Adjudicators for the 2025 – 2026 season.

Seb Lassandro – is an English teacher, author and keen AmDrammer and is delighted to be joining GMDF’s team this year in adjudicating in the drama category.

After attending Oldham Theatre Workshop as a youngster, Seb entered the Greater Manchester amateur dramatic circle in 2008 at the age of 16 with Ashton Operatic Society’s production of 42^nd Street. Over the last fifteen years, he has performed with many local groups in plays, pantomimes, musicals and reviews, including: Hyde Little Theatre; Guide Bridge Theatre; DWADS; Dukinfield Operatic Society; Stockport Operatic Society; North Manchester Amateur Operatic Society; New Rosemere (Bolton) and the Carver Theatre to name but a few.

In his time treading the boards, Seb has made his way from chorus through to principal roles and his expertise and enthusiasm for all things theatrical has seen him in recent years in demand to sit in the director’s seat for a number of different societies. He is also working his way through the Gilbert and Sullivan ‘Grossmith’ patter-roles, with a personal ambition to complete all 13 operas.

Seb has a particular personal interest in the glory days of musicals, Music Hall and Variety and is a recognised expert, archivist and biographer of the lives and works of Sir Tommy Steele and Dame Gracie Fields. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge beyond his years of musicals and a passion for all aspects of musical theatre, whether professional or amateur. “It’s too difficult to pick a favourite show!” says he, but the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber hold a very special place in his affections and the score of ‘Chess’ is up there at the top of his favourites pile. 

He is excited to be getting out on the road – in his Mini formerly belonging to Tommy Steele! – and seeing the wonderful drama productions on offer this season by our GMDF members.

Andrew Wild  Andrew Wild is a playwright, author and director based in Macclesfield.

His experience in amateur theatre began in 1991, as stage manager and technical designer for a number of local groups. His play The Difficult Crossing debuted in 2000 and was revived in 2011, Andy’s first production as director. Since then Andy has directed a number of shorter, studio productions, preferring the immediacy and intimacy of smaller performing spaces. He started adjudicating in 2015, initially for Cheshire Theatre Guild, for whom he still works from time to time.

If pressed Andy will concede that the best theatre production he’s ever seen was Dr. Dee by Rufus Norris and Damon Albarn at the Manchester International Festival in 2011, closely followed by Maxine Peake as Hamlet at the Royal Exchange in 2014.

Andy aims to bring a firm-but-fair style of adjudications to GMDF.

Paul Cohen  Paul has been involved in amateur theatre for 45 years, with his first show being a school production of Oklahoma! in 1980 at the age of 13. By day, Paul has worked for Bolton Council/Bolton at Home Housing Association for 40 years and holds the position of Head of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services. 

Bill Platt has been in or directed over 300 productions in his amateur career. He is currently the President of Northenden Players, a society he has been a member of for more than 45 years and is also a member of Altrincham Garrick Playhouse. Bill’s theatrical preference has always been comedy and farce but he is equally at home with more serious subjects.

A great supporter of amateur theatre throughout Greater Manchester, Bill also presents a radio show every Saturday on Wythenshawe FM community radio entitled That’s Entertainment which lists all the forthcoming productions both amateur and professional in the area.

A regular visitor to other societies, Bill is very much looking forward to the season ahead and to seeing the talent we have in the northwest, and what all the GMDF member societies have to offer.

Gerard Lennox  Gerard produced, directed, stage managed and ran the lighting for his first play aged 15 in the newly built main hall that had state of the art lighting using several large resistor based faders that you used a bit of broom handle to move more than one at a time.

Since then he has worked on more productions than he can remember on the technical side of back stage, a director and very occasional actor. Of himself he says he is not a good actor as he always plays himself but more importantly Gerard helps bring out the best from real actors and loves to help them find the motivation and back story that allows them to inhabit and give life to their character.

Gerard has a strong background in the technical side of theatre including staging, lighting and sound but as he says that in every show he sees he learns another technique or sees an idea that can be used elsewhere.

The standard of productions within the GMDF family gets higher and higher each year which serves to make the adjudications even more interesting this season.

Mark Rosenthal Mark’s passion for theatre spans more than thirty years and he has spent over half his life honing his skills and building his experience to bring exciting and high-quality theatre to the stages of Greater Manchester.

Mark currently directs plays, pantomimes and musicals for both amateur and professional theatre companies. As well as directing, he also provides drama workshops during school holiday times.

Three years ago he co-founded Forrest Rose Productions, a company set up to offer affordable, family pantomimes in smaller theatre venues. With three professional productions already completed, Forrest Rose are already planning for this year’s pantomime, Cinderella at Playhouse 2 Theatre, Shaw.

This year, he has also set up Make Your Mark Productions with their first production, I Love You You’re Perfect Now Change, being performed at Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester in July.
In his over 25 years directing theatre, Mark’s awards include Best Director and Best Musical for ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change’, Best Director and Best Production for ‘Brassed Off’, Best Musical for ‘Calendar Girls, The Musical’, Best Musical for ‘Chicago’, Best Musical Production for ‘School of Rock’ and Best Director and Best Musical Production for ‘Bonnie and Clyde The Musical’.

He is excited to be working with the Greater Manchester Drama Federation and is looking forward to seeing all your wonderful productions.

Carmel Bird   Carmel first trod the boards when she was 8 years old and has since been involved in drama throughout the North West working with all aspects of practical theatre.

After studying Drama, she performed professionally for a short time before focusing on her teaching career. directed
Carmel has always had a strong commitment to youth drama and has worked for national drama schools, run local theatre youth groups, taught A’ Level Theatre Studies and university workshops.

She now runs the Carmel Bird Theatre School in Cheadle Hulme – teaching, writing scripts and directing 10 productions a year with children aged between 6 and 18.

Throughout all this Carmel has maintained her involvement in amateur theatre and has acted and directed for several groups over the years.

Carmel has been adjudicating since 2012 and has adjudicated numerous GMDF Full Length and One Act Festivals.

She is delighted to be invited to Players Theatre in 2026 to adjudicate the GMDF One Act Play Festival and is hoping to see plenty of old friends as well as meeting some new ones. But most of all Carmel is looking forward to celebrating the wonderful world of live theatre.