Musical Supervisor/Director for all of Evolution Productions 2020/2021 Shows at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury / The Cruicble Theatre, Sheffield / Theatre Royal, York / The Hawth Theatre, Crawley / Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells / The Octagon Theatre, Yeovil / Lichfield Garrick Theatre

It was a real honour to be part of this VERY memorable, and very different 2020 Pantomime Season, and just a joy to help bring back live theatre in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. A total pleasure collaborating with Evolution on such a great, unique to 2020 script! – Many of the shows were not able to open to a live audience, thanks to the various government restrictions. However, every show was professionally filmed and released for all audiences (worldwide) to enjoy, streamed from their own home!

See below a little teaser clip of my Overture (arranged, orchestrated and produced by myself) from Sheffield, where I was able to be in person performing, after touring the country setting up all the other shows as musical director, working with a great collection of talented people!

Phil Gallagher

I feel really blessed to have met and worked with James Harrison. He is the ultimate professional and incredibly talented! James is clever at working within budget but always delivers an amazing end product. He’s an enthusiastic, creative, positive spirit and equally impressive on stage or from his studio. The variety, depth and quality of his work is outstanding…and I would highly recommend him to anyone.

Phil Gallagher (Best known as "Mister Maker" from CBeebies)

Joanne Clifton

I’ve had such a wonderful fun time with our MD James Harrison. He’s been fantastic! We’ve had fun warm-ups including pilau rice and all blumin’ sorts! We’ve changed up all the fairy rhyming couplets… instead of just saying them, we’ve made them into all the Strictly dance styles! I can’t wait to work with him again.

Joanne Clifton (Best known from BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing)

Celebrity Radio

5* show. Best Pantomime in the country! James Harrison is a musical genius. He’s brought a 3 dimensional sound to this show. He’s an incredible musician. There are many levels to his talents. Of course he can play the piano to the level of a concert pianist, the best in the world, stunning. But most cleverly of all, he underscores this entire production with the most beautiful piano, giving it an extra edge that I’ve truly never seen before. His band are constantly showcased, what a great idea to have the band in the boxes, to be able to see them, not just hear them! He even gets to show off at the end on stage! This guy truly is a genius.

Celebrity Radio

Matthew Jackson

5* show. The Lyceum Theatre panto is the jewel on Evolution Pantomime’s crown. To complete the wonderful show is Musical Director James Harrison who himself is a star of the show. Harrison fully interacts with the show from one of the boxes, alongside his band. His enthusiasm is infectious and his work with the music leads to some strong musical numbers, full of electrifying energy which includes a really nice rework of You Don’t Even Know It from Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.

Matthew Jackson, The Theatre Twittic

Adele Forrest

Joanne Clifton’s Strictly background is weaved in well — her rhyming couplets are given different musical twists from jazz to tango — and she also gets to spread her wings and show off a great samba routine during the obligatory ball. The award for the most enthusiastic musical director goes to James Harrison, who was jumping and bopping about his booth in full view of the audience. His energy and enthusiasm were infectious — sod Cinders and the Prince getting hitched, I was more elated to see Harrison finally get his moment on stage during the finale, complete with a snazzy costume, proving that dreams really do come true.

Adele Forrest, Rotherham Advertiser

Paul Hendy

I want to say a heartfelt thank you for all your hard work on our shows. You did an incredible job and it was a genuine pleasure collaborating with you. Your professionalism, enthusiasm, energy and dedication is astonishing. Seriously brilliant work, I think you’ve outdone yourself! I’m very proud of the shows, and I will never forget the experience. Thank you!

Paul Hendy (Producer/Director, Evolution Productions)