Edward Lyons (OI 1989-96) – Stage name (Ed Hughes) after 10 years at Ipswich School and debating whether to wicket-keep and play professional cricket or become a luvvie, I left in 1996 to study as an actor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. After graduating I went straight into working as an actor in all the major theatres and companies in the UK including, The National Theatre, Old Vic Theatre, Donmar Warehouse, Royal Shakespeare Company and Kneehigh Theatre Company and various shows in the West End.  This led onto to television roles in Ripper Street, An Honourable Woman, Wallander with Sir Kenneth Branagh, who became the patron of my production company Salida Productions. In the last 5 years after marrying Andrea Pelaez, a Colombian choreographer, and due to speaking fluent Spanish after a year dancing tango in Buenos Aires and directing Romeo and Juliet with the tango orchestra Astillero at the Mercury  Theatre, Colchester,  I was asked to go out to Bogota to play Coronel Daniel Florence O’Leary, the right hand man of the liberator of Latin America Simon Bolivar, in Latin America’s largest ever 60 part television series for Netflix “Bolivar”. For 8 months I rode horses in rivers, fought the Spanish and had the time of my life travelling around beautiful Colombia with Andrea and our two girls Julieta and Nina. The series won 12 India Catalina awards (BAFTA’s in Colombia) and has led to more work for Netflix and having a trans-continental career in both Latin America and the UK including “The Snitch Cartel: Origins” and Wild District (Netflix) and now about to film with Ridley Scott in 2022.

For the last couple of years due to Covid putting a stop to travel and theatre, I have branched out into directing the vocal performances for the dubbing into English of Netflix and Amazon series and films (Je Suis Karl, Anxious People, Alrawabi School for Girls) as well as focusing on my other passion teaching, as a lecturer in acting and directing at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and the University of East London.

Fortunately the cricket has stayed in my life and weirdly opened doors, getting to know Harold Pinter in his final years by playing for his team the Gaieties Cricket Club. It felt like life had come full circle after playing Goldberg in the Birthday Party directed by Mr. Burnett whilst at the sixth form. I was never academic at school but often look back and thank god for all the extra-curricular skills I learnt at school which have fed directly into my career.  From the choir singing, to the play rehearsals after school working on classical plays  to learning Latin and the footwork of Welsh rugby with Mr Hoskins and Mr Brown’s hours of wicket-keeping training enabling me to be a dancer. I realise now that nothing you learn is ever wasted and will feed back into your life in strange and wonderful ways.

To read more about Ed, please follow the link below.

https://www.ed-hughes.co.uk/