Founded by British actor, David Payne, Bird and Baby Productions (a division of Rising Image LLC) is a theatrical company based in the USA and UK. Originally founded to present inspiring stage productions based on the life of C.S. Lewis, over the last 22 years multiple productions written by Payne have been produced and performed across the world including Weep for Joy, St. Jack and the Dragon, Target Practice, Relative Surprise, Prisoner of Passion and the most recent addition to the roster – Lewis & Tolkien, Of Wardrobes & Rings, the touching story of the last meeting of C.S. Lewis and his close friend J.R.R. Tolkien.
The name Bird and Baby Productions is inspired by the nick-name that Lewis and Tolkien gave to the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford pub where they and other members of the celebrated literary club (Inklings) regularly met.
Although all of these productions are well loved, Payne’s one-man show – An Evening with C.S. Lewis – remains the company’s flagship production with over 800 performances.
He never dreamed of being an actor
Most actors had fantasies of being onstage from their youth, but David Payne studied to be an engineer. He liked numbers and planning and strategy. He liked order and structure, so any career in the arts was far from his thinking as a youth, growing up in the south of London. He was destined for a life of calculators and slide rules.
Yet after just a few short years as a structural engineer, David found himself pulled into the music and entertainment business. He and his two partners formed a groundbreaking company that encompassed a record label, publishing, event promotion, a youth magazine, and artist management. He became an expert in crunching the numbers and making the business side of the music industry work.
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