Biography

‘Paulus has been working in entertainment for over 30 years since he curated his very first ‘Variety Show’ at the age of just fifteen.  After 4 annual shows and a total of £5,500 raised for various charities, Paulus moved to London to train in musical theatre.  Since then, he has performed in musicals, plays and on TV but a constant and growing passion for cabaret, vaudeville, revue and music hall has dominated his career, whether it be as a performer, promoter, agent or producer.

Drag has been a recurring theme for Paulus’, cutting his teeth at the world- famous Madame JoJo’s in 1999 as Trinity Million.  He made his New York debut in 2005 at both Don’t Tell Mama and Birdland, and debuted in Australia in 2006 at The Butterfly Club in Melbourne.  He has also performed in Rome, Paris, Dublin, Nicaragua and Berlin as well as cabaret clubs up and down the country.

As an actor, Paulus played Sylvia St. Croix in the UK premiere of the musical ‘Ruthless’ for which he won Musical Stage’s ‘Best Actor in A Musical award; was in the original cast of ‘Beautiful & Damned’ choreographed by Craig Revel-Horwood;  joined Dundee Rep for their 10-year anniversary season playing The Beadle in Sweeney Todd, as well as creating the role of Philip Salon for the Boy George musical ‘Taboo’ in its workshop stage.

For 15 years, Paulus had close ties to the cult London cabaret venue The Battersea Barge, producing many cabarets and their annual adult panto’s, which he variously produced, wrote, directed and starred in alongside Sarah-Louise Young, Dusty Limits, Laurie Hagen, Piff the Magic Dragon and Fancy Chance.  Paulus’ work on the Barge gave early opportunities to artistes like Sara Pascoe, Holly Walsh, Kate Smurthwaite, Shazia Mirza, Euan Morton, David Menkin, Frisky & Mannish and Eastend Cabaret, to name a few.

For 10 years, Paulus ran the entertainment agency Excess All Areas, and under this banner  spear-headed the annual Cabaret Convention and London Cabaret Awards, which played host to cabaret performers, promoters, and practitioners from across the UK & Ireland.  Paulus was awarded ‘Best Producer (Cabaret)’ by fringereport during this time.  His judging expertise has been sought by many talent shows including National Burlesque Awards; Drag Idol; Pride’s Got Talent; Musical Comedy Awards and Burlesque Idol.

His work as event host and Ringmaster has created long-term relationships with Home Live Art and their Alternative Village Fete at the National Theatre; the award-winning Festival of Thrift; The Urban Village Fete for Wayne Hemingway; the Ukulele Festival of Scotland, and has seen him play key roles in the LOCOG Staff Wrap Party for the 2012 London Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations.

Paulus works as a teacher and facilitator, specialising in cabaret and Acting Through Song.  He runs his own workshops and co-created the Singers’ Cabaret Workshop; the Actors Centre; Arts Educational Drama School, East15, The MTA and ALRA, and run masterclasses in both Chicago and Paris for Cabaret Connexion.  He is a contributor to Gary Williams’ book ‘Cabaret Secrets’.

On TV, Paulus has judged look-alikes on 6 eps of ‘Bigger Than…’ for Sky Living, mentored retired performers back into the industry for Mary Portas’ C4 programme ‘Mary’s Silver Service’ and appears as  the hard-to-impress member of ‘The Hundred’  judges on ‘All Together Now’ for BBC One, alongside Geri Horner and Rob Beckett for two series and a Christmas Special.

Since 2020, Paulus has been touring his musical-comedy tribute to the late, great Victoria Wood with the acclaimed pianist Michael Roulston.  ‘Looking For Me Friend: The Music of Victoria Wood is touring theatres and arts centres across the UK throughout 2025.’