Friday, 3 July, 2015

Having been a part of the theatre industry for over 8 years, Oliver took the move into Theatre Production in 2013. Recent productions include: The Spring Tide at the Old Red Lion (West End Wilma and Broadway World best fringe play nominations); David Hare’s The Vertical Hour starring Peter Davison at Park Theatre (Time Out Critic’s Choice); Alice: A New Musical at St James Theatre; Beautiful Thing UK Tour, and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot which will be premiering at the Edinburgh Fringe this August.

Oliver also worked closely with the team at Julian Stoneman Associates on the UK Premiere of Urinetown which opened at the St James Theatre before transferring to the Apollo Theatre in London’s West End.

Oliver is a member of the Production Exchange, and participated in the Stage One New Producers workshop in 2013. In 2014 Oliver was awarded the Stage One Bursary to support his growth as a commercial theatre producer.

At the moment you are...
Preparing to take my first show to the Edinburgh Festival.  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (aka WTF the play), a one woman show based on a true story of a female in the Royal Air Force. A very exciting new play and one I am extremely proud to have been involved with throughout the development process. The team are fantastic and I can’t wait to see how Edinburgh audiences react to it. We have a preview at the Tristan Bates Theatre on July 28th for anyone wanting to join us (shameless plug!). I’m also working with UK based funding platform CrowdShed to support other creative ventures raise the funds they need to get their projects off the ground. Since launching in September last year, we have helped 27 businesses and charities raise over £250,000. It’s great to pass on fundraising and development skills I picked up throughout the various Stage One workshops to other individuals.

What does Stage One mean to you?
An great support network and training resource for up and coming, and even established, commercial producers. The three day workshop, although intense, was incredibly inspiring and insightful. It’s amazing how much information a person can learn in 3 days and since receiving the Bursary in 2014 I have learnt even more from my fantastic mentor Tom Siracusa.

Last show you saw and loved?
Apart from the first Edinburgh previews for Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, I saw The Clockmakers Daughter at the Landor. One of the co-writers Daniel Finn is an old friend of mine, so it’s great to see his work getting such a magnificent and well received outing.

What are you looking forward to in 2015?
Of course the Edinburgh Festival! I’m also looking forward to moving forward with future projects for 2015 and beyond.

What’s the best piece of advice you've been given?
Surround yourself with a team of people who are better than you are. I’ve been lucky enough to work with incredibly talented creative teams, and without them, who knows where I might have ended up!

To find out more about Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, click HERE
To find out more about Oliver Taheri Productions, click HERE