Who
We Are
we use performance
to entertain, inspire and
put faith at the 4front
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Rob Holman
Artistic Director
Rob writes the scripts and music for most of 4Front’s shows, but you’ll also find him directing, performing, set-building and whatever else is needed to get a show on the road
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Nat Holman
Operations Director
Nat is the administrative powerhouse that keeps 4Front going, from bookings to tour schedules, casting to costume, none of it would come together without Nat pulling the strings
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Emily Simpson
Children’s and Education Officer
Emily supports Nat with all things admin related, whilst also promoting 4Front at schools, events and churches
Almost a decade…
Having met at Regents Theological College on the Performing Arts and Theology course, Rob & Nat, along with a couple of friends, first started 4Front with a show. It was a combination of two passions: performance and Jesus, and so the Gsus Story hit the road. It followed a busker in Jerusalem through the events of Holy Week; what was supposed to be a few weekends turned into about 6 months of touring.
We never set out to form a theatre company, but gradually felt a sense of calling that this is what God wanted us to do. As God made provision, we kept rolling with the momentum…and we haven’t stopped yet; God willing, we will continue to create performances and productions that put Jesus and messages of faith at the 4Front.
Building on the success of our first outing we went on to produce our first Christmas show. People love a panto at Christmas, and we saw a golden opportunity to spread a message of hope, joy and the gospel at Christmas through pant-ivities (panto / nativity). Combining all the fun and silliness of a panto, with the gospel message at the heart of the nativity. This was a tremendous success and was particularly well received in Primary Schools, and laid the foundation for the work we do at Christmas today.
Let the little ones come to me…
Over the years, we’ve experienced real blessing from God in our work for children. We’ve seen so many open doors to primary schools and have had amazing successes with our family oriented productions. It’s no surprise then that the bulk of our work is aimed at children. In our musicals and pantos our shows have always particularly appealed to a young audience and this is something we are proud of.
Alongside performing in countless schools, we have been involved with children’s ministry at many festivals and events, including Spring Harvest, CreationFest, the Keswick Convention and more recently Big Church Festival.
One of the more recent developments for 4Front has been the emergence of a new branch of our children’s ministry: Virtual Sunday School. The adventure of Virtual Sunday School, as a YouTube channel and online resource, as well as for in-person events, has been one we’ve been privileged to be on. Our theatrical background brings a whole new dimension to the type of children’s work we do.
For more on Virtual Sunday School, click here
“If I could relive my life, I would devote my entire ministry to reaching children for God”
musically
minded
Ever since the Gsus story, 4Front has always told its stories with the aid of music. Music speaks to our emotions in a way that words cannot, and helps us engage with what we’re hearing. So you will always find plenty of music in 4Front shows - many of our performances are full-blown musicals!
No better was this fully realised than with the original touring performance of Fisherman’s Tail. Now one of our flagship schools shows, Fisherman’s originally started off as an actor-musician show with all the music played live on stage. Through guitars, a violin, a double bass, an accordion, various percussion and lots of penny whistles. It was incredibly well received, and critically acclaimed, even gaining 5 star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe; it was eventually adapted to the schools show we tour today. (The sheer logistics on getting a double bass in and out of schools alone was enough to make us switch to backing tracks)
Another real accolade to 4Front was our show Reckless Abandon, which again was very musical in nature. Retelling the inspirational story of Elisabeth Elliot, it featured a 10 strong cast, and was accompanied by original scoring and beautiful choral arrangements of traditional hymns. The powerful emotions at play in the story were elevated by complex harmonies and beautiful singing making for a very moving and compelling piece of theatre. Not only did it tour successfully multiple times, but we enjoyed a fantastic partnership with the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), even having the honour of performing alongside Jamie Saint, grandson to one of the original Operation Auca missionaries.
