David Ian

Recently named the most powerful person in British Theatre by The Stage newspaper, David Ian is one of the most successful and prolific producers in British theatre today.

His smash hits include some of the best loved and most talked about productions of the last twenty years including Guys and Dolls, The King and I, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Anything Goes and The Producers to name but a few.

David's career in theatre began as an actor in West End roles such as Rocky in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was whilst appearing in the Pirates of Penzance at the London Palladium that he met Paul Nicholas and together they began producing shows.

In 1993 David took his biggest gamble, taking out a second mortgage to finance the West End production of Grease. The gamble paid off and thirteen years later the show is still playing to sell-out houses across the world.

David was appointed Chairman of Global Theatre in 2005. His role there encompasses the running of production activity worldwide, overseeing the programming of over 50 theatres.

David is the co-producer of the forthcoming production of The Sound of Music and he knows that whoever takes on such a famous role will need to have something special. He will use his expertise as a renowned theatre producer to get the best out of the finalists but he knows that being on the West End stage is a tough job with no second chances. He is placing his trust in the viewers to pick the Maria they want to see on stage.