Theatre performing live comedy I’d written. My advice to young actors is always to make your own luck and writing something you can perform is a great option. Some of the biggest hits in the West End currently, like SIX and Operation Mincemeat, grew from a group of young people developing ideas together in a very small way at first.

Jack and the Beanstalk is my first full-length pantomime. While I have tried to be true to panto traditions, it is of course full of many things I love and that move me: from the soundtrack to fairytales, from dry humour to 80’s dance routines! Essentially though, it is a story about kindness and finding your wings - and helping others find theirs. That’s what the Lantern is all about and why once people discover this magical place, they don’t look back.

Amy Phillips is a professional actor, theatre director and practitioner and the Artistic Director of the LAC. As an actor she has worked extensively in theatre, television and film. She has appeared in two plays at the LAC - Shadowlands and Last Train to Nibroc. Amy has directed 7 shows at the Lantern: Blue Stockings, Hay Fever, Treasure Island, Harvey, A Bunch of Amateurs, Our Town and The Crucible.