About

Phil Hayes is a performance-maker and theatre-artist, performer, actor and musician.
He has also worked in kitchens, restaurants, pubs, factories, on the radio, on tv and on building sites.
He was born on the south coast of England and studied Creative Arts in Newcastle upon Tyne many years ago.
Based in Zurich Switzerland since 1998, Phil has spent most of this time involved in creating performance and theatre work, mainly via First Cut Productions, including;
Waiting For Rod (2005), 
The First Cut (2007), 
Where Were We (2008), 
Awkward Human (2011), 
Legends & Rumours (2013)  
Love & Happiness (2014)
Places Of Interest (2016)
These Are My Principles... (2016)
WORK (2017)
Under The Influence I - III (2018-19)
Heavy Hitters (2020)
Revenge (2020/21)
Invited Ghosts (2022)
Deception (2023/4)
New Values 1 - Ein Wort in deinem Ohr / A Word in Your Ear (2024)
New Values 2 - Knowing What We Know... Wissend, Was Wir Wissen (2024)
New Values 3 - The Call Of The Wild / Ruf der Wildnis (2024)

In Phil’s work, collaborative process has generally been the basis for generating content and form together with a rolling series of new and regular collaborative partners. His work has regularly toured internationally. 

Phil has also made performance-based works in other contexts, as well as working as a freelance performer, director, advisor, dramatug, writer or musician in collaborations with other artists and groups. He has been a regular collaborator with British performance group Forced Entertainment (2009 - 2016) and worked on several projects with performance-maker and choreographer Simone Aughterlony. Phil has also collaborated on projects for and with (among others); CAMPO, Theater HORA, Theater Neumarkt, John Rowley Nada Gambier Maria Jerez, Thomas Kasebacher, Chris Kondek & Christiane Kuehl,  watzdameyer, Sachs & Suhner, Salome Schneebeli, Stadttheater Bern, Regina Wenig, Cocoloco Performance, Urbanauts, Mass & Fieber, Natural Theatre Company, Bruvvers, Thom Luz,  Low Flying Theatre and Live Theatre Company,

Phil has acted in several films, including: Der Traumhafte Weg from Angela Schanelec, Mary Queen of Scots from Thomas Imbach and Bagger Drama from Piet Baumgartner.

In 2011 Phil  was a member of the Jury for the ZKB-Förderpreis at the Zürcher Theater Spektakel festival.
In 2013 Phil was awarded a Werkstipendium prize by the city of Zurich for his work to date.
2016 - 17 Phil was Artist In Residence at the ZHdk - Zurich University of the Arts
In 2019 Phil recieved a Freiraum research bursary from Kanton Zürich and amongst other things spent time hanging out with Rude Mechs theatre collective in Austin Texas.
In 2020, Phil Hayes - First Cut Productions were awarded a kulturelle Auszeichnung award from the City of Zurich, for the UNDER THE INFLUENCE I-III series of performances
 
Phil has taught, lead workshops and mentored students at the Zhdk in Zurich, HKB Bern and La Manufacture in Lausanne.
In 2021, Phil was one of the theatre mentors for double  - a mentoring and coaching programme from Migros-Kulturprozent.
In 2023, Phil was a mentor for Hewar Theater's So-Low project for emerging artists in Alexandria, Egypt.

In 2008 he appeared as the character Peter Tate in twenty eight episodes of the SRF Swiss television show Giacobbo/Müller- Late Service Public.

In 2017 - 2018 Phil hosted an eclectic monthly Radio programme Any Other Night on Radio Stadtfilter in Winterthur.

Phil has written, made, played and released songs and music with and as (amongst others); Guz, Knarf Rellöm Jerry J. Nixon, The Songbirds, Monomerz, and Hipflasks.
2014 - 2020, Phil was active with Phil Hayes & The Trees together with Sarah Palin and Martin Prader, releasing two albums on the DALA Produkte label and an EP on Ikarus Records.  
Phil has also written, recorded and released two batches of songs with his Assignments project, whereby song ti­tles and first lines are sug­gested by a variety of other artists.

Phil recieved an Covid- Arbeitsstipendium from Stadt Zürich Kultur in 2021 /2022

This website contains details of recent work as well as performance dates past and present and an archive of performance projects.

Information about all First Cut Productions projects can be found here.

Phil Hayes / First Cut Pro­duc­tions work is rep­re­sented for tour­ing by Lise Leclerc.