Well — apart from being Mr. & Mrs. Slater’s son — he is all of these characters seen on this page – or he has been, in the past. Plus a whole lot more. John’s love of theatre goes back to childhood when he was taken, fairly regularly, by his maternal grandfather, to the Theatre Royal St. Helens. From early childhood, John has always wanted to be a performer but it was to be at the age of 30 that he first was able to become a professional and acquired the much-coveted “Equity Card”. Now 2025, in his 81st year he is still “treading the boards”. John’s work has taken him down most avenues of the entertainment/theatre World.
What’s he done.
- Performed in plays/productions at – something in excess of – 1000 venues in the UK.
- Given countless performances to many thousands of children in schools theatre productions – both North and South.
- Is the co-founder of The Bijou Theatre company – later Bijou Productions.
- Written/directed twelve plays and several musicals. (More plays/musicals on the way.)
- Conceived and composed the music for six ballets for young dancers.
- Had a production at The Edinburgh Festival.
- Appeared numerous times on TV, including TV commercials.
- Broadcast on many radio stations.
- Written over 100 songs and the same number of poems. (This list increases daily.)
- Written/performed in over 20 pantomimes.
- Worked as a freelance drama workshop leader with very many hundreds of children and adults.
- Written countless stories – a “new” book on the way. Published a biographical novel and an auto biography (See shop page.)
- Conducted “Creative Writing Workshops” with hundreds of people of all ages from 6 to 96.
- Been direct/coordinator – at several arts festivals.
- Launched and was editor of “Scene Magazine”
- Organised four poetry marathons.
- Written/ Produced and Directed five films and two documentary DVDs.
- Always looked for the next challenge.
- And last but not least – always thanked his creator for the gifts he has been given.