Jonny Labey isn’t afraid to leap. After a career spanning the West End, TV, film and music, the Jersey-born performer has taken on his boldest role yet: filmmaker. Alongside his partner Margherita Barbieri, he launched Doing Brave Productions, a company built on raw honesty and fearless storytelling. Their debut short, Swirl State, dives headfirst into Jonny’s own mental health journey, blending vulnerability with cinematic flair and celebrating the creative energy of his home island.

But Labey’s storytelling doesn’t stop there. From questioning masculinity through dance and performance to drawing on his unexpected background in martial arts for his upcoming project Gi, his work is driven by a hunger to push boundaries and spotlight the outsider’s voice. Whether he’s in front of the camera or behind it, Jonny’s mission is clear: to tell stories that challenge, connect, and carve a new space for Jersey on the global creative map.

You’ve launched your own production company, DOING BRAVE PRODUCTIONS. What inspired you to take that leap into filmmaking? 

It definitely felt like a leap, especially when we made our first short film, Swirl State; it felt more like a motorbike stunt over a canyon! In fact, a large part of naming the company was about mirroring our drive and passion, as well as the themes in the types of stories we want to tell. Thus, Doing Brave was born, and the canyon now feels like a puddle we can't wait to jump in. I've had a wonderful career in theatre, West End, Off West End, TV, film, music and so on, but actually making cinema, making projects, making opportunities for other creatives and yourself feels like a whole different beast. I was inspired by personal experiences and turmoil to be very honest, stories that I know so many people share. I started scribbling down in a scene-by-scene format, which I then later developed into plots and then scripts. It’s like I was banking and decoding all of these plot lines in my head to a point where I had to write them down to make room for others. There was a beautifully cathartic feeling when finally shooting Swirl State, of revisiting moments of my life that I’d not shared with anyone and retelling them in my present mind set, it was like my own kind of film-like therapy. I started Doing Brave with my girlfriend, Margherita Barbieri, almost as a testimony to share sections of our lives that have held us back, to propel our lives forward. Our interests within filmmaking is beautifully different too, her stories are different to mine and even our strengths in filmmaking lie in different areas. A lot of my writing speaks out about the ‘fragile man’ having always questioned the ‘masculine’ role in society and what it means to be one. As one of the only male dancers growing up in Jersey, often the only boy in a class of twenty and with two sisters, the feminine presence in my life has always been greatly evident. Companies like Lloyd Newson's DV8 with Enter Achilles, films like Taxi Driver, Billy Elliot and The Joker, have captivated and inspired me so powerfully that I’d love to carry, question and push the portrayal of the modern man further. 

Swirl State is deeply personal, drawing from your own mental health journey and life experiences. What gave you the courage to share such a vulnerable story on screen?

Absolutely! Swirl State jumps straight into my personal struggle with mental health, which is one thing that I’ve not been that vocal about. I think the courage came from the actual experience shown in the film itself which is why I felt I needed to tell it. I’m a huge believer of becoming the ‘average’ of the people you surround yourself with, it’s a famous Jim Rohn quote ‘Show me your five friends and I’ll show you your future’. As I stepped away from what no longer served me it was like I gravitated towards who I was and therefore who I had in my life. I remember thinking about the actual timeframe of when the film is set and thinking I couldn’t even communicate with my friends, my sisters or anyone in my family and closest circle, let alone people I’d just met. I was in such a spiral that I’d lost sense of what anyone would see in me, like they were a mirror of the terrible things I thought of myself. The thought was enormous, that there I was communicating, directing, acting and producing a whole team of incredible filmmakers at a time when I felt muted. There’s a quote in the film that talks about the ‘happiness exchange’, and that, 'Seeing smiles all day makes you smile, that’s it. The ancient rule of life’. Doing a fairly humbling job, when you’ve been in the public eye for a decade was the exact remedy I needed. Jersey’s community and familiar faces brought me back to growing up in a time when my mind felt most at ease, not to mention the helping remedy of luxury Jersey dairy ice cream… even as a type 1 diabetic!

The film features all original music. How does music fit into your storytelling, and what role did it play in shaping Swirl State? 

The music was such a vital part of the film, and although you might not notice at first, our genius composer Charli Mackie, came up with a concept that changed everything. Six years ago my friend Joshua Venton from the band Von Cassidy,wrote me a song called Big Dreaming, and although we never got round to fully recording it, its purpose and place was found in the film. Charli took this one track and made four rewrites of the same track in different genres- one angsty punk, one country, one Mumford-style track, and then blends it thematically throughout the film. This played out a beautiful metaphor for my character (Nathan), his drive and purpose never changes, but the trips and turns of his life colour or cloud that dream differently. We also made sure that every other artist on the film was local to Jersey, including Nic Dinnie’s track Run Away by his band The Tarantulips, which if you watch the music video you may notice my cheeky cameo! Growing up, music was so integral to my identity and interests. In the 90s and early 00’s in the Channel Island’s band culture was thriving and because this film was paying homage to the talent that exists in Jersey it seemed only right that we proudly have over 70% of the cast and crew from the Channel Islands, including the music. All of those tones and emotions are so beautifully captured by Charli, her work speaks for herself and we’re so blessed to have her on the film. 

You chose to film Swirl State in Jersey, your home soil. What does it mean to you to bring this story to life there, and how important is location in the storytelling process?

To tell a Jersey-based story with Channel Island filmmakers feels like an insanely proud proof of concept for myself and many other creatives who have in recently years have been emerging. I really have to recognise and thank ArtHouse Jersey who are a Jersey based Arts Organisation, who have supported my growth as an artist since I was a teenager along with thousands of Channel Islanders over the years. Without their support the foundation of arts in the Channel Islands wouldn’t be where they are now, which is vibrant and exciting. Location is vital for storytelling and finding those places that resonate with a vision are hard to come by. Jersey has that in bucket loads, whether it’s beaches, estates, mansions, cobbled streets, castles, cliffs or sand dunes - Jersey feels like a purpose built film studio. The Channel Islands tend to be widely recognised for their financial industries, yet ArtHouse have nourished emerging and established artists in their career development, and without their support this film wouldn’t have been possible. It’s a huge venture for me into filmmaking and one that I adore. ArtHouse have recognised my hunger to use Jersey as an incredibly exciting film location, as well as this shift in supporting my career as a proud Jerseyman. Their continued support means the world. I’m proud to share that the proof of concept for my next film Gi - which is a British comedy and a ballet of bruises set in a karate dojo - will also be in collaboration with ArtHouse. I’m really looking forward to screening Swirl State in Jersey later this year with friends, family and those involved in the film. 

You’ve spoken about wanting to develop Jersey into a world-recognised creative hub. What steps do you think are necessary for that vision to become a reality?

It has to be! There’s already steps being taken in that direction and conversations being had which is very exciting to finally hear, it’s been a long time coming! Growing up on the island especially as a male dancer with an initial dream for the West End, my future always felt like it was based on the other side of an ocean. Hearing certain ideas and visions being put into play is timely to say the least. I’ve had my own vision and ideas for festivals and networking opportunities as well as other potential ideas, which would need a whole team of people working in tandem. So many ideas start as grassroot concepts, but in order to really get things off the ground I would need to be on the ground in Jersey which unfortunately I’m currently unable to do. The outreach would be immense and it would be with an aim to reignite Britain’s love of the island. I’d love to see it rebranded from being associated with a location that people set up hedge funds, and instead start seeing it as a new Glastonbury or a new Cannes - the possibilities are endless!  

Gi is a very different kind of project - comedic, martial arts-inspired, and about outsiders finding their strength. How did your unexpected journey into martial arts inspire the film?

It’s definitely a side of me that no one expects. I started karate almost the same week that I started dancing. As a child of the 90s, being a male dancer was seen as a bully’s prime target, I guess my parents thought that it couldn’t hurt for me to know how to hold my own in case anything happened… and they were right! That’s what my film Gi encapsulates; it’s the contrast of being a martial artist and a ballet boy, one who finds himself in a dojo during an ongoing threat from a group of thugs. I’ve had all sorts of situations with bullying, the worst of all is actually shown in this film. When I started training, instead of joining what I thought was going to be a Karate kid/ Bruce Lee/ Shaolin training kind of situation, it turned out to be a class filled with other people trying to defend themselves for a multitude of reasons. That’s what I wanted to capture - the real life circumstance's that bring people to the  dojo in the first place; are you defending yourself from other people or are you fighting your own shadows? 

Across both Swirl State and Gi, there’s a clear theme of exploring the human condition and personal boundaries. What draws you to telling these kinds of stories?

The more I write, the more I realise that I have an interest and a message to stand up for and it’s so strange to realise that, as I’d never set out with that intention to begin with. Maybe it’s a coincidence, maybe it’s a phase? I think that’s the power filmmaking has, whether you’re developing an idea that takes weeks or even years, each storyteller wants the world to see and feel the life they have lived through their own personal lens. I can’t believe that since filming Swirl State we’ve managed to produce, write and film six films and Doing Brave Productions hasn’t even been officially launched yet. We’ve had ideas in development in the background throughout this time, some slow burners and some instant catch fire concepts which have been turned around in 48 hours, but we’re still finding our feet and working through what sparks and tests our creative minds. Yet the themes up until now have all had echoes of each other in them. Myself and Margi have had very similar paths up until this point, both neurodivergent, dancing, acting creatives who have both felt like the outsider in so many groups and past friendships. My friend Phil Griffin used to say ‘The true purpose of art is to comfort the disturb and disturb the comfortable’, living through these experiences is what breaths life into that Brave storyline/theme.  

As someone moving between acting and filmmaking, how does your experience in front of the camera influence the way you direct, write, and produce?

I think working as an actor, if you stay receptive and intrigued with learning, you’re put in the spotlight of so many different departments which is the biggest blessing of all. It’s rare that a camera operator will get the chance to learn about character process or a make up artist about sound. I’ve always been a bit of a ‘Why-bird’, it was my nickname from my family growing up as my middle name is Wymark!  I’ve always loved writing and I’ve had the absolute undeniable pleasure of reading sides from the best writers in the industry doing auditions. I’ve worked with so many wonderful directors and when necessary picked their brains on what they do or are looking for, and I’ve always had a life calling of bringing communities together to do something or plan something, so really filmmaking is a result of asking questions. Never stop being a student and always respect those you work with. For now, writing and acting are very much forefront, and producing is something I feel I’ve done my whole life without knowing it. Directing I’d like to develop more, but I feel the love of being an actor is working to mould your vision with someone else’s and be that vessel that steers to the character’s DNA. I’m currently more inclined to learn how to edit than to direct for now, I know too many incredible directors and post production is expensive!