Full casting has been announced for the brand-new touring production of Jim Cartwright’s The Rise And Fall of Little Voice, produced by Katy Lipson and Glass Half Full Productions, directed by Bronagh Lagan (Cruise, West End; Little Women The Musical, Park Theatre/ Hope Mill) and starring international YouTube sensation Christina Bianco in the title role.

Akshay Gulati (The Family Way; East is East; The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, all Bolton Octagon) will play Billy, Anna Hale (London Road, Cuba Pictures/BBC Films) will understudy the role of  LV and Sadie, with William Ilkley (War Horse, UK/ International Tour; The Full Monty, UK Tour; The Mousetrap, West End/ UK Tour), playing cabaret club owner Mr. Boo. The cast is completed by Fiona Mulvaney (The Ferryman, West End; Silent Witness, BBC) as Sadie and James Robert Moore (All That, Lion and Unicorn; Fanny & Stella, Above the Stag) in the role of Phone Man. James will also be Resident Director on the production.

They will join the previously announced Shobna Gulati as Mari Hoff, much loved for her roles in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (West End/film) and Coronation Street, and West End leading man Ian Kelsey as Ray Say. Two-time Drama Desk nominee Christina Bianco, whose extraordinary diva videos have been viewed over 25 million times on YouTube, will play LV. Described as ‘the girl of a thousand voices,’ Christina has performed her amazing impressions on many major television programs such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Today Show.

Directed by Bronagh Lagan, with Musical Director and Associate Sound Designer Eamonn O’Dwyer, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice will feature set and costume design by Sara Perks, casting by Jane Deitch, lighting design by Nic Farman, Andrew Johnson as Sound Designer and Chris Matanlé as General Manager.

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice will open in Southampton on 23 March 2022 and tour to The Capitol Horsham, Exeter Northcott, Malvern Theatres, Theatre Clwyd, Theatre Royal Brighton, Derby Theatre, Salisbury Playhouse, Liverpool Playhouse, Theatre Royal Wakefield, Crewe Lyceum Theatre, The Lowry Salford, Blackpool Grand, Mercury Theatre Colchester, Richmond Theatre, York Theatre Royal and Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham. For full dates and listings information please see ‘Notes to Editors’.

From Judy Garland to Shirley Bassey, Marilyn Monroe to Billie Holliday, Christina Bianco will vividly bring to life performances from the great chanteuses in Cartwright’s tender and life-affirming play. The Rise and Fall of Little Voice won both the Oliver award and Evening Standard award for Best Comedy when it premiered at the National Theatre in 1992 in a production directed by Sam Mendes which transferred to the Aldwych, starring Jane Horrocks and Alison Steadman. Horrocks later reprised the role of LV in a film adaptation also starring Brenda Blethyn, Michael Caine, Ewan McGregor and Jim Broadbent.

Meet Little Voice and Mari Hoff. A mother and daughter central to the heart of this Northern fairy-tale, but as far apart in character as can be. Left to her own devices, Little Voice starts to embody the famous divas she plays on repeat, from Judy Garland to Shirley Bassey, and becomes an overnight sensation.

With humour, heart and countless powerhouse ballads all performed live on stage, Cartwright’s timeless and iconic tale explores the highs and the lows of small-town dreams, family rivalry and finding your voice in a noisy world.

13 – 18 June 2021

Blackpool Grand Theatre

https://www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk/

ON SALE NOW

www.littlevoiceuk.com

Age guidance: 12+ adult themes and strong language

Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Website

NOTES TO EDITORS

For press enquiries please contact Alice Rickett and Laura Myers:

Alice@aboutgracepr.com / Laura@aboutgracepr.com

IMAGE IS AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD HERE

CAST BIOGRAPHIES

CHRISTINA BIANCO

A Two-Time Drama Desk Award nominee, Christina made her West End debut starring in The Menier Chocolate Factory’s production of Forbidden Broadway at the Vaudeville Theatre. Most recently, Christina played the iconic role of Fanny Brice at the Theatre Marigny’s celebrated production of Funny Girl in Paris.

New York credits include The Marvelous Wonderettes, the one-woman, multi-character comedy; Application Pending (Drama Desk Award Nomination); Newsical the Musical; and Forbidden Broadway Goes To Rehab (Drama Desk Award Nomination). Other professional credits include, The Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Maureen in Rent, and Cunegonde in Candide.

Television credits include the ITV’s The Imitation Game, POP TV sitcom Impress Me, Hallmark’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered and voice work for RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Bianco captured international acclaim as a YouTube sensation with her ‘diva’ impression videos, gaining over 25 million views. Dubbed ‘the girl of a thousand voices,’ Christina has performed on major television programs such as The Ellen Degeneres Show and The Today Show in the US, and The Paul O’Grady Show and This Morning in the UK.

Christina has performed her critically acclaimed concerts to sold out crowds in NYC and across the US. In the UK, she’s enjoyed extended runs headlining at London’s Hippodrome, Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room, Live at Zedel’s, The Charing Cross Theatre, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and recently completed her second UK tour, titled First Impressions.

Christina frequently performs with major US and Canadian symphonies and performs her solo symphony show, The Woman Of A Thousand Voices, under the direction of Maestro Jack Everly. Christina’s live album, Life Of The Party, is available on iTunes and all major streaming platforms.

AKSHAY GULATI

Akshay trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

His professional theatre credits include: The Family Way (Bolton Octagon); East is East (Bolton Octagon) The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Bolton Octagon) and My Version of Events (Hope Mill Theatre).

SHOBNA GULATI

Shobna can be seen in the film version of Everyone’s Talking About Jamie, now streaming via Amazon Prime. She became a household name for her role as Anita in Victoria Wood’s Dinnerladies and as Sunita, in Coronation Street.  She trained at Manchester University, Trinity Laban, Goldsmith’s College, London, Darpana Academy for Performing Arts, India and has a post graduate in teaching dance from Middlesex University.

Theatre credits include Cinderella (Lyric Hammersmith); Richard II (The Globe); Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Apollo Theatre and tour); Daisy Pulls It Off (The Park); Anita & Me (Birmingham Rep/Touring Consortium); Grease (Leicester Curve); Mamma Mia (International Tour 2015–2016), Jon Godber’s April in Paris (Derby Playhouse/National Tour); B!rth, Hunger for Trade, Come Closer Pretend You Have Big Buildings, Cafe Vesuvio (Royal Exchange, Manchester); How High is Up?,  The Jungle Book, (West Yorkshire Playhouse); Dinnerladies, Girl’s Night (National Tour), The Vagina Monologues (Mark Goucher Ltd); Romeo and Juliet, Crazy Lady (Leicester Haymarket, Contact Theatre); The Mikado (New Vic Stoke and Stephen Joseph Theatre) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Tara Arts/National Tour), Moti Roti Puttli Chunni, Blaggers, and D’yer Eat with Your Fingers? (Theatre Royal, Stratford East).

Film credits include Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (New Regency/Film4/Warp Films); Finding Fatimah (British Muslim TV); Junkhearts (Dir. Tinge Krishnan) and BAFTA award winning short film, Shadowscan (BFI/Channel4/Disruptive Element Films).

She has also written and directed the critically acclaimed comedy show for young women The Masala Girls.

Television credits include:

My Name is Leon (BBC); Murder They Hope (UKTV); 4Stories – On the Edge (Blacklight Productions); Doctor Who (BBC);  Moving On (LA Productions); River City  (BBC Scotland); Treasure Champs (CBeebies),  Casualty (BBC); Doctors (BBC); Coronation Street (ITV), Hold The Sunset (BBC), In the Club (BBC), Eastenders (BBC),  New Street Law (BBC), Magnolia (BBC), Paranoid (ITV1/Red/Netflix), You, Me and Them (UKTV Gold), The Slammer (CBBC), Jackanory (CBBC), Bedtime Stories (Cbeebies), Coming Up (Channel 4), Where The Heart Is (ITV1) and Dinnerladies (BBC). As a panellist she was seen on Call My Bluff, Have I Got News For You, Countdown and was a regular on ITV’s Loose Women until 2014. She was a semi-finalist in Celebrity Masterchef for the BBC and has also appeared in Soapstar Superstar and Stars in their Eyes for ITV, and Best Home Cook (BBC).

ANNA HALE

Anna studied Linguistics at the University of York before training with the National Youth Music Theatre as an actor and director.
Credits with NYMT include Miss Menace in Super Hero, and as Assistant Director, Legend Trippers and Henrietta.
As Associate Director/Choreographer: Errol’s Garden (UK Tour)
Film: Jessica in London Road (Cuba Pictures/BBC Films)
Anna is thrilled to be making her professional stage debut in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice.

WILLIAM ILKLEY

Theatre credits include War Horse (UK & International Tour), The Full Monty (UK Tour), The Mousetrap (St Martins Theatre & Tour), Widowers’ Houses (New Vic, Stoke), Bouncers (Watershed Productions), Weekend Breaks, The Debt Collectors (The John Godber Company), Tis Pitty She’s a Whore, Scuffer, Seasons in the Sun (West Yorkshire Playhouse), The Xmas Office Party, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Unleashed (Hull Truck), Up ’n’ Under (Tour).

Television and film credits include Endeavour, DCI Banks, Hollyoaks, Holby City, Emmerdale, Casualty, Doctors, The Royal, Heartbeat, Midsomer Murders, Class of ’76, The Bill, Thin Ice, Vincent, Abolition, Family Affairs, Battlefield Britain, Dalziel & Pascoe, Eastenders,The Last Detective, Judge John Deed, Coronation Street, Gold, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, Wing and a Prayer, The Day of the Triffids, The Boat That Rocked, Is Anybody There, The Jealous God, Thunder Road, Between Two Women.

IAN KELSEY

Trained at Guildford School of Acting.
Ian’s television work as a series regular includes Vinnie Ashford in Coronation Street (ITV); Howard Bellamy in Doctors (BBC);  Richard Mayne in Blue Murder (ITV);  Jack Clayton in  Where The Heart Is (ITV);  Matt Brewer in Down To Earth (BBC);  Dr. Patrick Spiller in Casualty (BBC); and Dave Glover in Emmerdale (ITV).

Other television work includes: Jack Kelsey in Innocent 2 (ITV); John Terry in Moving On (BBC); James Hamilton in Love Sick (Netflix); Brendan Newlyn in The Bill (ITV);  Daniel in Dustbin Baby (BBC); John Fuller in Hotel Babylon (BBC); Liam Taylor in Murder In Mind (BBC); Karl Lang in Touching Evil (ITV).

Stage work includes:  Billy Flynn in Chicago (West End/China Tour); Frank Galvin in The Verdict (UK Tour); Professor Callahan in Legally Blonde (Curve Theatre, Leicester); Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption (UK Tour);  George in Same Time Next Year (Theatre Royal Windsor); Jud in Kes (West Yorkshire Playhouse); Danny in Grease (Cambridge Theatre West End); Leezy in Same Key As Frank (Garstang).

Film work includes: Joe Green in Black Beauty (Warner Bros).

Ian has written for BBC Doctors and is currently writing a Children’s television series with drama school pal Justin Fletcher which will be going into production this year. His Behind the Scenes photography can be found on his Instagram account @iankelseybehindthescenes

JAMES ROBERT MOORE

James trained as an actor at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. As an Actor: ALL THAT (Lion & Unicorn), FANNY & STELLA (Above The Stag), PRIVATES ON PARADE (Greenwich), BEFORE THE NIGHT IS THROUGH, MEET ME IN ST LOUIS (Landor), THE ROAD TO QATAR! (Edinburgh Fringe). As Director: AMDRAM: A Musical Comedy (Leicester Curve), BILLY THE KID (NYMT), LITTLE WOMEN (Trinity Laban) OUR HOUSE (Urdang), HALF A SIXPENCE, GUYS & DOLLS (New Wimbledon Theatre).  As Associate/Assistant Director: VANYA & SONIA & MASHA & SPIKE (Charing Cross Theatre), TITANIC THE MUSICAL (International Tour), MIDNIGHT (Seoul, South Korea), CALENDAR GIRLS THE MUSICAL (Phoenix Theatre, London) THE FULL MONTY (two UK & Ireland tours), JERRY’S GIRLS (The Other Palace).

Workshops include Take That’s musical THE BAND, CALENDAR GIRLS THE MUSICAL, THE ILLUSIONIST and SHE LOVES YOU.

James also hosts the podcast PASSING OUT (Spotify) – a series of conversations with LGBT+ service personnel and veterans.

FIONA MULVANEY

Fiona was raised in Downpatrick, County Down and studied acting as a mature student at The Poor School in London.

Whilst at Drama School, her roles included Mrs. Lovett in SWEENEY TODD, Marina in UNCLE VANYA, Fraulein Schneider in CABARET and the Nurse in ROMEO AND JULIET.

Fiona’s professional Theatre credits include THE FERRYMAN (Gielgud Theatre, directed by Sam Mendes), KEEPING UP APPEARANCES (Swanage Rep.) and HELLO FROM BERTHA (Hen & Chickens Theatre/Blunt Pyramid). Her Screen work includes SILENT WITNESS (BBC), I’LL WALK WITH GOD (Encore Films), ONIONS (London Film School) and she has also appeared opposite Eric Cantona in a Kronenbourg Commercial campaign.

CREATIVE TEAM BIOGRAPHIES

JIM CARTWRIGHT

Jim Cartwright is an international, award winning dramatist and screenwriter and director. His plays are consistently in production and have been translated into over 40 languages and have been performed in most major theatres of the world, including The West End of London, The Royal Court, The National theatre and Broadway.

His first play, Road, opened at The Royal Court in 1986, and was subsequently revived that same year and again in 1987, before being taken on a nationwide tour. Road won the Samuel Beckett Award, Drama Magazine’s Best New Play Award,  The Plays And Players Award and The George Devine Award.  In 1988, Road was produced by The Lincoln Centre, New York.  Road is now considered a modern classic. Other works include: Bed (National Theatre, 1989); Two (Octagon Theatre, 1989, The Young Vic, London, 1990, winner of The Manchester Evening News Best New Play Award), Eight Miles High (Octagon Theatre, Bolton 1991, Theatre Royal, Bristol, 1994 and revived there again in 1995, nominated for the TMA best musical award. In 1997 a production of the play at the Reykjavik City Theatre, Iceland, ran for a year, breaking box office records) and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (National Theatre, 1992 and at The Aldwych Theatre in London’s West End, later that year.) The production was nominated for six Olivier Awards, winning four and was winner of The Evening Standard Award for best comedy in 1992 and the Olivier Award for best comedy 1993. It opened on Broadway 1995. The award-winning film ‘Little Voice’ was adapted from the play. Jim made his directorial debut with Road at The Royal Exchange Theatre in 1995.  He also wrote and directed I licked a Slag’s Deodorant for the Royal Court at The Ambassador’s Theatre in London’s West End (1996); Prize Night for the Royal Exchange Theatre (1999), and Hard Fruit for the Royal Court Theatre (2000). A Christmas Fair  Milton Rooms (2012). Mobile Phone Show  National Theatre (2013). The Ancient Secret of Youth and The Five Tibetans Octagon Theatre, starring Denise Welch (2015) (Chosen as The Guardian’s top ten plays of the year 2015). Two 2. Octagon Theatre (2016)  Raz (Edinburgh Fringe First Winner 2015) (The Trafalgar Studios, London 2016 & Nationwide tour). Stand Up Stand Up (Nationwide tour 2017)

Jim’s radio work includes: Baths (BBC, 1987); Sung starring Jane Horrocks (BBC 2015).

His television work includes: Road (BBC, 1987, winner of The Golden Nymph Award for best film); Vroom (Channel 4, 1988, selected as centrepiece at The London Film Festival); Wedded (BBC, 1990), and June (BBC, 1990).  Jim produced and wrote Village (Channel 4, 1996), two films Strumpet and Vacuuming Completely Nude In Paradise (BBC, 2001) both directed by Danny Boyle, and Johnny Shakespeare (BBC, 2008), written and directed by Jim and winner of two Royal Television Society Awards. Most recently he wrote and directed King of the Teds, for SKY television, starring Brenda Blethyn, Alison Steadman and Sir Tom Jones.

He has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Bolton University, and his old school Harper Green has named a building in his honour as have Bury College with The Jim Cartwright Theatre.

Jim’s plays are published in England by Methuen and have been constantly in print since 1986.  Many of his works are set texts for A Level and University courses.

JANE DEITCH (CASTING DIRECTOR)

As Head of Casting for BBC Drama Series, Jane was responsible for an output in excess of 500 hours of drama per year. This included the BBC’s highest rated drama ‘EastEnders’ as well as other hit shows such as ‘Casualty’, ‘Judge John Deed’ & the Emmy-winning ‘WakingThe Dead’. More recently, Jane has run her own casting company Jane Deitch Associates and now casts for a wide variety of productions including theatre, musical theatre and films. Casting credits include: Films: Unhallowed Ground (Best Horror Film, LIFF / 2 Supporting Actor awards, BIFAwards); Locked In with Ben Barnes, Eliza Dushku, Clarke Peters, New Years Day (Jury Prize: Raindance/Best Film: Sapporo FF); Welcome To Leathermill (short);the BAFTA-winning Shoot the Messenger with David Oyelowo and Nikki Amuka-Bird and Magnificent 7 with Helena Bonham-Carter. Other TV: Holby City; Doctors; In Deep; Dalzieland Pascoe; the BAFTA-nominated A Respectable Trade; Drovers’ Gold; The Mrs Bradley Mysteries with Diana Rigg and Walter’s War with OT Fagbenle. Theatre: Shirley Valentine; The Blue Room and Othello; Flowers Of The Forest, The Green Bay Tree, The Autumn Garden, I Loved Lucy, The First Man, and The Last Ones (all Jermyn Street Theatre); How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying; Holy Crap; Pete n Keely; Forever Plaid; tick tick… BOOM!; Promises, Promises; Some Lovers; The Toxic Avenger; Brexit!-The Musical; It’s Only Life; From Page To Stage 2018; Unexpected Joy; The Last Five Years and Zorro; Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella; The Exonerated; Little Women(and Park Theatre); The Toy Boy Diaries; Aspects Of Love (and Southwark Playhouse); The Return Of The Soldier; Putting It Together; Rags (and Park Theatre); Mame (and tour) and The Astonishing Times Of Timothy Cratchit (all Hope Mill Theatre); Night Of The Living Dead–Live! (The Pleasance); Little Miss Sunshine (Arcola Theatre); Contact–an outdoor theatre experience; Hay Fever-The Musical (Workshop); Bouncers; Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy Radio Show Live; Women On The Verge Of HRT; Gertrude’s Secret; Diary Of A Nobody; Avenue Q; Hair 50th Anniversary Tour (all tours) and A Killer Party and Tarantula (Online).West End credits include: Lend Me A Tenor: The Musical; I Loved Lucy; The Toxic Avenger; Bumblescratch Gala Concert; Cruise (additional casting) and The Last Five Years. Current credits include: The Addams Family (UK tour); The Rhythmics (Southwark Playhouse); Zorro and Broken Wings (Charing CrossTheatre) and The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice–UK Tour.

NIC FARMAN (LIGHTING DESIGNER)

Winner of The Worshipful Company of Lightmongers & ALD Award for New Talent in Entertainment Lighting 2016

Winner of the ‘Francis Reid Award’; as part of the Association of Lighting Designers Michael Northern Bursary in 2013.

Nominated four times for Best Lighting Designer at the ‘Off West End Awards’, most recently for Night of the Living Dead at Pleasance Theatre, London.

Upcoming work includes: Rumi (London Coliseum); Snow White (Salisbury Playhouse); Jack & The Beanstalk (Beck Theatre, Hayes).

Musicals include: Top Hat (The Mill at Sonning); Lady Chatterley’s Lover (Shaftesbury Theatre, West End); Spring Awakening (Seoul, South Korea & Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester); Falsettos (The Other Palace); The View Upstairs (Soho Theatre); Broken Wings (Theatre Royal Haymarket and Middle Eastern Tour), Billionaire Boy (Nuffield City, Southampton & UK Tour), The Toxic Avenger (Arts Theatre & Southwark Playhouse), A Little Princess (Royal Festival Hall), Liver Birds Flying Home (Liverpool Royal Court), Working (Southwark Playhouse), The Wedding Singer; Cats; Ragtime; Kipps; Freaky Friday; The Wild Party; Nice Work if you Can Get it; Legally Blonde; Newsies (ArtsEd), Dusty (Auzura, P&O Cruises)

Theatre includes: Much Ado About Nothing (Tobacco Factory & Wilton’s Music Hall); Valued Friends (The Rose Theatre, Kingston); The Night Watch (UK Tour); Night of the Living Dead (Pleasance Theatre, London), Tonight: The Eighties (JACC Kuwait & Middle Eastern Tour), Coming Clean (Trafalgar Studios); Kindertransport (Queens Theatre Hornchurch, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg & UK Tour), The Invisible Man (Queens Theatre, Hornchurch), A Guide for the Homesick; Coming Clean; 3 Women; Late Company  (Trafalgar Studios), Jack and the Beanstalk (Salisbury Playhouse)

Opera includes: La Boheme (Trafalgar Studios), The Elixir of Love La Traviata; Madam Butterfly; Cosi Fan Tutte (King’s Head Theatre).

ANDREW JOHNSON (SOUND DESIGNER)
Andrew has spent the last twenty years working in sound and the last sixteen years working in professional theatre as Production Sound Engineer, Operator, Assistant Sound Designer, Associate Sound Designer and Sound Designer.

Andrew won the Broadway World Fans Choice Award for Best Sound Design for The Play That Goes Wrong on Broadway and has also been shortlisted for Best Sound Design for Amour, Grand Hotel, Mack & Mabel and Titanic in the UK.

Credits includes: Harry Potter The Forbidden Forrest Experience UK; Good Enough Mums Club (UK); Zorro (Manchester & London); Phantom of The Opera In Concert (Guernsey); Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike, Amour, Violet, Mythic, It Happened In Key West, Harold And Maude, The Woman In White, The Knowledge, The Braille Legacy, Death Takes A Holiday, Christina Bianco – Oh Come All Ye Divas!, Ragtime (Charing Cross Theatre); Titanic (UK & Ireland tour, Charing Cross Theatre & Southwark Playhouse); The Drowsey Chaparone, Ghost, The Wedding Singer, Secret Garden, Spring Awakening, Merrily We Roll Along, Bad Girls (Urdang Academy); Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You (Romania tours); Mischief Move Night, Mis- chief Magic (UK tours 2018); Les Misérables In Concert (Beau Sejour, Guernsey); Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (ArtsEd); The Grift (Town Hall Hotel, Bethnal Green); The Toxic Avenger (Southwark Playhouse, Edin- burgh Festival & Arts Theatre); Brexit The Musical (London & Edinburgh Festival); Tommy (UK tour/Ramps On The Moon Project 2018); The Play That Goes Wrong (Duchess Theatre, UK tour, Lyceum Theater, Broad- way & US tour); The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin (Theatre Royal, Stratford East); Allegro, Grey Gardens, Grand Hotel, Dogfight, The A- Z Of Mrs P, Victor/Victoria, Mack & Mabel, Company (Southwark Playhouse); Lee Mead – Some En- chanted Evening (UK tour 2016); The Secret Garden (New Ambassadors Theatre/British Theatre Academy); An Inspector Calls (UK tour 2016); The Witches (Curve, Leicester & UK tour 2016); The Smallest Show On Earth (Mercury Theatre, Colchester; Bruce Forsyth Entertains (London Palladium 2015 & UK tour 2014); Rent (UK concert tour 2013/2014); Hormonal Housewives (UK tour 2013); The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice (UK tour 2012 & 2013). Andrew is a Project Manager and Sound Designer for Creative Technology. www.ctlondon.com.

BRONAGH LAGAN (DIRECTOR)

Originally from Northern Ireland, Bronagh has been directing for 10 years. She has directed around the world, working on: Classical texts, Musicals, New Writing, Puppetry, Physical Theatre, Outdoor Theatre and Site-Specific productions.

Most recently Bronagh directed Cruise by Jack Holden which ran for four weeks at the Duchess Theatre in a socially distanced season. She also directed a film version of the show in Shoreditch Town Hall.

Last year Bronagh directed Rags, the musical by Charles Strouse and Stephen Schwartz at The Park Theatre, in London. The production received nine Off West End Award nominations, including: Best Director and Best Production. Bronagh worked closely with Stephen Schwartz in curating a cast album of her production of Rags which was released early this year. Bronagh’s production of Broken Wings, the musical also performed at Dubai Opera House at the beginning of this year and previously at Theatre Royal Haymarket.

In addition to directing Bronagh is part of the From Page To Stage Literary department for Aria Entertainment and is also a regular practitioner at the top drama schools in London.

Bronagh’s Directing Credits – West End Credits: Cruise (Duchess Theatre); Umm Kulthum, the Golden Era (London Palladium); Broken Wings (Theatre Royal Haymarket); The Adventures of Pinocchio (Ambassadors Theatre); The Break (workshop, Arts Theatre); Rags, in concert (Lyric Theatre)

Other directing credits: Broken Wings (Doha Opera House & Beiteddine Festival); Rags, The Musical, Putting It Together and Little Women (Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester); Children of Eden (Mackintosh Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Ivy Studio); Girlfriends, in concert (Bishopsgate Institute); A Winter’s Tale (Rose Theatre, Kingston) Brexit, The Musical (C Venues, Edinburgh); tick, tick… BOOM! (Park Theatre); Promises, Promises (Southwark Playhouse); As You Like It (Jackson’s Lane); The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Chipping Norton Theatre); The Pajama Game (Pleasence Theatre); Heart of Winter (Tristan Bates); James and The Giant Peach (UK & International Tour); A Man of No Importance (Pleasance Theatre); The Stationmaster (Tristan Bates); Rags, The Musical (Lyric Theatre); Portia Coughlan (The Old Red Lion Theatre); Girlfriends (Union Theatre); A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg (Greenwich Theatre); The Mistress Cycle (Landor Theatre); Expectations (Arcola Theatre); Blood Wedding (Courtyard Theatre); Newsrevue (Canal Café Theatre); Henry VI Part1 (Rose Theatre); Erris (Theatre 503); Julius Caesar (The Scoop); The Madness of Sweeney (Lyric Theatre, Belfast).

Associate Director credits: C-O-N-T-A-C-T (London), Pippin (Southwark Playhouse); Becoming Shades (The Vaults); The History Boys (UK Tour);Nothing Left to Lose (Purcell Rooms).

EAMONN O’DWYER (MUSICAL DIRECTOR AND ASSOCIATE SOUND DESIGNER)

Eamonn is an multi award-winning composer, and an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music. His work spans genres from live orchestral to electronica and contemporary musical theatre, and he has worked as an instrumentalist, composer, lyricist and sound designer in theatres all over the world.

He has written original music for Brief Encounter (Watermill); Lady Chatterley’s Lover (UK Tour); Twelfth Night & Henry V (Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre, York); It Never Happened (ArtsEd); Mrs Beeton Says… (Bristol Old Vic Theatre School); The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (NYMT, The Other Palace); The Comedy of Errors and Julius Caesar Re-imagined (RSC, Swan); Flesh & Bone (National Theatre Studio); Grimm Tales & Peter Pan (Chichester Festival Theatre); Jeeves & Wooster (Barn, Cirencester); Stones in His Pockets (Dukes, Lancaster); The Glass Menagerie (Theatre Chipping Norton). He is a frequent musical collaborator at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, where he has written original songs and scores for The Snow Queen, Hansel & Gretel, The Wind in the Willows, The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, A Christmas Carol, Tess of the d’Urbervilles & Arabian Nights.  The score for his original musical The House of Mirrors & Hearts won the MTM Award for Best New Score at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010, and after its critically acclaimed run at the Arcola Theatre in 2015 has now been performed in Australia and the US. His latest musical Fanny & Stella was featured in the NAMT 33^rd Festival of New Musicals in New York in October 2021, and Mrs Beeton Says… and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow are both available for licensing via Concord Theatricals UK. For more info visit www.eamonnodwyer.com

SARA PERKS (SET AND COSTUME DESIGNER)

Sara has designed over 250 shows during her career to date, for UK & world tours, regional theatres, immersive & site specific, West End and National Theatre; and for genres including Shakespeare, classic drama, devised work, children & family shows, new writing, comedy and many musicals.

Highlights include American Idiot, Spamalot (West End & UK Tours, Selladoor), Hello Dolly!, Gypsy, Hot Stuff! (Curve) and The King and I (UK tours); Brideshead Revisited (English Touring Theatre & York); the all-female Oranges and Elephants (London); the all-female POSH (London); The Suffragette Project (York);  Spring Storm & Beyond The Horizon (National Theatre & Northampton); The Mold Riots (Clwyd); Betty Blue Eyes, Sweeney Todd, Turn Of The Screw; Top Girls; Depot (amongst many other shows at The Mercury Theatre). She was Head of Design for Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre (managing teams for eight productions); and she individually designed Macbeth, Midsummer Night’s Dream; Twelfth Night and Hamlet, as well as the  2^nd interior stage & facade (2018 & 2019, York & Blenheim Palace).

In lockdown worked with students at LAMDA; branched out into short Film with Birdflight Productions; and was back at York Theatre Royal for their outdoor summer family show.

She has held Associate Designer positions at both at The Mercury and English Touring Theatre, and  was nominated for Broadway World Award and What’s On Stage Award for American Idiot; and also nominated for an Offie (Oranges & Elephants);   She holds an Edinburgh Fringe First; The John Elvery Theatre Design Award and a Vision Design (Costume) Award from the BBC.

Next year her design for much delayed international tour of Footloose (Selladoor) is due to open,  and other work includes the new 50^th Anniversary production at Hull Truck by Richard Bean; and an exciting new musical at Storyhouse,  Chester. More information can be found at saraperkstheatredesign.co.uk