About
James Swanton is an actor and writer, currently based in York and London. He has been described as 'excellent' by Max Stafford-Clark, as 'remarkable' by Simon Callow, and as 'extraordinary' by Miriam Margolyes. James continues to drive the critics to raid their thesauruses: in recent years, they have dismissed him as 'a tattily dressed raven', 'a young Boris Karloff', 'positively stunning in his grotesqueness' and 'lanky'.
James was born and raised in the ghost-drenched city of York. Always interested in the theatre, he decided to become an actor after playing Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. This production encouraged his passion for Charles Dickens, an author he has returned to many times since (most often in his acclaimed one-man play Sikes & Nancy). James also developed a love of the macabre, which has served him well in his award-winning association with The York Dungeon.
In September 2009, James went to read English at Selwyn College, Cambridge. Whilst there, he appeared in twenty-four productions: everything from Aristophanes and Shakespeare to musicals and opera, by way of one-man plays and pantomime. He escaped with his degree in June 2012.
James now pursues a career as an actor, represented by Jimmy Jewell at Jewell Wright Limited. In February 2013, he made his professional stage debut, appearing in Sikes & Nancy at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester. Since then, he has been constantly in work and occasionally a parrot. James is also a writer, and regularly updates his online production diary Bottled Lightning. He continues to perform his adaptations of Dickens. In December 2013, Scrooge & Marley received critical acclaim at the Waterloo East Theatre; in December 2014, Sikes & Nancy opened at Trafalgar Studios, thus making him the youngest ever actor to adapt, direct and play the title role(s) in his own West End show. James's latest one-man play, Frankenstein's Creature, had its premiere at Theatre503 in August 2015.
In his spare time, James thinks a lot about Sir Henry Irving (he has written a play about the actor, one he is eager to get before audiences). Among his other influences, he numbers Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff, Charles Laughton, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Freddie Jones, Tony Jay, Antony Sher, Simon Callow and David Leonard. His favourite novel is Nicholas Nickleby; his favourite play might be A Man for All Seasons. He is curator to an ever-growing collection of crumbling horror films, and is currently preparing a book on the subject.
James was born and raised in the ghost-drenched city of York. Always interested in the theatre, he decided to become an actor after playing Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. This production encouraged his passion for Charles Dickens, an author he has returned to many times since (most often in his acclaimed one-man play Sikes & Nancy). James also developed a love of the macabre, which has served him well in his award-winning association with The York Dungeon.
In September 2009, James went to read English at Selwyn College, Cambridge. Whilst there, he appeared in twenty-four productions: everything from Aristophanes and Shakespeare to musicals and opera, by way of one-man plays and pantomime. He escaped with his degree in June 2012.
James now pursues a career as an actor, represented by Jimmy Jewell at Jewell Wright Limited. In February 2013, he made his professional stage debut, appearing in Sikes & Nancy at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester. Since then, he has been constantly in work and occasionally a parrot. James is also a writer, and regularly updates his online production diary Bottled Lightning. He continues to perform his adaptations of Dickens. In December 2013, Scrooge & Marley received critical acclaim at the Waterloo East Theatre; in December 2014, Sikes & Nancy opened at Trafalgar Studios, thus making him the youngest ever actor to adapt, direct and play the title role(s) in his own West End show. James's latest one-man play, Frankenstein's Creature, had its premiere at Theatre503 in August 2015.
In his spare time, James thinks a lot about Sir Henry Irving (he has written a play about the actor, one he is eager to get before audiences). Among his other influences, he numbers Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff, Charles Laughton, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Freddie Jones, Tony Jay, Antony Sher, Simon Callow and David Leonard. His favourite novel is Nicholas Nickleby; his favourite play might be A Man for All Seasons. He is curator to an ever-growing collection of crumbling horror films, and is currently preparing a book on the subject.
