Mark Shenton

Mark Shenton was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and came to England at the age of 16, where he subsequently read law at Cambridge University.

His passion, however, was always the theatre, and his first job after graduating was working as head of publishing for Dewynters, the West End advertising agency handling their theatre programmes and souvenir brochures. He subsequently worked as Managing Editor for PA Listings, before going freelance in 2002. He has been working with London Theatre Guide regularly since 2014, and is also now contributing to its sister site, New York Theatre Guide.

He teaches regularly at ArtsEd London in Chiswick on musical theatre history. He regularly hosts live public interviews for venues that have included the National Theatre, the British Library, the Donmar Warehouse and the Shaw, Jermyn Street and Soho Theatres, with guests that have included Tom Stoppard, Stephen Sondheim, Peter Shaffer, Michael Ball, Nicholas Hytner, Bill Kenwright and Simon Russell Beale, amongst many others. He has written liner notes for a number of original cast albums, including the West End recording of Chicago.

He is also currently President of the Critics' Circle that represents critics writing across all the arts specialities, after serving for nine years as Chairman of the Drama Section.