News
20/08/20 - All involved continue to be stunned by the global reception to Host on Shudder. Amongst our plethora of press coverage (not least in The New York Times and The Guardian), Anton Bitel has noted 'a mischievously malevolent spirit (played by Frankenstein's Creature himself, James Swanton)', Kevin Lyons has remarked on 'Swanton's brief but highly effective appearance as the malevolent spirit' and Kim Newman has saluted our 'gurning phantoms' (it's what I do). Other laurels? My portrait's been done in pastels (you can even purchase it); I've been turned into a teddy; and Mike Muncer of The Evolution of Horror says that I'm 'the next Hugh Grant' (I kid you not; skip to the twenty-seventh minute). Rarely has an actor been so rewarded for appearing so little.
07/08/20 - I've been cast as Jack (a homicidal harlequin) in the sequel to horror hit The Jack in the Box. We shoot this October!
19/07/20 - At 9pm on 26th July, I'll be streaming '"Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad"' from the innermost sanctum of The York Ghost Merchants. The format's exactly the same as last month; there are also two collectible ghosts named Montague (after M. R. James), to be won by two lucky donors. Here are the details in full, including how to view and how to chip in with a few bob.
07/07/20 - No amount of quarantine could prevent me playing the unspeakable in Host, a new feature-length horror film that was shot entirely under lockdown conditions. Director Rob Savage and I had many fascinating discussions via Zoom, and it soon became clear that Stephen Volk's Ghostwatch was our distinguished model. Click here for more information; and look out for the film, which streams on Shudder from 30th July.
26/06/20 - My second guest appearance on The Evolution of Horror is now live! This time it's an in-depth discussion of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Freaks (1932). Great thanks to the charming Mike Muncer for having me back, and to Conrad Veidt for giving me so much of merit to bang on about. Click here to listen.
17/06/20 - My next performance will be a dramatic reading of 'The Signal-Man' by Charles Dickens - an apposite choice, as this month marks the 150th anniversary of Dickens's death. The York Ghost Merchants is resurrecting the format that went down a storm in March, the sole difference being that our audience must now move online! The stream goes out at 9pm on 21st June. Any and all donations will be greatly appreciated; this link explains how you can help, as well as precisely where to view the live stream.
11/02/20 - On 1st March, I'll be giving a very special dramatic reading of 'Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book' - one of my absolute favourite M. R. James stories - within The York Ghost Merchants. Most excitingly, this means that a bespoke and highly collectible ghost figurine (patterned after the fiend in James's story) will be included with every ticket. Tickets go on sale at 10am on 15th February; demand is expected to be high, so don't wait around!
06/02/20 - It's Henry Irving's 182nd birthday! On that basis, it gives me great pleasure to announce that my next Irving Undead will be at Bournemouth's Russell-Cotes Museum - which features, amongst its wealth of luscious Victoriana, a full-blown Irving Room! I'll be in heaven, and I only hope you can join me there at 7.30pm on 26th March. (Cancelled, alas, due to the global crisis.)
06/02/20 - Jubilant tidings: Walking Against the Rain has been given the official green light to shoot this June. Here's the full press release.
01/01/20 - Your next chance to see me incarnate Henry Irving in Irving Undead will be at the Vera Fletcher Hall, Thames Ditton, at 7.30pm on 24th January. For those based in the metropolis, it's only a short way out of London. Click here to purchase tickets. January's an absurdly hectic month - I'm also shooting two horror films - so this will likely be your only chance to see me, in any capacity, at all!
22/12/19 - A fine notice for Ghost Stories for Christmas from Arts York, following my tripe-stuffed performance of The Chimes: 'Swanton cuts together a fantastical ensemble of characters fully fleshed out with idiosyncratic comedies and, where required, unique humanities … This is an actor who truly knows and loves his subject, so you'd be hard-pushed to find a more authentic and enjoyable recreation of these classics.' Click here to read in full.
15/12/19 - Here's a comprehensive interview ahead of Ghost Stories for Christmas, with the tagged-on bonus of a rave review for last October's Irving Undead. Click here to read it.
08/11/19 - I'm this week's guest on The Evolution of Horror! It's my very first appearance on any podcast, anywhere, at any time, and a fine excuse to rant on about two of my absolute favourite horror films, Häxan (1922) and The Black Cat (1934). Click here to listen to my frenzied burblings.
06/11/19 - And, extending on the below, I'll be giving my Ghost Stories for Christmas at York Medical Society from 17th to 21st December. Get your tickets now on the York Theatre Royal website; and distribute your time according to the following dates:
17th Dec: A Christmas Carol (7pm)
18th Dec: The Chimes (7pm)
19th Dec: A Christmas Carol (7pm)
20th Dec: The Haunted Man (7pm)
21st Dec: A Christmas Carol (7pm)
01/11/19 - Come December, I'll be reprising my Ghost Stories for Christmas programme at London's Charles Dickens Museum. We run from 9th to 15th December. Tickets can now be booked on the Museum website; this year's schedule runs as follows:
9th Dec: A Christmas Carol (6pm)
10th Dec: A Christmas Carol (3pm), The Haunted Man (6pm)
11th Dec: A Christmas Carol (3pm), The Chimes (6pm)
12th Dec: The Chimes (3pm)
13th Dec: The Haunted Man (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
14th Dec: The Chimes (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
15th Dec: A Christmas Carol (3pm), The Haunted Man (6pm)
21/10/19 - Black Mass will have its world premiere at the Birmingham Film Festival. Be there on 2nd November to witness my latest screen monster.
12/10/19 - And here's a second splendid notice for Irving Undead, this time from Arts York: 'Full of biographical anecdotes, historical odes to and recreations of Irving's performances, and dedicated ponderings, Irving Undead makes for an intriguing, moving and remarkable piece of theatre. Go for the tales, stay for the unbreakable bond you will form with an indomitable creature of the night.' Click here to read in full.
12/10/19 - Here's our first notice for Irving Undead, courtesy of York arts doyen Charles Hutchinson. A nice sense of legacy in this piece: 'As ever, whether playing Dracula, Dickens' Bill Sikes, Frankenstein's Creature, Lucifer or now Irving, Swanton brings an angular physicality to his bravura performance, wherein he seems to consume the character he plays, so wholly does he take on the part.' For your own consumption, here's the complete review.
13/09/19 - I'm taking part in a very special rehearsed reading of Vampirella, the unmade Hammer Films screenplay by Christopher Wicking. I'll be reunited with director Jonathan Rigby, Jason Morell and Claire Louise Amias, with whom I recreated Nigel Kneale's lost teleplay The Road in 2015; I'll also be acting opposite Caroline Munro, beloved by we Hammer acolytes for Dracula A.D. 1972 and Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter. The venue is London's Regent Street Cinema, the date is 17th October, and tickets are now on sale.
03/09/19 - Click here for an elegant preview of Irving Undead from Arts York. Chuffed to be described as 'a heartthrob of the nineteenth-century Grotesque.' I'm always doing dreadful things to people's hearts. Tickets are flying fast now, so don't forget to book...
21/08/19 - I'm thrilled to announce that my one-man play Irving Undead is at last going into production. After six years of immersing myself in the Guv'nor's life and art - alternately breathtaking, sad, and profoundly strange - it means the world to be attempting his resurrection. Irving Undead will have its first three showings on 10th, 11th and 12th October at York Medical Society. Tickets can be booked through the York Theatre Royal website; I'm meanwhile working on bringing the show further south in 2020.
01/07/19 - The Kickstarter page is now live for Walking Against the Rain, Scott Lyus's ambitious biblical monster movie. Should it meets its funding goals, I'll be playing each and every one of 'The Forsaken' - a particularly vicious strain of apocalyptic monstrosity. And there's no reasonable excuse for not wanting to see that. So get you to the Kickstarter and drop some digital coins into the virtual bowl.
28/06/19 - I'm confirmed on the next horror film, The Thing That Ate the Birds. Hint: I am not playing the birds.
04/04/19 - I'm playing Subtle in The Alchemist - a scabrous Jonsonian entry in the York International Shakespeare Festival. The production reunites me with Bronzehead and Tom Straszewski, both of whom helped me bag Outstanding Performing Artist in last year's York Culture Awards; I'll also be acting opposite legendary character actor Bryan Heeley, who returns to the legitimate theatre like a king returning from exile. We bestride the Festival from 11th to 15th May; book your tickets now through the York Theatre Royal website.
01/04/19 - My next horror film assignment is Darkness in Black Mass. We shoot at the end of April. Tantalising details are available on the film's Kickstarter page.
26/03/19 - I've now added a Facebook page to my infernal social media empire. Be sure to sling us a Like for semi-regular updates.
21/03/19 - I'm now on Instagram, operating under the handle @jamescswanton. Follow, follow, follow - do, do do.
18/03/19 - Another positive notice for Frankenstein's Creature from British Horror Revival: 'an extraordinary avant-garde piece of filmed theatre … Mesmerising and utterly brilliant.' Jolly pleased to be likened to Wolfit! Click here for more.
16/01/19 - Frankenstein's Creature is now available to pre-order on DVD, courtesy of Hex Media. 200 copies will be pressed, to honour the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley's novel. For such an affordable disc, it's a very impressive package: two information-packed audio commentaries (one from director Sam Ashurst and SFX supervisor Dan Martin; one from me), multiple interviews, a short film, an image gallery, digital download rights, and a hard copy of Graham Humphreys's sensational poster design. Follow this link and get your order in; we're expecting to sell out before our 18th March street date.
01/01/19 - A few New Year laurels for Frankenstein's Creature: we rate an honourable mention in Walter Chaw's list of the 50 best films of 2018, and Mike Muncer has elected me his favourite male performance of the year on The Evolution of Horror. As mentioned by Mike in the latter, an extras-loaded DVD release is imminent. More details soon.
22/12/18 - Huge thanks to all who came to Ghost Stories for Christmas. We had sell-out performances, in both London and York, as well as this heartening notice from The Press: 'The gothic, cadaverous York actor and writer Swanton has had a wonderful year ... His face is as elastic as his voice in this tour-de-force solo show, where physicality, keen intelligence in editing, dark humour and chameleon acting skills all come into play, allied to his brilliant use of lighting.' Click here to read in full.
14/12/18 - Click here for an in-depth interview about Ghost Stories for Christmas. Within, I describe The Muppet Christmas Carol as 'a near-perfect film' (it is) and The Chimes as 'A Brexit Christmas Carol' (it is).
02/12/18 - Here's an article in The Telegraph that highlights the virtues of The Chimes, as well as a certain Yorkshire character actor's upcoming performances of it (8th, 11th and 13th December at the Charles Dickens Museum; 18th December at the York Medical Society).
20/11/18 - Much to my surprise, I won Outstanding Performing Artist in the 2018 York Culture Awards! Validation for three very unhappy monsters: Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Creature and Lucifer. Here's a full list of the winners, as well as photos from the ceremony.
11/11/18 - In addition to the London performances (see below), I'll be giving my Dickensian Ghost Stories for Christmas in York. We're playing at the atmospheric York Medical Society (just off Stonegate), and here's the performance schedule:
17th Dec: A Christmas Carol (7pm)
18th Dec: The Chimes (7pm)
19th Dec: A Christmas Carol (7pm)
20th Dec: The Haunted Man (7pm)
21st Dec: A Christmas Carol (7pm)
Tickets are now on sale through the York Theatre Royal website.
01/11/18 - This December, I'm back at London's Charles Dickens Museum with Ghost Stories for Christmas: a scaled-down Christmas Books programme with fresh renditions of A Christmas Carol, The Chimes and The Haunted Man. We run from 7th to 14th December, and the schedule is as follows:
7th Dec: A Christmas Carol (6pm)
8th Dec: The Chimes (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
10th Dec: The Haunted Man (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
11th Dec: A Christmas Carol (3pm), The Chimes (6pm)
12th Dec: A Christmas Carol (3pm), The Haunted Man (6pm)
13th Dec: The Chimes (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
14th Dec: The Haunted Man (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
Do book your tickets on the Museum website - if only to make sure I haven't memorised 180 minutes of text in vain! There'll be further performances in my native York; announcement to follow.
29/10/18 - A Halloween treat as Salt slinks its way onto Vimeo. Click here to watch this ingenious two-minute terror, steeped in sodium chloride. And here's hoping for a feature film...
26/10/18 - I've been nominated for Outstanding Performing Artist in the 2018 York Culture Awards, for my recent horror hat-trick of Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Creature and Lucifer. Comprehensive details here!
12/10/18 - Have at this in-depth interview with director Rob Savage about horror short Salt; I'm lauded within for 'crawling and spasming over household furniture.' Salt is making repeat appearances at London's Prince Charles Cinema over Halloween, so keep a sharp look-out (I'm particularly delighted that it's showing before the Donald Pleasence masterpiece Death Line).
06/10/18 - It's only just come to my attention, but here's an especially pleasing notice for my Lucifer in the York Mystery Plays: 'Swanton, a black-humoured Lucifer with the gaunt, haunted mien of an F. W. Murnau film actor, was a sprightly, sly master of ceremonies for these satanic Mysteries'. Click here to read in full.
28/09/18 - High praise for Frankenstein's Creature from critic Walter Chaw: 'Here, Swanton presents a sensitive, fractured intelligence discovering rain for the first time, rivers, the beauty of a nature to which he is an abomination, and loving relationships from which he will eternally be rejected. He's like a murderous Oscar Wilde ... He reveals that we're broken. Beyond repair, I think.' Click here to read the full notice. Also of interest: Chaw has written an Ashurst-centred interview (with a one-answer cameo from me).
13/09/18 - Click here to read an appreciative write-up for the twilight edition of the York Mystery Plays. Some superb photography; gratifying, too, to have my greatest ever ad-lib preserved in (virtual) print.
11/09/18 - High time for a round-up of Frankenstein's Creature interviews! There's this borderline relaxed sit-down interview where I'm joined by Sam Ashurst (Mike Muncer suavely chairs; I attempt to determine my future employment); there are also the more frenzied press junket trimmings: for PremiereScene (where I publicly deny these constant accusations that I'm a Method actor), for FrightFest TV (where I'm forced to say I'm better than other people) and for Entertainment Focus (where I get to wax lyrical about Boris Karloff, Freddie Jones and Charles Laughton).
05/09/18 - Hot on the heels of giving an opera in Amsterdam, I'll be incarnating Lucifer in the timeless York Mystery Plays. Here's an article that details the 'Mysteries After Dark' format for 12th September, as well as providing ticket details (it also flatters me as 'the cadaverous, long-fingered James Swanton').
28/08/18 - For my performance in Frankenstein's Creature, I've been nominated by Total Film for their Best Actor award. I've already lost it to the legendary Sam Elliott, so I really couldn't be happier!
27/08/18 - On the very day of its premiere, Frankenstein's Creature receives its most flattering notice yet: 'The core thematic impact of the tale itself is on full display in Sam Ashurst's Frankenstein's Creature, which might not only be one of the most original interpretations of Shelley's work ever devised, but perhaps its most vital and fascinatingly surreal in decades ... An enthralling dissection of a literary classic. The dismembered parts, like the creature itself, have been reconstituted into a new life, a new form that challenges audiences intellectually and emotionally, invigorated by a performance of rare power and tragedy by James Swanton.' Read the review here, and curse the fact that you haven't seen the film yet.
22/08/18 - Have at our third rave review for Frankenstein's Creature. It describes the film as 'an extraordinary experience', my performance as 'mesmerising' and my torso as 'as much a special effect as in any other Frankenstein adaptation'. Click here to read in full. The same writer - Rob Daniel - has also produced an astonishingly in-depth interview with director Sam Ashurst.
02/08/18 - I'll be making a second appearance at Leicester Square's FrightFest as Salt gets its long-awaited UK premiere. It's a stylish, Bava-like horror short that's also showing at LA Shorts International Film Festival and HollyShorts Film Festival (at no less a landmark than Grauman's Chinese Theatre). Salt screens at FrightFest on 26th August at the Prince Charles Cinema, within Short Film Showcase 2. Tickets are still available - simply click this link - which is more than can be said for Frankenstein's Creature...
28/07/18 - Great/dreadful news! Frankenstein's Creature has become the first film at 2018's FrightFest to sell out. A few more tickets will be released for pass-holders on 18th August. Otherwise, that's it. If you scored a ticket, revel in the boutique exclusivity of the experience; if you didn't, placate yourself with director Sam Ashurst's discussion of the film on The Evolution of Horror.
09/07/18 - Some blush-makingly pleasant discussion of Frankenstein's Creature features in the latest, FrightFest-focused edition of the Arrow Video Podcast. Skip to the 42-minute mark for Frankenstein's Creature - but for goodness' sake, listen to the whole thing!
30/06/18 - Our second notice for Frankenstein's Creature is by no less than the inestimable Kim Newman. He came to the first night of the Theatre503 rendition back in 2015, and now he has some jolly nice things to say about the film: 'Swanton - who has done sterling work under make-up in Double Date and could plainly have a career as Britain's Doug Jones or Javier Botet if he's willing to subject himself to special effects make-up mad scientists - puts himself and us through the wringer in a radical take on the text ... An intriguing, valuable addition to the thriving filmography of Dr Frankenstein and All His Works.' Click here to read in full (and interact with a handy booking link).
28/06/18 - An extremely exciting development: Frankenstein's Creature will have its world premiere on 27th August at Cineworld Leicester Square, as part of FrightFest. Here's a press release on the seventy-odd (some very odd) films on show. Festival passes go on sale from 30th June, whilst tickets for single showings are available from 21st July. Click here for the Frankenstein's Creature page on the official FrightFest website - which also lets slip that we'll boast a score from Twin Peaks composer (and Frankenstein fan) Johnny Jewel.
25/06/18 - Hop over to SciFiNow for a first glimpse at the poster for Frankenstein's Creature. It features six incarnations of my fearsome face by the truly phenomenal Graham Humphreys, who created the iconic UK posters for The Evil Dead and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
17/05/18 - I'm now represented by deVine Voices for all manner of voice-over work. Here's my page, including audio samples and a booking form.
14/04/18 - The first review's in for my upcoming feature film Frankenstein's Creature, and it's a humdinger: 'Swanton's performance is an intense tour de force, captivating the viewer with not just the Creature's cruel perversion, but also his pathos and poetry ... Swanton's soliloquised script (originally written as a play) brims with sophisticated verbal symmetries and echoing wordplay, at last giving voice to a Creature woven as much from his own words as from the parts of others' corpses.' Click here to read the notice in full.
29/03/18 - Following last year's cinema release, Double Date hits UK television. The inaugural showing comes at 10.20pm on 5th April, on Sky Cinema Premiere. A perfect opportunity to catch up with my shambling, decaying Daddy, blessed with the BIFA-nominated make-up of Dan Martin.
17/03/18 - The Photos section is now fully updated. You'll find some striking new headshots at the top, courtesy of Rory Lewis.
21/02/18 - I've just wrapped on the pilot for a television horror series. I'm not at liberty to disclose details yet. But as soon as I am...
25/01/18 - There's now a hidden page on this website for my creature showreels. These are available only on request: to view them, please contact my agents; or, if you'd prefer, contact me personally.
01/01/18 - The Christmas Books went well, the great Miriam Margolyes showed up, and the five-in-one-day record was set! If you're wistful for Dickens, have a gander at our astonishing Christmas Books trailer (created by Roger Beale, scored by Jeff Carpenter). I'm lavishing my January on a very special creature project, which I'm hoping to share with you soon. It ties in with a bicentenary - and that's about all I can say right now.
01/11/17 - This December, I'm giving performances of all five of Charles Dickens's Christmas Books. These stories distil the very spirit of the season - enchanting, exuberant, redemptive - and will unfold within the matchless setting of the Charles Dickens Museum in London. Further details and booking information are available on the Museum's website. The individual performances run from 9th to 16th December, and break down as follows:
9th Dec: A Christmas Carol (3pm), The Chimes (6pm)
10th Dec: The Cricket on the Hearth (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
12th Dec: The Battle of Life (6pm)
13th Dec: The Haunted Man (6pm)
14th Dec: The Battle of Life (3pm), The Cricket on the Hearth (6pm)
15th Dec: The Haunted Man (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
16th Dec: The Chimes (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
Then, on 23rd December, I'll be delivering the five Christmas Books in a single day - a marathon that runs from 10.30am to 6.30pm, with seasonal refreshments and a copy of the stories thrown in. This marathon is a world-first; not even Dickens had hubris enough to try it. As before, tickets can be purchased through the Museum's website.
09/09/17 - I have some vague association with this York-based production of Dracula. No prizes for guessing what. The site-sensitive play runs from 31st October to 4th November at 41 Monkgate. Tickets can be purchased here.
21/08/17 - My next creature assignment shoots this week. It's a short subject for Halloween - and that's about all I'm allowed to tell you right now. Gory details soon, I hope.
02/08/17 - My film debut, Double Date, has its English premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square on 27th August. It's an utterly characteristic performance, I can tell you that much. Tickets can be purchased on the FrightFest website. A nationwide release will follow on 13th October (yes: a Friday).
18/07/17 - It's just possible you've seen me gadding about York in the person of notorious highwayman Dick Turpin. In a launch event for The York Dungeon's new show, I was given a once-in-a-lifetime 'reverse funeral' round and about the city, drawn on an old-fashioned hearse by two magnificent Black Besses. A little explanation here (with some illustration); lavish illustration here (and practically no explanation). Rejoice, one and all, for Dick is back.
27/04/17 - I served as Henry Irving consultant on A Mask of Shadows, the latest mystery novel from Oscar de Muriel. I'll be damned if I don't get round to playing Irving in the flesh one day - but until then, purchase this intriguing book (and marvel at my back-pages accreditation).
15/03/17 - The teaser trailer for up-and-coming horror film Arcadia State is now online. And very sinister it is too. I play Simon, a coma patient, as well as the malevolent presence that lurks within him. Read about the film here; alternatively, skip the context and head straight for the trailer. More information on this exciting project soon.
12/03/17 - A timely throwback to The Ghost Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore. The peerless Kim Newman has published the script for 'Frankenstein on Ice' in his new collection Anno Dracula 1899 and Other Stories. And if that wasn't grounds enough to purchase, it's also the first time I've had my name in a book!
01/02/17 - I'm in the season premiere of cult web series I Am Tim. It's the part of a lifetime: a chainsaw-wielding vampire with a cod-Lugosi accent. Click here to watch my episode.
07/12/16 - Skip to the Photos page for some fresh Sikes & Nancy production shots, taken during our sell-out run at Jersey Opera House.
02/11/16 - In the run-up to Jersey, I'll be giving Sikes & Nancy two previews in York. Murder shall be done at 7.30pm on 21st and 22nd November, at the ancient Black Swan Inn (where Charles Dickens stayed when researching Nicholas Nickleby). Tickets will be available on the door; and for updates, here's a handy Facebook page. Then it's to Jersey Opera House for the next two: 8pm on 25th and 26th November. Tickets can still be purchased online - but move fast, as they're selling out!
11/09/16 - I'm playing a psychotic drama tutor in Kath, Alice ('and?') Stibs, a comedy of murkiest black by the great Mark Watson. Four performances only, from 6th to 9th October, at York arts venue The Basement. Book your tickets now!
10/09/16 - Shooting (my bit, anyway) has now wrapped on the horror-comedy Double Date. I'll keep you updated with release details. Soon enough, there'll be chance to see me horrify on a moderately big screen.
08/09/16 - I've received The York Dungeon's 2016 Best Actor gong. I think the choice eminently correct.
16/08/16 - Preparations are underway for my feature film debut! I can't reveal too much yet, but these face and body casts are extensive...
22/07/16 - My one-man play Sikes & Nancy will return in November, for a limited engagement at Jersey Opera House. I last acted the show in January 2015, rounding off its well-received run at the West End's Trafalgar Studios. It'll be good to get Nancy back on her feet (the better to strike her down again). For the eager, tickets can be booked here.
30/04/16 - 'My Desert Island Discs' - Thoughts on eight of my favourite records. Includes musical settings for Frankenstein and Dracula, some dazzlingly eccentric vocalists, plus choices mysterious even to me. Click here to read it.
17/04/16 - 'Familiar Old Ghosts' - A diary of my adventures in Cambridge, Leeds and Blackpool, ending in a tribute to a very dear friend. Click here to read it.
01/02/16 - I'm limbering up for The Ghost Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, a new portmanteau horror play with a focus on monsters. I'll be playing the Ghost, very nearly the title role (survey the full cast here). The evening will feature new stories by Christopher Fowler, Stephen Gallagher, Kim Newman, Lynda E. Rucker, Robert Shearman and Lisa Tuttle, with framing material and direction from Sean Hogan. Performances run from 7th to 19th March at the West End's Tristan Bates Theatre (I was last there with Sikes & Nancy in 2012). We're on course to sell out, so book your tickets on the Tristan Bates website.
29/01/16 - 'The Funny Man is Me' - Newley's resolutions continued! Do ignore my grumblings, it's all rather positive really. Click here to read it.
06/01/16 - 'Drowning in Your Dream' - Some necessary excavation of my 2015. It's shot through with Anthony Newley, who last year became one of my favourite performers. Click here to read it.
30/12/15 - Charming notice for Winter Gothic. I can retire content, having now been described as 'York's answer to Peter Cushing and Vincent Price'.
19/12/15 - A nice pair of Winter Gothic interviews! To begin, here's mine in The Press. And then there's Robyn's on BBC Radio York (skip to the half-hour mark), with no less than panto legend Martin Barrass! Book your tickets posthaste, by way of this handy link.
01/12/15 - This Christmas, I'll be playing up north in Winter Gothic: a stylish compendium of Victorian ghost stories. My fellow actor is the talented Robyn Grant. Winter Gothic is also a chance for me to indulge my Henry Irving obsession: not only am I playing his celebrated Mathias (he who hears The Bells), but I'll be reciting the entirety of 'The Dream of Eugene Aram' (a piece with which Irving reduced Bram Stoker to hysterics). Performances run from 22nd to 29th December at St Martin-cum-Gregory's Church, York. Have at this handy Facebook Event for more details.
16/11/15 - I'm taking part in a rehearsed reading of Nigel Kneale's long-lost (and deeply frightening) teleplay The Road. Also cast are Mark Gatiss and Jason Morell, son of Quatermass actor Andre Morell. The evening will feature contributions from genre luminaries Stephen Volk, Kim Newman and Jonathan Rigby (who also directs). More information on this one-off event on 10th December.
30/10/15 - Halloween publicity on the Telegraph website, courtesy of Tristram Fane Saunders. Reprehensible joke, I'm afraid.
15/10/15 - With esteemed colleague Michael Mortimer, I've co-written The York Dungeon's Body Snatchers show. Our Jack the Ripper show was the highest rated of all the Dungeons worldwide (92% visitor satisfaction), and was extended through September due to popular demand. You can encounter the Body Snatchers over Halloween, from 17th October through 1st November.
31/07/15 - 'The Mystery of Christopher Lee' - My delayed obituary for an acting hero great and strange. Much elaboration on The Curse of Frankenstein, a film that resonated more than ever as I rehearsed my Creature. Click here to read it.
24/07/15 - 'Creature Ascending' - Nervy elaboration on tempting the Creature into the sunlight, three years after I committed to playing him. Click here to read it.
17/07/15 - Frankenstein's Creature, my next one-man play, will soon have its first outing. The show runs from 25th to 29th August at London's respected new-writing venue Theatre503. The show will be produced by old co-conspirators Dippermouth, with direction from Jack Gamble. Click here for the press release, and click here to book tickets. For those under twenty-six, there are 100 tickets at just £10 each.
23/06/15 - I've co-written The York Dungeon's new Jack the Ripper show. See it (and, occasionally, me) from 25th July to 6th September. I'm also behind some forthcoming street theatre, so look out for that too!
03/06/15 - After much foot-dragging, I've sifted through the Sikes & Nancy reviews and posted them up on this website. A comprehensive listing can be found here; a few highlights are included on the Sikes & Nancy page.
31/03/15 - 'Island Dreaming' - Here, I take my thoughts for a walk, and try to work out what I want to do next with theatre. Richard III looms large, as do a few other bogeymen. Click here to read it.
06/03/15 - 'The Fool Must Die' - A glance at the phenomenon of the tragic clown. With a particular focus on Stephen Fry and Anthony Newley, whose song 'The Man Who Makes You Laugh' has never been surpassed. Click here to read it.
04/01/15 - After four exhausting months, Sikes & Nancy has finished, and this ghoul is going to his coveted rest. I'm told that the reviews were alright, so by all means read them. I haven't (a great victory), but I have enjoyed these publicity images, the work of the sinfully talented Chrystal Ding. Stay watchful for news on Sikes & Nancy's next appearance...
30/12/14 - 'Last Lessons' - The sixth (and final) diary of the Sikes & Nancy tour. Almost dangerously close to self-help, with a running theme on vanquishing fear. There are also a few scraps on the Trafalgar experience. Click here to read it.
03/12/14 - 'Meeting the Villain-Hero' - The fifth Sikes & Nancy diary. Speculation on salvaging the voice (not to mention Dickens' disastrous vocal regime), performing on Halloween night and my undying horror of reviews. A particular joy to give the show for David Leonard, who, via the York Theatre Royal panto, remains my first theatrical hero. Click here to read it.
08/11/14 - There's now a Facebook Event page for Sikes & Nancy. It's the latest of our social media takeover: there's also the 'Dickens with a Difference' page and the Sikes & Nancy Twitter account.
31/10/14 - 'Dreaming to Order' - Taking its cue from the great Ralph Richardson, this fourth Sikes & Nancy diary unfolds in a mystic vein. Haunted theatres, possessed actors, shadows and nightmares and the ghosts of dogs - all have their place in this twisted show. Click here to read it.
25/10/14 - 'Forcing the Soul' - The third Sikes & Nancy production diary, covering Middlesbrough through Southend. Focuses include performing through illness, the Dungeon as training ground, that which is 'TRUE' in theatre (thorny ground), and calling on the emotions so crucial to melodrama. Click here to read it.
22/10/14 - Glad tidings! Show your ticket for Sikes & Nancy or Miss Havisham's Expectations at the Dickens House Museum - the very property where Dickens wrote Oliver Twist - and you'll receive discounted entry. The offer is valid from the 2nd to the 31st of January 2015 - a little while after the shows finish, the better to sustain your Dickensian reverie. Don't pass up your chance to visit this wonderful place. 'Shrine' is not too strong a word.
29/09/14 - Tickets are now available for the West End run of Sikes & Nancy. Head to the Trafalgar Studios website to book for one of our thirty murders (evenings at 9.15pm, matinees at 4.30pm). Tickets are also on sale for our sister show: Linda Marlowe in Miss Havisham's Expectations. Together, we are 'Dickens with a Difference' - and there are savings to be had booking both at once.
29/09/14 - 'The Hertfordshire Horror' - A second Sikes & Nancy rehearsal diary, covering final rehearsals and first performances. Abundant thoughts on working without a director, conquering opening night terrors and taming this Dickensian beastie. Click here to read it.
27/09/14 - To complement our recent Facebook page, there now exists a Twitter account for Sikes & Nancy (@sikesandnancy). Look sharp for up-to-the-minute news on the play's grand progress.
17/09/14 - Tonight marks the first tour date for Sikes & Nancy (courtesy of The Radlett Centre in Hertfordshire). Click here for our gloriously macabre trailer.
09/09/14 - 'Into the Black Lagoon' - An early rehearsal diary for Sikes & Nancy. The process behind a one-person show is one of the world's great mysteries. Fortunately, it's also a process augmented by divers theatrical ghosts: from F. M. Alexander and Eugene Aram to Dora Bryan and Mary Poppins. Click here to read it.
01/09/14 - There's now a handy Facebook page for Sikes & Nancy! Should you have an account, click here to give it a token 'Like'. It's sure to be the quickest resource for updates on the tour. To lessen the bilious pong of self-promotion, I'm going to be liberal with the Dickens quotations.
28/07/14 - I've created a page for Sikes & Nancy on this very website (here it is). Do check back: I'll be periodically refreshing it with dates, venues, booking information and anything else of interest.
03/07/14 - A very exciting development: following its UK tour, Sikes & Nancy will transfer to the Trafalgar Studios for Christmas. I'm thrilled to be rejoining London's Dickensian theatre industry, this time in the heart of the West End. More to come shortly!
31/05/14 - 'Happier Tortures' - Delirious romping sustained, with a study of those tortures that enliven Kenton's Island of Lost Souls (1933), Ulmer's The Black Cat (1934), Bava's The Mask of Satan (1960), Corman's Pit and the Pendulum (1961), Fuest's The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and Hickox's Theatre of Blood (1973). Click here to read it. And don't forget: click here to book tickets for In the Penal Colony.
16/05/14 - 'The Comedy of Torture' - A delirious romp through classic horror's most enticing tortures, with a special focus on the Bela Lugosi shocker The Raven (1935). Click here to read it. This also counts as preparation for In the Penal Colony, so don't forget to book tickets for the upcoming torture opera.
31/03/14 - 'Fires of Industry' - A closer look at my acting commitments across the next six months: the Tyrannical Tudors at The York Dungeon; In the Penal Colony at the Arts Theatre, West End; and the long-awaited tour of Sikes & Nancy. Click here to read it.
26/03/14 - I've just been cast in Shadwell Opera's In the Penal Colony - Franz Kafka's horrifying short story, as reimagined by Philip Glass. The show will play on 16th and 30th June at the Arts Theatre, West End. Tickets can be purchased on the Arts Theatre website; book soon, as seats will be limited.
21/03/14 - 'Devil Music' - A study of the happy phenomenon of the villain song. Includes thoughts on Tony Jay's immortal rendition of 'Hellfire', the Brocken scene in Henry Irving's Faust, and a few different nights on Bald Mountain. Click here to read it.
21/03/14 - The UK tour of Sikes & Nancy has now been confirmed - for September through November this year! Dates and venues will be released very shortly...
28/02/14 - 'Living in Film (2011-13)' - A continuation of the below, including bits and pieces on Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938), Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1947) and Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980), as well as the films the swirled about them. Click here to read it.
21/02/14 - 'Living in Film (2008-10)' - After seeing Citizen Kane for the first time, I started wondering why I like the films that I do. Fortunately, I keep a list of every film I watch! Highlights of this entry include Lang's M (1931), Mankiewicz's All About Eve (1950) and Zinnemann's A Man for All Seasons (1966). Click here to read it.
01/02/14 - I've been made an Artistic Associate of Dippermouth. An excellent new company, so do keep an eye on their news (I'll be doing my bit on this page).
31/01/14 - 'The Curse of Ham' - I take the concept of 'ham' to the theatrical butcher's shop. Rather like 'luvvie', a word inept at best, malignant at worst. Click here to read it.
17/01/14 - 'Neo-Gothic Shakespeare' - A study of the Victorian repertory: that strange, gaslit realm where William Shakespeare and Sweeney Todd compete for supremacy. Includes the usual frenzied burblings on favourite plays, the history of horror, and, of course, the magnificent Henry Irving. Click here to read it.
07/08/20 - I've been cast as Jack (a homicidal harlequin) in the sequel to horror hit The Jack in the Box. We shoot this October!
19/07/20 - At 9pm on 26th July, I'll be streaming '"Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad"' from the innermost sanctum of The York Ghost Merchants. The format's exactly the same as last month; there are also two collectible ghosts named Montague (after M. R. James), to be won by two lucky donors. Here are the details in full, including how to view and how to chip in with a few bob.
07/07/20 - No amount of quarantine could prevent me playing the unspeakable in Host, a new feature-length horror film that was shot entirely under lockdown conditions. Director Rob Savage and I had many fascinating discussions via Zoom, and it soon became clear that Stephen Volk's Ghostwatch was our distinguished model. Click here for more information; and look out for the film, which streams on Shudder from 30th July.
26/06/20 - My second guest appearance on The Evolution of Horror is now live! This time it's an in-depth discussion of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Freaks (1932). Great thanks to the charming Mike Muncer for having me back, and to Conrad Veidt for giving me so much of merit to bang on about. Click here to listen.
17/06/20 - My next performance will be a dramatic reading of 'The Signal-Man' by Charles Dickens - an apposite choice, as this month marks the 150th anniversary of Dickens's death. The York Ghost Merchants is resurrecting the format that went down a storm in March, the sole difference being that our audience must now move online! The stream goes out at 9pm on 21st June. Any and all donations will be greatly appreciated; this link explains how you can help, as well as precisely where to view the live stream.
11/02/20 - On 1st March, I'll be giving a very special dramatic reading of 'Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book' - one of my absolute favourite M. R. James stories - within The York Ghost Merchants. Most excitingly, this means that a bespoke and highly collectible ghost figurine (patterned after the fiend in James's story) will be included with every ticket. Tickets go on sale at 10am on 15th February; demand is expected to be high, so don't wait around!
06/02/20 - It's Henry Irving's 182nd birthday! On that basis, it gives me great pleasure to announce that my next Irving Undead will be at Bournemouth's Russell-Cotes Museum - which features, amongst its wealth of luscious Victoriana, a full-blown Irving Room! I'll be in heaven, and I only hope you can join me there at 7.30pm on 26th March. (Cancelled, alas, due to the global crisis.)
06/02/20 - Jubilant tidings: Walking Against the Rain has been given the official green light to shoot this June. Here's the full press release.
01/01/20 - Your next chance to see me incarnate Henry Irving in Irving Undead will be at the Vera Fletcher Hall, Thames Ditton, at 7.30pm on 24th January. For those based in the metropolis, it's only a short way out of London. Click here to purchase tickets. January's an absurdly hectic month - I'm also shooting two horror films - so this will likely be your only chance to see me, in any capacity, at all!
22/12/19 - A fine notice for Ghost Stories for Christmas from Arts York, following my tripe-stuffed performance of The Chimes: 'Swanton cuts together a fantastical ensemble of characters fully fleshed out with idiosyncratic comedies and, where required, unique humanities … This is an actor who truly knows and loves his subject, so you'd be hard-pushed to find a more authentic and enjoyable recreation of these classics.' Click here to read in full.
15/12/19 - Here's a comprehensive interview ahead of Ghost Stories for Christmas, with the tagged-on bonus of a rave review for last October's Irving Undead. Click here to read it.
08/11/19 - I'm this week's guest on The Evolution of Horror! It's my very first appearance on any podcast, anywhere, at any time, and a fine excuse to rant on about two of my absolute favourite horror films, Häxan (1922) and The Black Cat (1934). Click here to listen to my frenzied burblings.
06/11/19 - And, extending on the below, I'll be giving my Ghost Stories for Christmas at York Medical Society from 17th to 21st December. Get your tickets now on the York Theatre Royal website; and distribute your time according to the following dates:
17th Dec: A Christmas Carol (7pm)
18th Dec: The Chimes (7pm)
19th Dec: A Christmas Carol (7pm)
20th Dec: The Haunted Man (7pm)
21st Dec: A Christmas Carol (7pm)
01/11/19 - Come December, I'll be reprising my Ghost Stories for Christmas programme at London's Charles Dickens Museum. We run from 9th to 15th December. Tickets can now be booked on the Museum website; this year's schedule runs as follows:
9th Dec: A Christmas Carol (6pm)
10th Dec: A Christmas Carol (3pm), The Haunted Man (6pm)
11th Dec: A Christmas Carol (3pm), The Chimes (6pm)
12th Dec: The Chimes (3pm)
13th Dec: The Haunted Man (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
14th Dec: The Chimes (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
15th Dec: A Christmas Carol (3pm), The Haunted Man (6pm)
21/10/19 - Black Mass will have its world premiere at the Birmingham Film Festival. Be there on 2nd November to witness my latest screen monster.
12/10/19 - And here's a second splendid notice for Irving Undead, this time from Arts York: 'Full of biographical anecdotes, historical odes to and recreations of Irving's performances, and dedicated ponderings, Irving Undead makes for an intriguing, moving and remarkable piece of theatre. Go for the tales, stay for the unbreakable bond you will form with an indomitable creature of the night.' Click here to read in full.
12/10/19 - Here's our first notice for Irving Undead, courtesy of York arts doyen Charles Hutchinson. A nice sense of legacy in this piece: 'As ever, whether playing Dracula, Dickens' Bill Sikes, Frankenstein's Creature, Lucifer or now Irving, Swanton brings an angular physicality to his bravura performance, wherein he seems to consume the character he plays, so wholly does he take on the part.' For your own consumption, here's the complete review.
13/09/19 - I'm taking part in a very special rehearsed reading of Vampirella, the unmade Hammer Films screenplay by Christopher Wicking. I'll be reunited with director Jonathan Rigby, Jason Morell and Claire Louise Amias, with whom I recreated Nigel Kneale's lost teleplay The Road in 2015; I'll also be acting opposite Caroline Munro, beloved by we Hammer acolytes for Dracula A.D. 1972 and Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter. The venue is London's Regent Street Cinema, the date is 17th October, and tickets are now on sale.
03/09/19 - Click here for an elegant preview of Irving Undead from Arts York. Chuffed to be described as 'a heartthrob of the nineteenth-century Grotesque.' I'm always doing dreadful things to people's hearts. Tickets are flying fast now, so don't forget to book...
21/08/19 - I'm thrilled to announce that my one-man play Irving Undead is at last going into production. After six years of immersing myself in the Guv'nor's life and art - alternately breathtaking, sad, and profoundly strange - it means the world to be attempting his resurrection. Irving Undead will have its first three showings on 10th, 11th and 12th October at York Medical Society. Tickets can be booked through the York Theatre Royal website; I'm meanwhile working on bringing the show further south in 2020.
01/07/19 - The Kickstarter page is now live for Walking Against the Rain, Scott Lyus's ambitious biblical monster movie. Should it meets its funding goals, I'll be playing each and every one of 'The Forsaken' - a particularly vicious strain of apocalyptic monstrosity. And there's no reasonable excuse for not wanting to see that. So get you to the Kickstarter and drop some digital coins into the virtual bowl.
28/06/19 - I'm confirmed on the next horror film, The Thing That Ate the Birds. Hint: I am not playing the birds.
04/04/19 - I'm playing Subtle in The Alchemist - a scabrous Jonsonian entry in the York International Shakespeare Festival. The production reunites me with Bronzehead and Tom Straszewski, both of whom helped me bag Outstanding Performing Artist in last year's York Culture Awards; I'll also be acting opposite legendary character actor Bryan Heeley, who returns to the legitimate theatre like a king returning from exile. We bestride the Festival from 11th to 15th May; book your tickets now through the York Theatre Royal website.
01/04/19 - My next horror film assignment is Darkness in Black Mass. We shoot at the end of April. Tantalising details are available on the film's Kickstarter page.
26/03/19 - I've now added a Facebook page to my infernal social media empire. Be sure to sling us a Like for semi-regular updates.
21/03/19 - I'm now on Instagram, operating under the handle @jamescswanton. Follow, follow, follow - do, do do.
18/03/19 - Another positive notice for Frankenstein's Creature from British Horror Revival: 'an extraordinary avant-garde piece of filmed theatre … Mesmerising and utterly brilliant.' Jolly pleased to be likened to Wolfit! Click here for more.
16/01/19 - Frankenstein's Creature is now available to pre-order on DVD, courtesy of Hex Media. 200 copies will be pressed, to honour the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley's novel. For such an affordable disc, it's a very impressive package: two information-packed audio commentaries (one from director Sam Ashurst and SFX supervisor Dan Martin; one from me), multiple interviews, a short film, an image gallery, digital download rights, and a hard copy of Graham Humphreys's sensational poster design. Follow this link and get your order in; we're expecting to sell out before our 18th March street date.
01/01/19 - A few New Year laurels for Frankenstein's Creature: we rate an honourable mention in Walter Chaw's list of the 50 best films of 2018, and Mike Muncer has elected me his favourite male performance of the year on The Evolution of Horror. As mentioned by Mike in the latter, an extras-loaded DVD release is imminent. More details soon.
22/12/18 - Huge thanks to all who came to Ghost Stories for Christmas. We had sell-out performances, in both London and York, as well as this heartening notice from The Press: 'The gothic, cadaverous York actor and writer Swanton has had a wonderful year ... His face is as elastic as his voice in this tour-de-force solo show, where physicality, keen intelligence in editing, dark humour and chameleon acting skills all come into play, allied to his brilliant use of lighting.' Click here to read in full.
14/12/18 - Click here for an in-depth interview about Ghost Stories for Christmas. Within, I describe The Muppet Christmas Carol as 'a near-perfect film' (it is) and The Chimes as 'A Brexit Christmas Carol' (it is).
02/12/18 - Here's an article in The Telegraph that highlights the virtues of The Chimes, as well as a certain Yorkshire character actor's upcoming performances of it (8th, 11th and 13th December at the Charles Dickens Museum; 18th December at the York Medical Society).
20/11/18 - Much to my surprise, I won Outstanding Performing Artist in the 2018 York Culture Awards! Validation for three very unhappy monsters: Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Creature and Lucifer. Here's a full list of the winners, as well as photos from the ceremony.
11/11/18 - In addition to the London performances (see below), I'll be giving my Dickensian Ghost Stories for Christmas in York. We're playing at the atmospheric York Medical Society (just off Stonegate), and here's the performance schedule:
17th Dec: A Christmas Carol (7pm)
18th Dec: The Chimes (7pm)
19th Dec: A Christmas Carol (7pm)
20th Dec: The Haunted Man (7pm)
21st Dec: A Christmas Carol (7pm)
Tickets are now on sale through the York Theatre Royal website.
01/11/18 - This December, I'm back at London's Charles Dickens Museum with Ghost Stories for Christmas: a scaled-down Christmas Books programme with fresh renditions of A Christmas Carol, The Chimes and The Haunted Man. We run from 7th to 14th December, and the schedule is as follows:
7th Dec: A Christmas Carol (6pm)
8th Dec: The Chimes (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
10th Dec: The Haunted Man (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
11th Dec: A Christmas Carol (3pm), The Chimes (6pm)
12th Dec: A Christmas Carol (3pm), The Haunted Man (6pm)
13th Dec: The Chimes (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
14th Dec: The Haunted Man (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
Do book your tickets on the Museum website - if only to make sure I haven't memorised 180 minutes of text in vain! There'll be further performances in my native York; announcement to follow.
29/10/18 - A Halloween treat as Salt slinks its way onto Vimeo. Click here to watch this ingenious two-minute terror, steeped in sodium chloride. And here's hoping for a feature film...
26/10/18 - I've been nominated for Outstanding Performing Artist in the 2018 York Culture Awards, for my recent horror hat-trick of Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Creature and Lucifer. Comprehensive details here!
12/10/18 - Have at this in-depth interview with director Rob Savage about horror short Salt; I'm lauded within for 'crawling and spasming over household furniture.' Salt is making repeat appearances at London's Prince Charles Cinema over Halloween, so keep a sharp look-out (I'm particularly delighted that it's showing before the Donald Pleasence masterpiece Death Line).
06/10/18 - It's only just come to my attention, but here's an especially pleasing notice for my Lucifer in the York Mystery Plays: 'Swanton, a black-humoured Lucifer with the gaunt, haunted mien of an F. W. Murnau film actor, was a sprightly, sly master of ceremonies for these satanic Mysteries'. Click here to read in full.
28/09/18 - High praise for Frankenstein's Creature from critic Walter Chaw: 'Here, Swanton presents a sensitive, fractured intelligence discovering rain for the first time, rivers, the beauty of a nature to which he is an abomination, and loving relationships from which he will eternally be rejected. He's like a murderous Oscar Wilde ... He reveals that we're broken. Beyond repair, I think.' Click here to read the full notice. Also of interest: Chaw has written an Ashurst-centred interview (with a one-answer cameo from me).
13/09/18 - Click here to read an appreciative write-up for the twilight edition of the York Mystery Plays. Some superb photography; gratifying, too, to have my greatest ever ad-lib preserved in (virtual) print.
11/09/18 - High time for a round-up of Frankenstein's Creature interviews! There's this borderline relaxed sit-down interview where I'm joined by Sam Ashurst (Mike Muncer suavely chairs; I attempt to determine my future employment); there are also the more frenzied press junket trimmings: for PremiereScene (where I publicly deny these constant accusations that I'm a Method actor), for FrightFest TV (where I'm forced to say I'm better than other people) and for Entertainment Focus (where I get to wax lyrical about Boris Karloff, Freddie Jones and Charles Laughton).
05/09/18 - Hot on the heels of giving an opera in Amsterdam, I'll be incarnating Lucifer in the timeless York Mystery Plays. Here's an article that details the 'Mysteries After Dark' format for 12th September, as well as providing ticket details (it also flatters me as 'the cadaverous, long-fingered James Swanton').
28/08/18 - For my performance in Frankenstein's Creature, I've been nominated by Total Film for their Best Actor award. I've already lost it to the legendary Sam Elliott, so I really couldn't be happier!
27/08/18 - On the very day of its premiere, Frankenstein's Creature receives its most flattering notice yet: 'The core thematic impact of the tale itself is on full display in Sam Ashurst's Frankenstein's Creature, which might not only be one of the most original interpretations of Shelley's work ever devised, but perhaps its most vital and fascinatingly surreal in decades ... An enthralling dissection of a literary classic. The dismembered parts, like the creature itself, have been reconstituted into a new life, a new form that challenges audiences intellectually and emotionally, invigorated by a performance of rare power and tragedy by James Swanton.' Read the review here, and curse the fact that you haven't seen the film yet.
22/08/18 - Have at our third rave review for Frankenstein's Creature. It describes the film as 'an extraordinary experience', my performance as 'mesmerising' and my torso as 'as much a special effect as in any other Frankenstein adaptation'. Click here to read in full. The same writer - Rob Daniel - has also produced an astonishingly in-depth interview with director Sam Ashurst.
02/08/18 - I'll be making a second appearance at Leicester Square's FrightFest as Salt gets its long-awaited UK premiere. It's a stylish, Bava-like horror short that's also showing at LA Shorts International Film Festival and HollyShorts Film Festival (at no less a landmark than Grauman's Chinese Theatre). Salt screens at FrightFest on 26th August at the Prince Charles Cinema, within Short Film Showcase 2. Tickets are still available - simply click this link - which is more than can be said for Frankenstein's Creature...
28/07/18 - Great/dreadful news! Frankenstein's Creature has become the first film at 2018's FrightFest to sell out. A few more tickets will be released for pass-holders on 18th August. Otherwise, that's it. If you scored a ticket, revel in the boutique exclusivity of the experience; if you didn't, placate yourself with director Sam Ashurst's discussion of the film on The Evolution of Horror.
09/07/18 - Some blush-makingly pleasant discussion of Frankenstein's Creature features in the latest, FrightFest-focused edition of the Arrow Video Podcast. Skip to the 42-minute mark for Frankenstein's Creature - but for goodness' sake, listen to the whole thing!
30/06/18 - Our second notice for Frankenstein's Creature is by no less than the inestimable Kim Newman. He came to the first night of the Theatre503 rendition back in 2015, and now he has some jolly nice things to say about the film: 'Swanton - who has done sterling work under make-up in Double Date and could plainly have a career as Britain's Doug Jones or Javier Botet if he's willing to subject himself to special effects make-up mad scientists - puts himself and us through the wringer in a radical take on the text ... An intriguing, valuable addition to the thriving filmography of Dr Frankenstein and All His Works.' Click here to read in full (and interact with a handy booking link).
28/06/18 - An extremely exciting development: Frankenstein's Creature will have its world premiere on 27th August at Cineworld Leicester Square, as part of FrightFest. Here's a press release on the seventy-odd (some very odd) films on show. Festival passes go on sale from 30th June, whilst tickets for single showings are available from 21st July. Click here for the Frankenstein's Creature page on the official FrightFest website - which also lets slip that we'll boast a score from Twin Peaks composer (and Frankenstein fan) Johnny Jewel.
25/06/18 - Hop over to SciFiNow for a first glimpse at the poster for Frankenstein's Creature. It features six incarnations of my fearsome face by the truly phenomenal Graham Humphreys, who created the iconic UK posters for The Evil Dead and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
17/05/18 - I'm now represented by deVine Voices for all manner of voice-over work. Here's my page, including audio samples and a booking form.
14/04/18 - The first review's in for my upcoming feature film Frankenstein's Creature, and it's a humdinger: 'Swanton's performance is an intense tour de force, captivating the viewer with not just the Creature's cruel perversion, but also his pathos and poetry ... Swanton's soliloquised script (originally written as a play) brims with sophisticated verbal symmetries and echoing wordplay, at last giving voice to a Creature woven as much from his own words as from the parts of others' corpses.' Click here to read the notice in full.
29/03/18 - Following last year's cinema release, Double Date hits UK television. The inaugural showing comes at 10.20pm on 5th April, on Sky Cinema Premiere. A perfect opportunity to catch up with my shambling, decaying Daddy, blessed with the BIFA-nominated make-up of Dan Martin.
17/03/18 - The Photos section is now fully updated. You'll find some striking new headshots at the top, courtesy of Rory Lewis.
21/02/18 - I've just wrapped on the pilot for a television horror series. I'm not at liberty to disclose details yet. But as soon as I am...
25/01/18 - There's now a hidden page on this website for my creature showreels. These are available only on request: to view them, please contact my agents; or, if you'd prefer, contact me personally.
01/01/18 - The Christmas Books went well, the great Miriam Margolyes showed up, and the five-in-one-day record was set! If you're wistful for Dickens, have a gander at our astonishing Christmas Books trailer (created by Roger Beale, scored by Jeff Carpenter). I'm lavishing my January on a very special creature project, which I'm hoping to share with you soon. It ties in with a bicentenary - and that's about all I can say right now.
01/11/17 - This December, I'm giving performances of all five of Charles Dickens's Christmas Books. These stories distil the very spirit of the season - enchanting, exuberant, redemptive - and will unfold within the matchless setting of the Charles Dickens Museum in London. Further details and booking information are available on the Museum's website. The individual performances run from 9th to 16th December, and break down as follows:
9th Dec: A Christmas Carol (3pm), The Chimes (6pm)
10th Dec: The Cricket on the Hearth (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
12th Dec: The Battle of Life (6pm)
13th Dec: The Haunted Man (6pm)
14th Dec: The Battle of Life (3pm), The Cricket on the Hearth (6pm)
15th Dec: The Haunted Man (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
16th Dec: The Chimes (3pm), A Christmas Carol (6pm)
Then, on 23rd December, I'll be delivering the five Christmas Books in a single day - a marathon that runs from 10.30am to 6.30pm, with seasonal refreshments and a copy of the stories thrown in. This marathon is a world-first; not even Dickens had hubris enough to try it. As before, tickets can be purchased through the Museum's website.
09/09/17 - I have some vague association with this York-based production of Dracula. No prizes for guessing what. The site-sensitive play runs from 31st October to 4th November at 41 Monkgate. Tickets can be purchased here.
21/08/17 - My next creature assignment shoots this week. It's a short subject for Halloween - and that's about all I'm allowed to tell you right now. Gory details soon, I hope.
02/08/17 - My film debut, Double Date, has its English premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square on 27th August. It's an utterly characteristic performance, I can tell you that much. Tickets can be purchased on the FrightFest website. A nationwide release will follow on 13th October (yes: a Friday).
18/07/17 - It's just possible you've seen me gadding about York in the person of notorious highwayman Dick Turpin. In a launch event for The York Dungeon's new show, I was given a once-in-a-lifetime 'reverse funeral' round and about the city, drawn on an old-fashioned hearse by two magnificent Black Besses. A little explanation here (with some illustration); lavish illustration here (and practically no explanation). Rejoice, one and all, for Dick is back.
27/04/17 - I served as Henry Irving consultant on A Mask of Shadows, the latest mystery novel from Oscar de Muriel. I'll be damned if I don't get round to playing Irving in the flesh one day - but until then, purchase this intriguing book (and marvel at my back-pages accreditation).
15/03/17 - The teaser trailer for up-and-coming horror film Arcadia State is now online. And very sinister it is too. I play Simon, a coma patient, as well as the malevolent presence that lurks within him. Read about the film here; alternatively, skip the context and head straight for the trailer. More information on this exciting project soon.
12/03/17 - A timely throwback to The Ghost Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore. The peerless Kim Newman has published the script for 'Frankenstein on Ice' in his new collection Anno Dracula 1899 and Other Stories. And if that wasn't grounds enough to purchase, it's also the first time I've had my name in a book!
01/02/17 - I'm in the season premiere of cult web series I Am Tim. It's the part of a lifetime: a chainsaw-wielding vampire with a cod-Lugosi accent. Click here to watch my episode.
07/12/16 - Skip to the Photos page for some fresh Sikes & Nancy production shots, taken during our sell-out run at Jersey Opera House.
02/11/16 - In the run-up to Jersey, I'll be giving Sikes & Nancy two previews in York. Murder shall be done at 7.30pm on 21st and 22nd November, at the ancient Black Swan Inn (where Charles Dickens stayed when researching Nicholas Nickleby). Tickets will be available on the door; and for updates, here's a handy Facebook page. Then it's to Jersey Opera House for the next two: 8pm on 25th and 26th November. Tickets can still be purchased online - but move fast, as they're selling out!
11/09/16 - I'm playing a psychotic drama tutor in Kath, Alice ('and?') Stibs, a comedy of murkiest black by the great Mark Watson. Four performances only, from 6th to 9th October, at York arts venue The Basement. Book your tickets now!
10/09/16 - Shooting (my bit, anyway) has now wrapped on the horror-comedy Double Date. I'll keep you updated with release details. Soon enough, there'll be chance to see me horrify on a moderately big screen.
08/09/16 - I've received The York Dungeon's 2016 Best Actor gong. I think the choice eminently correct.
16/08/16 - Preparations are underway for my feature film debut! I can't reveal too much yet, but these face and body casts are extensive...
22/07/16 - My one-man play Sikes & Nancy will return in November, for a limited engagement at Jersey Opera House. I last acted the show in January 2015, rounding off its well-received run at the West End's Trafalgar Studios. It'll be good to get Nancy back on her feet (the better to strike her down again). For the eager, tickets can be booked here.
30/04/16 - 'My Desert Island Discs' - Thoughts on eight of my favourite records. Includes musical settings for Frankenstein and Dracula, some dazzlingly eccentric vocalists, plus choices mysterious even to me. Click here to read it.
17/04/16 - 'Familiar Old Ghosts' - A diary of my adventures in Cambridge, Leeds and Blackpool, ending in a tribute to a very dear friend. Click here to read it.
01/02/16 - I'm limbering up for The Ghost Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, a new portmanteau horror play with a focus on monsters. I'll be playing the Ghost, very nearly the title role (survey the full cast here). The evening will feature new stories by Christopher Fowler, Stephen Gallagher, Kim Newman, Lynda E. Rucker, Robert Shearman and Lisa Tuttle, with framing material and direction from Sean Hogan. Performances run from 7th to 19th March at the West End's Tristan Bates Theatre (I was last there with Sikes & Nancy in 2012). We're on course to sell out, so book your tickets on the Tristan Bates website.
29/01/16 - 'The Funny Man is Me' - Newley's resolutions continued! Do ignore my grumblings, it's all rather positive really. Click here to read it.
06/01/16 - 'Drowning in Your Dream' - Some necessary excavation of my 2015. It's shot through with Anthony Newley, who last year became one of my favourite performers. Click here to read it.
30/12/15 - Charming notice for Winter Gothic. I can retire content, having now been described as 'York's answer to Peter Cushing and Vincent Price'.
19/12/15 - A nice pair of Winter Gothic interviews! To begin, here's mine in The Press. And then there's Robyn's on BBC Radio York (skip to the half-hour mark), with no less than panto legend Martin Barrass! Book your tickets posthaste, by way of this handy link.
01/12/15 - This Christmas, I'll be playing up north in Winter Gothic: a stylish compendium of Victorian ghost stories. My fellow actor is the talented Robyn Grant. Winter Gothic is also a chance for me to indulge my Henry Irving obsession: not only am I playing his celebrated Mathias (he who hears The Bells), but I'll be reciting the entirety of 'The Dream of Eugene Aram' (a piece with which Irving reduced Bram Stoker to hysterics). Performances run from 22nd to 29th December at St Martin-cum-Gregory's Church, York. Have at this handy Facebook Event for more details.
16/11/15 - I'm taking part in a rehearsed reading of Nigel Kneale's long-lost (and deeply frightening) teleplay The Road. Also cast are Mark Gatiss and Jason Morell, son of Quatermass actor Andre Morell. The evening will feature contributions from genre luminaries Stephen Volk, Kim Newman and Jonathan Rigby (who also directs). More information on this one-off event on 10th December.
30/10/15 - Halloween publicity on the Telegraph website, courtesy of Tristram Fane Saunders. Reprehensible joke, I'm afraid.
15/10/15 - With esteemed colleague Michael Mortimer, I've co-written The York Dungeon's Body Snatchers show. Our Jack the Ripper show was the highest rated of all the Dungeons worldwide (92% visitor satisfaction), and was extended through September due to popular demand. You can encounter the Body Snatchers over Halloween, from 17th October through 1st November.
31/07/15 - 'The Mystery of Christopher Lee' - My delayed obituary for an acting hero great and strange. Much elaboration on The Curse of Frankenstein, a film that resonated more than ever as I rehearsed my Creature. Click here to read it.
24/07/15 - 'Creature Ascending' - Nervy elaboration on tempting the Creature into the sunlight, three years after I committed to playing him. Click here to read it.
17/07/15 - Frankenstein's Creature, my next one-man play, will soon have its first outing. The show runs from 25th to 29th August at London's respected new-writing venue Theatre503. The show will be produced by old co-conspirators Dippermouth, with direction from Jack Gamble. Click here for the press release, and click here to book tickets. For those under twenty-six, there are 100 tickets at just £10 each.
23/06/15 - I've co-written The York Dungeon's new Jack the Ripper show. See it (and, occasionally, me) from 25th July to 6th September. I'm also behind some forthcoming street theatre, so look out for that too!
03/06/15 - After much foot-dragging, I've sifted through the Sikes & Nancy reviews and posted them up on this website. A comprehensive listing can be found here; a few highlights are included on the Sikes & Nancy page.
31/03/15 - 'Island Dreaming' - Here, I take my thoughts for a walk, and try to work out what I want to do next with theatre. Richard III looms large, as do a few other bogeymen. Click here to read it.
06/03/15 - 'The Fool Must Die' - A glance at the phenomenon of the tragic clown. With a particular focus on Stephen Fry and Anthony Newley, whose song 'The Man Who Makes You Laugh' has never been surpassed. Click here to read it.
04/01/15 - After four exhausting months, Sikes & Nancy has finished, and this ghoul is going to his coveted rest. I'm told that the reviews were alright, so by all means read them. I haven't (a great victory), but I have enjoyed these publicity images, the work of the sinfully talented Chrystal Ding. Stay watchful for news on Sikes & Nancy's next appearance...
30/12/14 - 'Last Lessons' - The sixth (and final) diary of the Sikes & Nancy tour. Almost dangerously close to self-help, with a running theme on vanquishing fear. There are also a few scraps on the Trafalgar experience. Click here to read it.
03/12/14 - 'Meeting the Villain-Hero' - The fifth Sikes & Nancy diary. Speculation on salvaging the voice (not to mention Dickens' disastrous vocal regime), performing on Halloween night and my undying horror of reviews. A particular joy to give the show for David Leonard, who, via the York Theatre Royal panto, remains my first theatrical hero. Click here to read it.
08/11/14 - There's now a Facebook Event page for Sikes & Nancy. It's the latest of our social media takeover: there's also the 'Dickens with a Difference' page and the Sikes & Nancy Twitter account.
31/10/14 - 'Dreaming to Order' - Taking its cue from the great Ralph Richardson, this fourth Sikes & Nancy diary unfolds in a mystic vein. Haunted theatres, possessed actors, shadows and nightmares and the ghosts of dogs - all have their place in this twisted show. Click here to read it.
25/10/14 - 'Forcing the Soul' - The third Sikes & Nancy production diary, covering Middlesbrough through Southend. Focuses include performing through illness, the Dungeon as training ground, that which is 'TRUE' in theatre (thorny ground), and calling on the emotions so crucial to melodrama. Click here to read it.
22/10/14 - Glad tidings! Show your ticket for Sikes & Nancy or Miss Havisham's Expectations at the Dickens House Museum - the very property where Dickens wrote Oliver Twist - and you'll receive discounted entry. The offer is valid from the 2nd to the 31st of January 2015 - a little while after the shows finish, the better to sustain your Dickensian reverie. Don't pass up your chance to visit this wonderful place. 'Shrine' is not too strong a word.
29/09/14 - Tickets are now available for the West End run of Sikes & Nancy. Head to the Trafalgar Studios website to book for one of our thirty murders (evenings at 9.15pm, matinees at 4.30pm). Tickets are also on sale for our sister show: Linda Marlowe in Miss Havisham's Expectations. Together, we are 'Dickens with a Difference' - and there are savings to be had booking both at once.
29/09/14 - 'The Hertfordshire Horror' - A second Sikes & Nancy rehearsal diary, covering final rehearsals and first performances. Abundant thoughts on working without a director, conquering opening night terrors and taming this Dickensian beastie. Click here to read it.
27/09/14 - To complement our recent Facebook page, there now exists a Twitter account for Sikes & Nancy (@sikesandnancy). Look sharp for up-to-the-minute news on the play's grand progress.
17/09/14 - Tonight marks the first tour date for Sikes & Nancy (courtesy of The Radlett Centre in Hertfordshire). Click here for our gloriously macabre trailer.
09/09/14 - 'Into the Black Lagoon' - An early rehearsal diary for Sikes & Nancy. The process behind a one-person show is one of the world's great mysteries. Fortunately, it's also a process augmented by divers theatrical ghosts: from F. M. Alexander and Eugene Aram to Dora Bryan and Mary Poppins. Click here to read it.
01/09/14 - There's now a handy Facebook page for Sikes & Nancy! Should you have an account, click here to give it a token 'Like'. It's sure to be the quickest resource for updates on the tour. To lessen the bilious pong of self-promotion, I'm going to be liberal with the Dickens quotations.
28/07/14 - I've created a page for Sikes & Nancy on this very website (here it is). Do check back: I'll be periodically refreshing it with dates, venues, booking information and anything else of interest.
03/07/14 - A very exciting development: following its UK tour, Sikes & Nancy will transfer to the Trafalgar Studios for Christmas. I'm thrilled to be rejoining London's Dickensian theatre industry, this time in the heart of the West End. More to come shortly!
31/05/14 - 'Happier Tortures' - Delirious romping sustained, with a study of those tortures that enliven Kenton's Island of Lost Souls (1933), Ulmer's The Black Cat (1934), Bava's The Mask of Satan (1960), Corman's Pit and the Pendulum (1961), Fuest's The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and Hickox's Theatre of Blood (1973). Click here to read it. And don't forget: click here to book tickets for In the Penal Colony.
16/05/14 - 'The Comedy of Torture' - A delirious romp through classic horror's most enticing tortures, with a special focus on the Bela Lugosi shocker The Raven (1935). Click here to read it. This also counts as preparation for In the Penal Colony, so don't forget to book tickets for the upcoming torture opera.
31/03/14 - 'Fires of Industry' - A closer look at my acting commitments across the next six months: the Tyrannical Tudors at The York Dungeon; In the Penal Colony at the Arts Theatre, West End; and the long-awaited tour of Sikes & Nancy. Click here to read it.
26/03/14 - I've just been cast in Shadwell Opera's In the Penal Colony - Franz Kafka's horrifying short story, as reimagined by Philip Glass. The show will play on 16th and 30th June at the Arts Theatre, West End. Tickets can be purchased on the Arts Theatre website; book soon, as seats will be limited.
21/03/14 - 'Devil Music' - A study of the happy phenomenon of the villain song. Includes thoughts on Tony Jay's immortal rendition of 'Hellfire', the Brocken scene in Henry Irving's Faust, and a few different nights on Bald Mountain. Click here to read it.
21/03/14 - The UK tour of Sikes & Nancy has now been confirmed - for September through November this year! Dates and venues will be released very shortly...
28/02/14 - 'Living in Film (2011-13)' - A continuation of the below, including bits and pieces on Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938), Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1947) and Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980), as well as the films the swirled about them. Click here to read it.
21/02/14 - 'Living in Film (2008-10)' - After seeing Citizen Kane for the first time, I started wondering why I like the films that I do. Fortunately, I keep a list of every film I watch! Highlights of this entry include Lang's M (1931), Mankiewicz's All About Eve (1950) and Zinnemann's A Man for All Seasons (1966). Click here to read it.
01/02/14 - I've been made an Artistic Associate of Dippermouth. An excellent new company, so do keep an eye on their news (I'll be doing my bit on this page).
31/01/14 - 'The Curse of Ham' - I take the concept of 'ham' to the theatrical butcher's shop. Rather like 'luvvie', a word inept at best, malignant at worst. Click here to read it.
17/01/14 - 'Neo-Gothic Shakespeare' - A study of the Victorian repertory: that strange, gaslit realm where William Shakespeare and Sweeney Todd compete for supremacy. Includes the usual frenzied burblings on favourite plays, the history of horror, and, of course, the magnificent Henry Irving. Click here to read it.