Recently named ‘the most powerful person in British theatre’ by The Stage, David Ian is one of the most successful and prolific producers in British theatre today.

His smash hits include some of the best loved and most talked about productions of the last 20 years including Guys And Dolls, The King And I, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Anything Goes and The Producers, to name but a few!

David’s career in theatre began as an actor in West End roles such as Rocky in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Joseph in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was while appearing in The Pirates Of Penzance, at the London Palladium, that he met Paul Nicholas and together they began producing shows.

In 1993 David took his biggest gamble, taking out a second mortgage to finance the West End production of Grease. The gamble paid off and 13 years later the show is still playing to sell-out houses across the world.

David was appointed Chairman of Global Theatre for Live Nation in 2005. His role there encompasses the running of production activity worldwide, overseeing the programming of over 50 theatres.

David, co-producer of The Sound of Music, was one of the judges behind the BBC’s successful series How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

He has once again decided to work his magic as a judge and has signed up for the US and UK version of Grease Is The Word, the search to cast a Sandy and Danny for Broadway and the West End.

The New York Post reported that after the NBC debut of Grease: You’re The One That I Want, the Grease production on Broadway sold $1.3 million of tickets in just two days.