Derren Brown is currently performing, over five nights in Hull, as part of his current UK tour. This is his first brand new theatre show in six years, with I believe, nearly 200 shows in all, throughout the country, what a feat and a challenge.
With a request at the closing of the show not to divulge anything that happened during the evening, creating dread and panic and, a what am I going to write about?
This is the first time I’ve seen him live and wasn’t sure what to expect, things are always different live on the stage from what we see on television. From the outset Derren commands the stage and creates a rapport with the audience, we’re made to feel at ease and trusting, and so eager to find out what he has in store. What follows is 2 ½ hours of pure showmanship.
This is a one-man show, with a strong audience contribution. A good number of the audience were eager to get involved, me, I’m a bit more reserved, and it is only now that I wish I’d participated more, been more open. Working with willing volunteers, all randomly chosen, this selection process created a fair few laughs and near misses, you’ll have to see what I’m on about for yourself, takes us journey full of amazement and awe.
If you go and see this show, he asks you to take a small keepsake along with you, something has meaning for you. You never know, it could be you up on that stage.
Derren is a mentalist, an illusionist, a magician and so much more. He tells a story throughout, this was quite powerful and resonated with us, we should be living our lives to the full, not living in the shadows, what a motivational speaker! He had us laughing, bought us to tears, had us eating out of his hand and left us with our minds blown. He truly is a master of his craft.
It was fabulous to see the packed audience in this wonderful theatre, all mesmerised by this mind blowing show, and man. As we left you couldn’t help but wonder how the impossible was made possible and questioning reality, what was real and what wasn’t. A show not to be missed.
New Wimbledon Theatre, Wimbledon – until 25 September 2021
Reviewed by Alexandra Sykes
5*****
Rock of Ages
Photo Credit : The Other Richard
After over 18 months of a lack of theatre, seeing Rock of Ages was exactly what was needed.
Set in the late 80s on the infamous Sunset Strip in LA, Rock of Ages tells the story of Drew (Luke Walsh) who falls in love with Sherri (Rhiannon Chesterman) with a soundtrack of 80s songs that have everyone singing along. Despite the love story between the pair, it is derailed with the arrival of rock star Stacee Jaxx (Kevin Clifton). The true star of the show is Joe Gash as Lonny, who regularly breaks the fourth wall to remind the audience and members of the cast that they are in a musical.
Like all good musicals, Rock of Ages has its bad guys, this time it’s in the form of German property developer Hertz (Vas Constanti) and his son Franz (Andrew Carthy) who plan on pulling down the clubs and bars on the sunset strip, much to the annoyance of Regina (Gabriella Williams) who protests to save the Sunset Strip by chaining herself to buildings and going on hunger strike.
With a basic set made to look predominantly like the bar of the Bourbon Room, smaller sets are rolled on and off stage depending on the location of the scene. The on stage band makes the music flow throughout and the encouragement from the cast to sing along makes this musical a firm favourite with anyone who loves 80s music or a good night out, grab a ticket whilst you can.
He’s a cabbie with The Knowledge, but he can’t remember yesterday.
A moving, funny and searching single-hander written by Brian Coyle.
This production, co-produced by award-winning playwright Brian Coyle (Best Script in Festival at the Page to Stage Festival in 2016 and winner of the British Theatre Challenge in 2014) and performer John Rayment had two short runs in 2018, at the Hen & Chickens and Theatre N16 under the auspices of Mixed Up Theatre. Now it’s back, presented by Sarah Lawrie (producer of Best New Play at the 2021 Off West End Awards, SCROUNGER).
Director Charlotte Peters directs for stage and screen with recent theatre including THE MIRACLE WORKER (Chelmsford Civic Theatre), ALEXA, CRY ME A DANCE (Ilkley Playhouse) and DANCE (King’s Head Theatre). She is Associate Director on the National Theatre’s WAR HORSE and Stephen Daldry’s AN INSPECTOR CALLS and is Artistic Director of theatre company Brickdust. Other stage career highlights have included directing HOW LOVE IS SPELT (Southwark Playhouse), NORMALITY (The Other Palace), CASTE (Finborough), THE MOUTH OF A SHARK (Vaults Festival), the national tour of BIRDSONG (Birdsong Productions) and TIMELESS (Camden Fringe/N16). Charlotte’s recent films include APOLLO 13: THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, BILLY AND ME starring Jon Culshaw, and the critically acclaimed award-winning BIRDSONG (all for Original Online), as well as REASONS due for release next year (BFI). This winter, Charlotte is looking forward to directing KING ARTHUR at Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury and the interactive live-streamed PETER PAN for Panto Live. Twitter: @CharlottePeterz
Writer – Brian Coyle is a playwright and scriptwriter originally from Scotland and now based in Bristol. His stage plays include WELCOME TO PARADISE ROAD (EB Productions) performed in Liverpool and Manchester in 2016. It won Best Script in Festival at the Page to Stage Theatre Festival. His other plays include KING OF THE WORLD (EB Productions) performed in Liverpool and Manchester in 2018; THE BOX performed at Theatre Royal, Bath; and the multiple five-star reviewed TIMELESS (Mixed Up Theatre), performed in London in 2018. He was shortlisted for the Bread and Roses Playwriting Award twice, in 2015 and 2017. In 2014 he was one of the winners of the British Theatre Challenge, an international one-act play competition. Brian also writes radio and audio dramas. His radio play THE LOVE TEST was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2019 and a two-part audio-drama BABYWALL was released in 2020 by Tempest Productions. Twitter: @brianscoyle
Performer John Rayment is an actor, based in Essex. His work during the lockdowns and isolation has included the two-hander I DON’T DANCE by Ron Fernee, for So & So Arts Club, filmed as part of their Capsule Festival, and assorted roles in AVALON Volume 2 for Big Finish Productions. Before the recent strangeness, he appeared in PROTEST for The Space’s first “Two Fest” in 2020; CHEKHOV IN MOSCOW, also here at The Space, and two separate productions of JOURNEY’S END (one national tour, in 2016, for Immersion Theatre, the other, in 2017, resident in Ypres, Belgium). Twitter: @johncrayment
Producer Sarah Lawrie has been making theatre since 2013. Most recently she produced LEAVES at Jermyn Street Theatre, SCROUNGER by Olivier-nominated playwright Athena Stevens at the Finborough Theatre (which won Best New Play at the Off West End Awards 2021) and web series LATE NIGHT STARING AT HIGH RES PIXELS. She is currently producing Arts Council England funded LEAR ALONE – a one man reworking of King Lear mounted in partnership with Crisis. Sarah is a founding member and lead producer of And Tomorrow Theatre Company, whose inaugural production, DEATH OF A HUNTER, premiered at the Finborough Theatre in 2018 and transferred to The Other Place at the Brighton Fringe Festival. In 2019 she produced the world premiere of David Pinner’s EDRED, THE VAMPYRE for The London Horror Festival. Co-producing credits include MY ROMANTIC HISTORY (Old Red Lion), TREE HOUSE (Brewhouse Theatre Taunton and touring), MADAME BOVARY (Hope Theatre) and ORANGES & INK (Tristan Bates Theatre and touring), THE MARVELLOUS ADVENTURES OF MARYSEACOLE (C Venues, Edinburgh Festival) and DAMAGED GOODS (PlayMill Festival, The King’s Head. She was also associate producer on OPERA IN THE CITY FESTIVAL 2017, and is the co-creator and sole producer of Rula Lenska’s one woman show FROM DZIKOW TO WILLESDEN GREEN. Twitter: @La_Lawrie
Running Time: 60 minutes | Suitable for ages 12+
Company information
Written by Brian Coyle
Directed by Charlotte Peters
Produced by Sarah Lawrie
Stage Manager Matthew Radway
Cast
John Rayment
The press on TIMELESS
“An absolute treat, tender and strong all in one, you leave feeling profoundly affected… I didn’t want it to end.” | “You really see the strength and love of his never seen wife, and your heart breaks a bit for what she must be going through” | “Excellent writing by Brian Coyle, excellent direction by Charlotte Peters and wonderfully acted by John Rayment” ★★★★★ London Theatre 1
“Outstanding writing, directing and performing makes this a must see!” ★★★★★ North West End
“Timeless is a thoughtful, funny, and subtle portrayal of what memory loss does to a person’s sense of self and family. It deserves to be seen, considered, and pondered well after its conclusion.” | “A masterwork of understated wit and humanity” ★★★★ Everything Theatre
“A moving exploration of the distress and disorientation of memory loss… Rayment admirably portrays the protagonist with great skill and sensitivity” “Timeless is a stirring, illuminative piece about that which shapes us: the mind” “Coyle’s praiseworthy writing is intelligent, thought-provoking and human” ★★★★ The Upcoming
“Timeless bypasses the basic science of memory to explore the extent of which it is integral to our existence, how it gives us hopes and expectations based on our experiences, and how it gives us a sense of our identity by shaping our future, explaining our present, and capturing and reflecting on our past” The Lancet Neurology Journal
Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge – until 25 September 2021
Reviewed by Steph Lott
5*****
As I watched “Charlie and Stan” I remembered how much I used to love Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy films as a child. As an adult last night I realised how skilled these actors were, in a bygone age before films had colour and talking. Watching this production, I felt as if I were seeing Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy brought back to life again once more.
“Charlie and Stan” is a magical seafaring fantasy which imagines the transatlantic voyage of two silent movie icons 110 years ago. It is however based on some real life events. Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel did set sail from Liverpool to New York as part of Fred Karno’s famous musical hall troupe. The show presents this journey through a series of manic, magical slapstick scenes that take place both on and off the ship, both past and present. It’s more a series of short stories strung together than one story and it’s hard to work out what it’s really about, if it is indeed “about” anything. However this does not detract in the slightest from how wonderful this production is. It is a delight to lose oneself in the wordless world Paul Hunter and his company create. They take the audience back in time, to another era; the age of vaudeville and silent movies.
Ioana Curelea’s amazingly versatile set transforms itself over and over. It’s a sea vessel, then backstage at a theatre, then it’s the backdrop to Charlie’s childhood, a Victorian melodrama of terrible parents. As with Chaplin’s film there is tender comedy mixed in with true sadness here. His mother is played by Sara Alexander, who also plays the piano throughout, exactly as it used to be with silent films. There are subtitles too!
The two leads are extraordinary in their roles. Danielle Bird is eerily like Charlie Chaplin. Her expressions, her pauses – the odd rolling gait. Jerone Marsh-Reid is an endearing Stan Laurel, who again captures the small details that makes the audience believe that Stan Laurel has once again come to life. I also really enjoyed the contrast of the gangly Stan Laurel with the pocket sized Charlie Chaplin. Jos Houben has given these two excellent proponents of physical theatre some wonderful routines and moves to play with. Again it was so evocative of those silent films I watched as a child, unaware of the skill that went into those slapstick routines that made me laugh so much before, and still do now.
Mention must also be made of the storming performance given by Nick Haverson. Not only does he play Frank Karno and also Chaplin’s drunken father, he also is a superb drummer and in a gradual reveal, makes Oliver Hardy appear before our eyes.
This is a charming, kind and life-affirming silent movie-style production that harks back to simpler times. I thoroughly recommend you go and see it.
Written and premiered in the early 1940s while WW2 raged on and the prospect of losing a precious loved one at short notice felt like a very real possibility, Noël Coward’s ghostly comedy is, perhaps not surprisingly, the first of ‘The Master’’s plays to be seen in the West End post-pandemic. To be fair, Richard Eyre’s Theatre Royal Bath revival was playing, with most of the current cast, at the Duke of York’s when everything shut down in March 2020, so was ripe for reopening. Here it is again then, in a different venue, and maybe with an added piquancy and relevance.
The ostensible centrepiece of the production remains Jennifer Saunders as Madame Arcati, the medium who conjures up Elvira, the dead wife of sceptic novelist Charles Condomine, much to the consternation of his current wife Ruth. Saunders is magnificent: this heroically eccentric woman is absolutely convinced of her own powers, and is genuinely affronted by the indifference and mockery of the posh Kent brigade she’s confronted with in the Condomine household. Got up like a Blyton-esque Head Girl gone to seed, she’s predictably hilarious, but Saunders also projects a wounded pride that lingers in the mind after the laughs have faded.
This Arcati’s delight at encountering another person with “the gift” (the Condomine’s fabulously bizarre, awkward maid Edith – Rose Wardlaw in a surprising, scene-stealing turn) is oddly touching, and the resemblance between the two women – an insight I’ve never encountered in any earlier staging of the play – makes for a satisfying symbiosis.
The performance of the night though turns out not to be Saunders, nor Madeleine Mantock’s impressively assured West End debut as a ravishing, unusually sexy Elvira, nor even Geoffrey Streatfeild handling Charles’s coming apart at the seams with incredible panache. In what is generally considered to be the least rewarding of the four lead roles, Lisa Dillon spins comedy gold out of insecure, passive-aggressive Ruth, eternally in unfavourable comparison (literally, as it turns out) to her more exotic predecessor, driving every scene she’s in. Proof that the greatest actors also make the best comedians, and also something of a Coward specialist (Design For Living at The Old Vic, Present Laughter at the NT, the Kim Cattrall Private Lives in the West End), Dillon brings a nervy charm and fragile elegance to the role, blending just the right notes of realism and camp (watch her flounce out of the room clad in dark glasses and a chiffon scarf leaving her husband to frolic with his phantom wife), this is a lesson in high comedy playing. Janie Dee’s Ruth was, for me, a highlight of the 2014 Angela Lansbury revival: Dillon turns out to be even better.
Elsewhere, Eyre’s production, played out on a handsome set by Anthony Ward that feels a little too big for the Pinter’s stage, and exquisitely lit by Howard Harrison, is a frustrating mix of inspired insights and an inability, or unwillingness, to let the Coward text speak for itself. It feels about twenty minutes too long, the use of incidental music is way too strident, and the pace drags considerably in the last half hour before the interval. Given that the last occupant of the Harold Pinter was Sonia Friedman’s presentation of a trio of exciting, diverse new plays and talent (Walden, J’Ouvert, Anna X), Blithe Spirit feels a bit like a retrograde step, theatrical comfort food. That said, it’s maybe what many people feel that they want right now.
Darlington Hippodrome – until Saturday 25 September 2021
3***
credit Paul Coltas
The Cat and the Canary finally made it to Darlington Hippodrome, after being the first show to be postponed due to Covid.
A spooky tale, with lots of shock and things to make you jump, but some funny bits too – including the nervous laughter.
On the 20th Anniversary of his death, the descendants of Cyrus West meet to finally hear the reading of his will, in his spooky and deserted house, in the middle of storm at the stroke of midnight. Add in the familial loathing of each other and an escaped lunatic and you have the basis for an excellent story, originally written by John Willard in 1922.
Britt Ekland leads the cast as Mrs Pleasant, the housekeeper, who has lived alone since the death of Mr West, save only for the company of ghosts and spirits. Crosby the Lawyer (Eric Carte) arrives to find the will had been discovered and read, despite the secrecy and measures put in place to prevent this. Slowly the family begin to gather – Harry (Gary Webster) the poor relation. Cicily (Priyasasha Kumari) and Susan (Marti Webb) arrived from India. Charlie (Ben Nealon) an actor. Paul (Anthony Costa) a bumbling vet and Annabelle (Tracy Shaw) a novelist. The beneficiary is announced, but there are caveats – in the event of sudden death or should they be declared insane, the fortune will go to the next in line.
It’s definitely a show to watch, full of twists and turns, clues and red herrings and, quite frankly, the magnificent set is worth the ticket alone. As we head towards the spookiest time of the year, this whodunnit is one to see
After almost two years away, I was shivering with antici … pation to return to the beautiful and very welcoming Sunderland Empire. And what a show to return to, the classic Rocky Horror Show.
Camper than a Scout jamboree and much more fun. Rocky Horror is always hilarious, an adult panto at times with the audience interaction, but Phillip Franks in his role as the Narrator was more than a match for the hecklers in Sunderland.
For those unfamiliar with the story, newly engaged couple Brad and Janet break down on a trip to see their old teacher Dr Scott. In a quest to find a phone they end up at the home of Frank N Furter and his servants Riff Raff, Magenta and Columbia.
Ore Oduba (Brad) and Haley Flaherty (Janet) both deftly manage the transition from virginal couple to depraved disciples of Frank, and both have the chance to showcase their fine voices which more than match the pulsating band. Ben Westhead is the titular Rocky and it’s more his pectoral muscles that are on show rather than his vocal ones and he carries off the role with sufficient skill.
Joe Allen doubling up in his roles of Eddie and his uncle, Dr Scott, is hilarious. A fabulous rendition of both Hot Patootie and Eddie’s Teddy and high kicking in a wheelchair showed what a star is he
Suzie McAdam as Magenta and Lauren Ingram as Columbia are both magnificent – all legs and screaming sexuality. Kristian Lavercombe as Riff Raff is a revelation, with his powerful voice, he is almost more Riff Raff than the original performed by Richard O’Brien. He has played the part now more times than the great Mr O’Brien
Rightfully though, the show belongs to Frank. And as Frank n Furter, Stephen Webb is a slightly more macho version than normal, but this adds to the fun. His attraction and menace are skilfully portrayed. And he also looks so utterly stunning that it’s impossible to tear your eyes away from him when he’s on stage. Every eyebrow raised or lick of the lips is met with roars of approval by the crowd. A sublime performance.
There isn’t a weak link in this show at all, performers, musicians and outstanding production make this one of the best versions of Rocky Horror to tour in a long time.It’s a fan favourite, full of innuendo, an adult pantomime, camper than Christmas, and a guaranteed standing ovation when the audience rises as one to do an encore of the Time Warp.
Mischief are making magic all over again. In Groan Ups the writers Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, take the familiar, extract the humour and use it to ask an age old, unanswered question – do we choose what we become?
When the characters first enter the stage as children, running down the aisles, you are smiling already. The body language and ‘what I did this weekend’ assembly, is your character development in one swift shot! There are serious subjects touched on with hilarious results that make you think and laugh out loud all at once. The concluding scenes bring the piece to a tumultuous climax. Simon (Matt Cavendish) states clearly he is what they made him, after the years of constant bullying and degradation. We all know Archie (Daniel Abbott) is gay from the first scenes as 6 year olds. So are we already what we are or does our life mould us? Each and every main character gives light and shade, delivering intensity and humour in equal measures to this question. The humour is taken to another level by Jamie Birkett as Chemise, a complete caricature that puts the farcical into this farce.
Credit must be given to the creatives. The simple and effective staging tells you what age the characters are by the size of the classroom chairs and tables! The costumes give great visual clues, like a window into life at home.
If you want to belly laugh whilst pondering a philosophical question, Groan Ups does it by the bucket full.
TuckShop – the UK’s only specialist production company devoted all things drag – are back in the West End this Christmas with DICK WHITTINGTON, the second of its all drag pantomimes, following the first 2019 sell-out hit Cinderella. Teaming up with Ameena Hamid, the West End’s youngest producer, “Dick” will star RuPaul’s Drag Race UK favourites Cheryl Hole as ‘Dick’, plus two of the Queens currently appearing on screen in Series 3, Kitty Scott Claus as ‘The Spirit of Soho’, and Choriza May as ‘Queen Rat’, Dick Whittington will play at the Phoenix Theatre from Sunday 5 December, with tickets on sale now here.
Written by Gareth Joiner, Dick Whittington will also star Holly Stars as ‘The Cat’, Beau Jangles as ‘The Mayor of Soho’, Yshee Black as ‘Dame Sarah’, and Ophelia Love as ‘Villager Number 4’. Further casting and full creative team to be announced shortly.
Join our hero Dick Whittington on his thrilling quest to find adventure fame and fortune in the glittering streets of Soho, with his feisty and funny pussy cast. Will he be able to defeat villainous rodent Queen Rat, with the help of the Spirit of Soho, save the city and win the hand of his love, the beautiful Alice?
Get ready to follow your dreams as this classic tale is re-imagined in TuckShop’s own way. Unlike any other pantomime you’ll see, written by Gareth Joyner, you’ll be gagging on Dick and his friends as they bring the spirit of Soho to the West End.
Cheryl Hole said, “I am beyond excited to be in panto this winter on the West End of all places, definitely a pinch me moment. If you told baby Cheryl she would be doing all this, I would have told you you’re telling a big fat lie!
I’ve actually worked with Tuckshop from the beginning of my career, pre Drag Race, and it’s gonna be a family reunion and a lot of campery! And I promise I won’t be mediocre!”
Kitty Scott Claus said, “As an international beauty & style icon, felt tip connoisseur and queen hun, I am THRILLED to be appearing in Dick Whittington and can’t wait to spread some festive panto cheer. Speaking to you as I am from my swanky W1 rooftop apartment with fabulous city views and a full staff, it’s a pleasure and an honour for the audience to be blessed with such a buxom beauty in the cast and thrilled to be bringing a bit of glamour (and something for the dads) back to London’s glittering West End!”
Choriza May said, “So excited to finally work with Tuck Shop! And what a first project to be part of mi amor! Drag Panto in the West End? Sign me in!
My partner took me to see Panto the first Christmas I spent in the UK after moving from Spain, and I fell in love with it! Now I get to headline Dick Whittington. Full circle moment, que loco!”
Holly Stars said, “I’m in it.”
In the last two years TUCKSHOP has engrained itself as a fundamental part of the West End, bringing drag to the mainstream like never before. With the huge rise in drag popularity over the last ten years, TuckShop is at the forefront of UK Drag culture, coming hot off the heels of Chris Clegg’s fifteen years’ experience in the West End as a producer, theatre manager, and marketing expert. Having had huge success with the critically acclaimed comedy Death Drop – the first all drag spectacular in a West End playhouse and now on a major UK tour, TuckShop West End, a summer festival of drag shows and performances at the Garrick, and Cinderella at the Trafalgar Studios, TuckShop also represent the next generation of Drag superstardom, handle merchandising for performers globally, and are branching out into broadcast media, with shows such as Holly Stars: Inspirational now on Amazon Prime and OUTTv. Their smash hit show Gals Aloud has played sold out seasons across the UK, and new production The Sickening 90s Drag Prom creates new interactive experiences for audiences.TuckShop is the beating, glittery heart of an industry that continues to explode!
AMEENA HAMID is a London based creative producer, general manager, festival curator and facilitator. Her work focuses on increasing inclusivity and representation in theatre. She has been heralded as “a true role model to the future generations” by Official London Theatre. At just 20, Ameena earnt the accolade of youngest ever female producer on the West End as Associate Producer on Death Drop (Garrick Theatre). She worked as Line Producer on Shedding A Skin by Amanda Wilkin and curious by Jasmine Lee-Jones for Soho Theatre. Ameena was an EdFringe and British Council Emerging Producer and one of Stage One’s Bridge the Gap Producers. She is on the Board of the League of Independent Producers and part of the Creative Freelances Shaping London’s Recovery Advisory Group.
Other credits include: Co-Producer The Wiz (Hope Mill Theatre Manchester), General Manager on Wonderville Magic And Illusion (Palace Theatre), Assistant Producer to The Show Must Go On Live (Palace Theatre), Producer on Graduates at Cadogan Hall, Producer on Eating Myself (Applecart Arts and FAE Lima, Peru), Producer on Killing It and Since U Been Gone (VAULT Festival).
A NEW ADAPTATION BY PHOEBE ECLAIR-POWELL AND OWEN HORSLEY
THE FIRST PRODUCTION IN READING’S BRAND-NEW THEATRE
Reading Rep Theatre today announce the full cast of DORIAN, a world première adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray written by Bruntwood Prize winner Phoebe Eclair-Powell, and RSC Associate Director Owen Horsley. Owen Horsley directs Andro Cowperthwaite (Dorian), Ché Francis (Henry) and Nat Kennedy (Basil). The production opens on 19 October, with previews from 13 October and runs until 7 November. DORIAN is the first production in the Reading Rep: Reborn season and marks the opening of Reading Rep’s new cultural arts hub following a two-year campaign which raised over £1 million to build the state-of-the-art performance space.
“The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.”
Dorian Gray sells his soul for eternal beauty. Basil and Henry join him for the ride until it all gets a bit much, and the hangovers make way for murder…
DORIAN follows one man’s descent from beautiful debauchery to epic chaos. But who decides when the party is over?
This production will be accompanied by participation project Made in Reading that explores Reading’s LGBTQIA+ history and Wilde’s imprisonment in Reading Gaol.
Phoebe Eclair-Powell is the current winner of the Bruntwood Prize for her play Shed: Exploded View. Her other theatre credits include Wink, Fury, The Picture of Dorian Gray, These Bridges, and the forthcoming Harm and Really Big and Really Loud. For television, her credits include Two Weeks to Live, and for film, the forthcoming Better the Blood.
Owen Horsley’s previous theatre credits include Maydays, Salome, First Encounters: The Famous Victories of Henry (RSC), Antony and Cleopatra, Who’s There: Hamlet, A Memory Play (Classic Stage Company), Dorian Gray (The Watermill Theatre), Henry V (Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Royal Festival Hall), Outside on the Street (Arcola Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Lysistrata (Albany Theatre), and The Duchess of Malfi (Southwark Playhouse). As an Associate Director of Cheek by Jowl, his credits include ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, Macbeth, Troilus and Cressida, Cymbeline, and The Changeling.
Andro Cowperthwaite plays Dorian. He is an actor and singer/songwriter and trained at Drama Centre London. His theatre credits include The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Bridge Theatre), Salome and Dido: Queen of Carthage (RSC) and Corpus Christi (The Space). His film credits include Cold Blow Lane, The Agency and Abstract.
Ché Francis plays Henry. He is a recent LAMDA graduate, and his theatre credits include Curtains Up and The Assassination of Katie Hopkins (Theatr Clywd), The Colours (Soho Theatre), Volpone (Omnibus Theatre) and The Toxic Avenger (Pleasance and Art’s Theatre).
Nat Kennedy plays Basil. They are a recent RADA graduate and queer theatre and filmmaker. They created The Sirrah Sisters, a female and non-binary Shakespeare Theatre Company. Their previous credits include The Maids (Southwark Playhouse), Iphigenia In Aulis (The Cockpit Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night (The Sirrah Sisters), and Macbeth, As You Like It and Henvy V (The Show Must Go Online).
