Alison Watt (Artistic Director) and John Pattison (Associate Director and Musical Director) established Scarborough-based Beach Hut Theatre Company in 2007. The company specialises in new writing and its aim is to create outstanding, innovative and entertaining performances in both traditional and non-traditional playing spaces, using original writing, music, digital media and theatrical experimentation in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, and further afield.

John Pattison (Associate Director and Musical Director) has extensive past experience in theatre and film. He has enjoyed long collaborations with Alan Ayckbourn and John Godber and has composed scores for many of Ayckbourn’s West End productions and worked as a Musical Director at The Royal National Theatre and The Royal Shakespeare Company. He has also composed scores for Alain Resnais' SMOKING and NO SMOKING movies, winners of 5 Cesar Awards and 1st Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival.

He composes for all genres of music. A specialism is creating expansive hybrid Orchestral/Rock scores using current technology and the latest advances in sampling and modelling techniques. This technology was used to write a new score for the 1927 Buster Keaton film 'The Balloonatic', which can be viewed in full below. He has also composed for Contemporary dance performances and created the full length ballet 'Brach Namhaid' (Eternal Enemy) for The Red Shoes Dance Company in York.

He is a prolific songwriter and has composed two full length musicals with Alan Ayckbourn: 'Dreams From A Summerhouse' and 'A Word from our Sponsor' both available through Samuel French. He has also written two full length musicals with John Godber: 'Big Trouble in The Little Bedroom' and 'Thick as a Brick', which toured nationally twice and enjoyed a successful run at Greenwich Theatre. 'Thick as a Brick' is also published by Samuel French. John continues to hone his skills as a Musical Theatre composer with Beach Hut Theatre Company, creating many new productions in partnership with Artistic Director, Alison Watt. These include: 'Pull For the Shore', 'Rock, Rascals and Revolution', 'Summer's Edge', 'SnOwQuEeN', 'The Tenants of Wuthering Eyre' and 'The Curse of the Smuggler's Run.' John and Alison are also responsible for bringing a contemporary take on traditional Edwardian seaside musical entertainment to new audiences in their popular 'Pop Up Pierrots' series.