The Dutch Elm Conservatoire is a sketch group, currently comprised of Stephen Evans, Jim Field Smith, Rufus Jones and Renton Skinner, who first met together towards the end 2002, with their stage debut in February 2003.
However, the story actually begins a few years earlier: three young actors Stephen Evans, Jordan Long and Renton Skinner met while working together with dramaturge Ken Campbell. There they had also met Neil Edmond, with whom they then formed sketch group THE BENDERS, performing on the London fringe. Neil skittered off to win awards with sketch group THE CONSULTANTS and the group dissolved, but the remaining three had their eyes on another actor called Rufus Jones, an occasional of the Cambridge Footlights amongst other things. Not long after, the five was completed by the addition of Jim Field Smith, who was working in TV and met Steve at some wanky wrap party or other. In September 2006, the group slimmed down to a foursome with the amicable departure of Jordan Long.
But in Christmas 2002 the original fivesome was born, and two months later they made their first appearance on stage together as they began a weekly residency at the Latchmere Theatre (now Theatre 503) in South London. Things snowballed, leading to a sell-out run at the Soho Theatre in January 2004 and then their Edinburgh Fringe debut in August 2004 at the Pleasance Courtyard, in an self-titled sketch-show, directed by John Hoggarth,
Subsequent to this, the BBC commissioned them to record a radio pilot. The resulting script, CONSPIRACY, they then developed for the stage. They took this new live show back to the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2005, again at the Pleasance Courtyard but this time working with director Ed Curtis, playing to sell-out audiences and picking up a Perrier Award nomination and a rare 5-star review from the Scotsman, amongst others. On returning to London they performed the show to a sell-out West End audience, and early in 2006 they embarked on their first UK Tour which finished in March 2006. Dutch Elm are now developing CONSPIRACY for television with a major independent production company.
In August 2006 they returned to the Edinburgh Fringe for their third consecutive year, with a brand new show, PRISON - also directed by Ed Curtis - and enjoyed another successful month there. They are taking this show to the Belfast Festival in November 2006.
As a group, the Dutch Elm Conservatoire have appeared on various TV and radio programmes, including LOOSE ENDS, THE MILK RUN and 28 ACTS IN 28 MINUTES (all for the BBC). However, the four of them are busy actors and writers in their own right, with an extensive range of credits for screen, stage and radio. Between them, they have infiltrated almost every new comedy series of recent years, including EXTRAS (BBC). HYPERDRIVE (BBC), NIGHTY NIGHT (BBC), SNUFF BOX (BBC), MIKE BASSETT: MANAGER (ITV), SECRET SMILE (ITV), THE OFFICE (BBC), MY LIFE IN FILM (BBC), THE ROBINSONS (BBC), ACCORDING TO BEX (BBC), THE ONLY BOY FOR ME (ITV), MY FAMILY (BBC), COUPLING (BBC), (BBC) and BEDSITCOM (C4), not to mention films and radio. They also crop up frequently in voiceovers, commercials and corporate work in Britain and abroad, and have writing credits across all the major terrestrial and digital channels (see individual biographies for more details).