Mike’s earliest brush with musical theatre was being turned down for the part of Herod in ‘Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’ – it was a tough blow to take at 9 years old! He first got the performing bug playing drums in various bands on the local pub and club circuit. His initial involvement in ‘proper’ theatre was when he joined DMTC in 2007 to work in the Props Team for “Gigi”. The following year’s show was “Mack and Mabel”, by which time Mike had joined the chorus to appear on stage for the first time. He then continued in the chorus for “Noel and Ivor” and “Fiddler on the Roof”, before working backstage in the Stage Crew for “Scrooge the Musical”. Mike then had a three year break from theatre while studying for his degree in history at Newcastle University, returning to the Stage Crew again for “42nd Street”, “Sweeney Todd”. Back in the chorus again for “A Tale of Two Cities” (his favourite show to date) he then alternated between back-stage work in the Stage Crew and on-stage work in the chorus whilst also doing further university study. His first part as a chorus principle came in “Kiss Me Kate”, which he thoroughly enjoyed. He now looks forward to bringing “Chess” to the Gala Theatre and the DMTC audience.