Our Tina's Trophy winner for 2023 - Bob Constantine

On April 2nd 2023, Bob Constantine was presented with Next Stage Theatre Company’s prestigious award: Tina’s Trophy for Excellence in Theatre. This award, created in 2019, is presented to a member of the company who has excelled onstage, backstage or in work behind the scenes supporting and promoting the company. When accepting the trophy Bob said: "Being in Next Stage is rather like being in a family. You look out for, and support each other and as well as all the fun onstage, we are all aware of how much help is needed keeping such a busy company and theatre afloat."

Since joining Next Stage in 2016, Bob has made a rich and full contribution to the company in a variety of ways. Bob has directed five plays for Next Stage and taken leading and support roles in a number of others. As well as his contributions to Next Stage’s artistic programme, Bob also gives up a lot of time helping our work behind the scenes. He champions the company at every opportunity and can frequently be found helping out front-of-house, or locking up after a visiting company. Bob distributes the company’s brochures around the city and his neighbourhood and is often to be found helping us out when the main auditorium needs a reconfiguration.

Bob is a consummate actor and an insightful and respected director. In 2016, Bob made his Next Stage debut as Sebastian Cruttwell in Terence Rattigan’s In Praise of Love. His performance was described as “…strong and convincing” (Petra Schofield) and “utterly believable” (Philip Horton.) In 2017 Bob toured to The Minack Theatre in Cornwall with the company’s production of Birdsong in which he played two significant characters: Rene Azaire and Colonel Barclay. Bob’s performances were “played with true style and conviction” (Philip Horton). In 2019, Bob delivered a “faultless performance” (Philip Horton) as Sir Andrew Charleston in David Hare’s Plenty. Since then, Bob has been  memorable as Professor Charlie Sharp in The Sweet Science of Bruising in 2022 – “consummately professional” (Rebecca Beard), and most recently stepped up at two weeks’ notice to take over the role of disreputable Bert Baxter in our March 2023 production of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 ¾. “Seasoned actor Bob Constantine enjoyed himself as the grumpy but lovable Bert Baxter. With huge energy, his politically incorrect opinions and his song lit up the production” (Harry Mottram).

Bob’s shows never cease to shine, whether he’s on stage or sitting in the directorial chair. In 2018, Bob made his Next Stage directorial debut with Dangerous Corner, described as a “fast-paced piece – not one to be missed!” (Philip Horton). This was followed in 2019 with For Services Rendered, which was enthusiastically described as “a seriously good production, where the action never flags.” (Philip Horton). In 2020, Bob’s production of Collaborators was described as “A real cracker … The play is brought to life by the skill of playwright, director, and large cast in this superb piece of theatre” (Philip Horton). Bob directed one of Pinter’s lesser-known plays, The Hothouse in 2021, which was acclaimed as an “outstanding piece of drama, showcasing Next Stage’s range of talented actors with the cast giving superbly committed performances” (Harry Mottram).

Bob’s last directorial outing for Next Stage was at the end of 2022, when he took on our patron, Sir David Hare’s, play Racing Demon. This large-cast and wide-ranging play was recognised, in Bob’s sure hands, for its “Sophisticated dialogue, nuanced argument and complex characters…” (Harry Mottram).

A photo gallery of Bob in a variety of productions from 2016 - 2023