David Cumming (actor)
{{Short description|British stage actor born 1987}}
{{Infobox actor
| image = DaveyCumming-byPhilipRomano.jpg
| birth_date = 1987
| birth_place = Newcastle upon Tyne
| occupation = Actor, writer
}}
David Cumming (born 1987){{Cite web |title=Theatremaker David Cumming: 'I’ve always had a strong voice, now I’m branching out' |url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/theatremaker-david-cumming-ive-always-had-a-strong-voice-now-im-branching-out |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231006222744/https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/theatremaker-david-cumming-ive-always-had-a-strong-voice-now-im-branching-out |archive-date=6 October 2023 |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=The Stage |language=En}} is a British writer and actor best known for the musical Operation Mincemeat, which is currently running on both the West End and Broadway.
Early life and education
Cumming was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. He attended the University of Warwick, where he studied Theatre and Performance Studies.{{Cite web |title='Operation Mincemeat' Crosses the Pond and Takes Broadway by Storm {{!}} All Of It |url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/operation-mincemeat-crosses-the-pond-and-takes-broadway-by-storm/ |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=WNYC |language=en}}
Career
Cumming co-founded the comedy group Kill the Beast in 2012 alongside Natasha Hodgson, Zoë Roberts, Ollie Jones, and Clem Garritty.{{Cite web |date=2025-01-30 |title=Who is David Cumming |url=https://www.theatermania.com/stage-names/david-cumming/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=TheaterMania |language=en-US}} Kill the Beast produced four stage productions, including The Boy Who Kicked Pigs{{Cite web |last=Wicker |first=Tom |date=March 16, 2013 |title=The Boy Who Kicked Pigs |url=https://exeuntmagazine.com/reviews/the-boy-who-kicks-pigs/ |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=Exeunt}} (2013), He Had Hairy Hands{{Cite web |title=He Had Hairy Hands |url=https://www.killthebeast.co.uk/campaign-3 |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=Kill the Beast |language=en-US}} (2014), Don't Wake The Damp{{Cite web |title=Don't Wake The Damp |url=https://www.killthebeast.co.uk/campaign-2 |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=Kill the Beast |language=en-US}} (2016), and Director's Cut{{Cite web |last=Worsley-Carter |first=Lorraine |date=2019-10-31 |title=Kill The Beast: Director's Cut at The Lowry: Review |url=https://quayslife.com/reviews/kill-the-beast-directors-cut-at-the-lowry-review/ |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=Quays Life |language=en-GB}} (2019).
Hodgson, Cumming, and Roberts, with newcomer Felix Hagan, split off the group in 2017 to form SpitLip with the intention of creating "big dumb musicals."{{Cite web |date=2024-09-30 |title=Who is SpitLip? Musicals, Operation Mincemeat and more |url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/stage-names/spitlip/ |access-date=2025-04-14 |language=en-US}} SpitLip's first musical, Operation Mincemeat, eventually transferred to the West End{{Cite web |last=Wild |first=Stephi |title=OPERATION MINCEMEAT Transfers To Southwark Playhouse |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/OPERATION-MINCEMEAT-Transfers-To-Southwark-Playhouse-20191024 |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}} and later Broadway{{Cite web |last=Wild |first=Stephi |title=Meet the Cast of OPERATION MINCEMEAT, Now in Previews on Broadway |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Meet-the-Cast-of-OPERATION-MINCEMEAT-Beginning-Previews-Tonight-on-Broadway-20250215 |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}}, winning the 2024 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-14 |title=Winners announced for 2024 Olivier Awards including Sunset Boulevard, Sarah Snook and Operation Mincemeat |url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/winners-announced-for-2024-olivier-awards-including-sunset-boulevard-sarah-snook-and-operation-mincemeat_1592249/ |access-date=2025-04-14 |language=en-US}} In addition to co-writing and co-composing the musical, Cumming also originated the role of "Charles Cholmondeley & Others," which he has played in every production of the show and was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance.{{Cite web |title=David Cumming Biography |url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/david-cumming/profile/ |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Broadway Buzz}}
In 2018, Cumming and Conrad Murray, in collaboration with Battersea Arts Centre's Beatbox Academy, co-directed the critically acclaimed production of Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster.{{Cite news |last=Clapp |first=Susannah |date=2018-04-01 |title=The week in theatre: The Inheritance; Frankenstein: Making a Monster – review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/apr/01/the-inheritance-young-vic-frankenstein-battersea-arts-centre-review |access-date=2025-04-15 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}} The production was later adapted for television by BBC Four.{{Cite web |title=BBC Four - Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000nwrj |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}
Cumming joined drag performance group Sink the Pink for two holiday-themed shows including How to Catch a Krampus in 2018{{Cite web |date=29 November 2018 |title=How to Catch a Krampus! – Pleasance Theatre {{!}} Musical Theatre Review |url=https://musicaltheatrereview.com/how-to-catch-a-krampus-pleasance-theatre/ |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=Musical Theatre Review |language=en-GB}} and Escape From Trash Planet in 2019.{{Cite web |title=Sink the Pink announce drag sci-fi b-movie Christmas adventure Escape From Planet Trash |url=https://www.theatre-news.com/news/UK/67445/Sink-the-Pink-announce-drag-sci-fi-b-movie-Christmas-adventure-Escape-From-Planet-Trash |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Theatre-News.com |language=en-US}} In 2021, Cumming and Sink the Pink collaborator Ginger Johnson wrote and directed Dog Show, a canine-themed queer cabaret which ran at the Pleasance for a month.{{Cite web |last=Thefry |first=Chloe |date=2021-11-30 |title=Interview: David Cumming – Dog Show @ The Plesance |url=https://cfrycentrestage.wordpress.com/2021/11/30/interview-david-cumming-dog-show-the-plesance/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=CentreStage |language=en}}
In 2023, Cumming took up the role of Guest Artistic Director at the King's Head Theatre, where he presented "QUEER FUTURES: A FESTIVAL OF THE NOW WHICH IS YET TO COME."{{Cite web |last=Wild |first=Stephi |title=David Cumming's QUEER FUTURES: A FESTIVAL OF THE NOW WHICH IS YET TO COME Comes To The King's Head Theatre In July |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/David-Cummings-QUEER-FUTURES-A-FESTIVAL-OF-THE-NOW-WHICH-IS-YET-TO-COME-Comes-To-The-Kings-Head-Theatre-In-July-20230531 |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}} He returned in 2024 to join the cast of Outings, an anthology of coming out stories performed as a fundraiser for the LGBTQ+ Switchboard charity.{{Cite web |last=Millward |first=Tom |date=2024-05-21 |title=King’s Head Theatre announces Outings – a Pride fundraiser |url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/kings-head-theatre-announces-outings-a-pride-fundraiser_1602298/ |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=WhatsOnStage |language=en-US}}
Personal life
One week before Operation Mincemeat premiered at Riverside Studios, Cumming broke his collarbone in a biking accident. His replacement in the role of Charles Cholmondeley, Sean Carey, had to learn the entire musical in a week.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-21 |title=David Cumming from Operation Mincemeat - Random 8 |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/random8/david-cumming/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=British Comedy Guide |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Loveridge |first=Lizzie |date=2022-08-20 |title=REVIEW: Operation Mincemeat, Riverside Studios (2022) |url=https://theatrevibe.co.uk/2022/08/20/review-operation-mincemeat-riverside-studios-2022/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=TheatreVibe |language=en-GB}}