大象传媒

The beginning

The man behind it all is Sherburn-born James Cundall, whose career spans three decades, three continents and at least three very different occupations.听

James was born into a farming family at the foot of the Wolds near Scarborough. He originally qualified as a chartered surveyor and worked for the family firm of estate agents and auctioneers.

鈥淢y love of musicals began when my father took me to the Open Air Theatre in Scarborough.

鈥淚 clearly remember seeing huge productions of 'The King and I' and 'South Pacific', complete with horses, boats and enormous scenery.鈥澨齢e says.

From North Yorkshire to Asia

James moved to London and a career in finance. His work took him to Hong Kong where, in 1992, he and a group of like-minded businessmen decided there was a market for bringing West End musicals to local audiences.

鈥淲e used to get together in our lunch hour so we rather unimaginatively called the new company Lunchbox Theatrical Productions.

鈥淒espite a couple of loss-making shows, I was landed with the task of asking Cameron Mackintosh if we could produce 'Les Miserables' in Hong Kong and, being a man of foresight, Cameron took that gamble and the show was a huge success.鈥�

By 1998 James had left the world of finance to run Lunchbox. His career as a producer flourished, taking him to Australia and New Zealand.

Ice on the beach

On a winter鈥檚 day in 2003, while producing 'The Nutcracker on Ice' in Auckland, James and fellow producer Tony Mercer walked along the windswept sands of Karekare beach on the west coast of New Zealand making plans.

James says 鈥淲e wanted to reinvent theatrical ice shows in the same way that Cirque du Soleil had reinvented circus.鈥�

So they established The Imperial Ice Stars, an international troupe of former Olympic, World, European and National Championship skaters. They have toured 'The Sleeping Beauty on Ice' and 'Swan Lake on Ice' all over the world, including an outdoor amphitheatre in Cyprus with temperatures of 40掳C!

Back home again

In 2004, now married with a young son, James returned to the UK and a home nestling in the Howardian Hills near Malton. He turned the barn into an office and re-established Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, which now has subsidiaries in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore.听

Closer to home, the company operates The Ice Factor, York鈥檚 annual outdoor ice rink, which has its fourth season this winter.

Back in 1985, when he opened Cundall鈥檚 estate agents office in York, James Cundall never would have imagined that 23 years later he would return to York as head of a worldwide entertainment company and running a Christmas ice rink.

James says 鈥淲e all really enjoy bringing The Ice Factor to York every year.听It鈥檚 wonderful to be able to do something in our local community. I think some people think The Ice Factor is all I do, and therefore I must spend the rest of the year putting my feet up.听I actually spend a lot of my time at 39,000 feet travelling around the world working on our various shows and researching others.鈥�