A Brief Biography

Obscure beginnings, some might say romantic, being born in a hut on Ellough airfield just outside Beccles in Suffolk?

The hut	Mother and son

However, I spent most of my formative, especially teenage years, more cosily in the 'Sun Trap of the South', Eastbourne, Sussex .I first went to school at Highfield Primary in Hampden Park, a suburb of Eastbourne, and after surprisingly passing the 11+ proceeded to the local grammar school.

time takes its toll . .

After grammar school I went to the local Art School for a pre-diploma course and then on to Wimbledon School of Art for the three year course in theatre design and a Dip. AD.

Following graduation from Wimbledon in 1970 I won an Arts Council bursary as an assistant designer for a year working in repertory theatre firstly at the Gateway Theatre, Chester and then at the Phoenix Theatre, Leicester. After leaving Leicester I worked around several repertory theatres, before being invited back to Wimbledon School of Art by Richard Negri (mentor to so many of my generation) to teach part-time whilst continuing free-lance theatre design work.

To cut what could easily develop into a very boring story short, (and which, for the really curious, may be unravelled from the CV) working in Higher Education has now taken over to a large extent and Wimbledon School of Art is where I'm working full-time and have been since 1986. Until August 2002 I was subject leader of two theatre, film and television related undergraduate courses. In 2002, following significant restructuring of the school I was appointed to the new post of Head of the Theatre School.

Aside from work, and trying to think of something else to add here, I'm a fairly competent DIYer and my crowning achievement in that area is probably the neo Edwardian porch that I designed and built for home in Dulwich a few years ago. The porch betrays a personal weakness for completion of projects after a characteristic burst of initial enthusiasm and still needs its interior paint finish resolved!

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E-mail: db@davidburrows.com