Mike Ayris.

Michael first took to the stage in 1971 where he acted in the Canterbury Dramatic Societies production of ‘Sailor Beware’ in the old Marlowe theatre. He later went on to study drama at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama. During this time he worked professionally in Newcastle in the ‘Planet of the Apes’. Completing his drama studies he worked in the Midlands doing a schools tour in T.I.E. of the ‘Snow Queen’. This was followed by a short film and then a year on tour with ‘Paddington Bear’.

In 1978 Michael decided to return to his native country of South Africa where he worked and traveled for four years. Unfortunately this period also effectively ended his professional career and it wasn’t until much later when he studied music at Christchurch University that he rediscovered his love of performance, appearing in Brechts ‘The Beggars Opera’. Returning to the Canterbury Dramatic Society he did many plays including the much acclaimed title role of Marlowes ‘Doctor Faustus’.

In 2001 he met Brian Ross when both Michael and Brian were appearing in two separate productions at the Gulbenkian theatre as part of an Arts Playwrights Awards scheme. There was an immediate mutual respect for each others work and they agreed to try to move towards a smaller tighter group looking for a more sophisticated approach to amateur theatre. Subsequently, over a period of time, ASHCAN Theatre Company evolved with others of a similar outlook and passion for excellence in theatre. The first production was ’Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me’. in which Michael played Edward. Michael has also appeared in other productions including ‘Death and the Maiden’, ‘Zoo Story’, ‘The Last Yankee’, and ‘Art’.

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