Ian Liston

Once a much feared pantomime villain, Ian is one of the UK’s leading producers of top quality Pantomime and Christmas Shows. He founded The Hiss & Boo Theatre Company in 1977 and has directed the company since its inception. He appears at many of the company’s Music Hall performances as Mr Chairman, a role he has played over 3,000 times.

As an actor his claims to fame include seven years as Ron Brownlow in Crossroads, several different characters in both Brookside and Coronation Street and many other TV plays and series including The Bill, Dr Who, Bugs, The Onedin Line, Z Cars, Warship, Bramwell, Silent Witness, Peak Practice and The Professionals. He played the leading role of Sir Thomas Blunt in Channel Four’s South Sea Bubble, was a major player in BBC TV’s Panorama dramatisation of The Hutton Enquiry and has recently played a Music Hall Chairman for a new interactive education series for BBC TV.

His films include Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back playing rebel pilot Wes Janson. The character has become a cult figure and features in many of the ‘Star Wars’ spin-offs, including books and computer games, and Ian is in popular demand to attend overseas conventions.

Other films include A Bridge Too Far, Scum, White Nights and Captain Jack with Bob Hoskins and Maureen Lipman. Apart from the Hiss & Boo Show in its many forms, Ian has produced seven plays and Musicals in the West End (including An Ideal Husband, The Shakespeare Revue, Corpse!, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Nunsense and the much praised Groucho: A life in Revue) as well as over thirty plays on the touring circuit.

Last Christmas he presented Chris Emmett and Nick Staverson in Roy Hudd’s Jack & The Beanstalk at The Millfield Theatre Edmonton, Jeffrey Holland and Robert Duncan with Judy Buxton in Aladdin at The Queens Theatre Barnstaple. Former ‘Dr Who’ Colin Baker joined Fascinating Aida (Dillie Keane and Adele Anderson) in a new production of Snow White by Richard Gauntlett at the Hall for Cornwall in Truro and another former Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) starred as King Rat in Dick Whittington, the first ever pantomime presented at London Zoo. Another Dick Whittington – specially written by Roy Hudd – was at Hiss & Boo’s new venue, The Riverfront Theatre Newport and Cinderella, at the Corn Exchange Newbury was a huge hit in new show written by David Benson with new music by Barb Jungr and Adrian York.

Ian is married to Vivien (a lawyer) and they live in the wilds of West Sussex.

Ian is very honoured to have recently been made the 854th member in 116 years of the Grand Order of Water Rats, a venerable show business charitable fund-raising organisation. Ian is an ardent supporter and worker on behalf of various Prostate Cancer charities.