Download CAST OF CHARACTERS - Wallis Annenberg Center for the

CAST OF CHARACTERS
Paul Crewes
Artistic Director
Rachel Fine
Managing Director
The company play everything from villagers to soldiers, evacuees to chickens,
but selected highlights are…
AND
NANDI BHEBHE......................................................................................................TIPS THE CAT / HARRY
in association with Birmingham Repertory Theatre & Berkeley Repertory Theatre
SEAMAS CAREY.......................................................................................................................MUSICIAN
EMMA DARLOW...........................................................................................................MADAME BOUNINE
NCUTI GATWA..................................................................................................................................ADI
PRESENT
KYLA GOODEY........................................................................................................................LILY’S MUM
CHRIS JARED..................................................................................GRANDAD PRESENT / VICAR / LILY’S DAD
CRAIG JOHNSON.....................................................................LORD SOMETHING-OR-OTHER / MRS. TURNER
PAT MORAN.................................................................................................MUSICIAN & MUSIC DIRECTOR
KATY OWEN.....................................................................................................................LILY TREGENZA
MIKE SHEPHERD...............................................................................GRANDMA PRESENT / GRANDAD PAST
ADAPTED BY
Michael Morpurgo & Emma Rice
DIRECTOR
Emma Rice
COMPOSER
Stu Barker
SET & COSTUME DESIGNER
Lez Brotherston
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Malcolm Rippeth
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Pat Moran
ADAM SOPP...................................................................................................................BOOWIE / BARRY
AKOPRE UZOH........................................................................................................BLUES MAN / OLD ADI
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Simon Harvey
SOUND DESIGNER
Simon Baker
ASSOCIATE LIGHTING DESIGNER
Alex Shenton-Parkin
ASSOCIATE SOUND DESIGNER
Jay Jones
CHOREOGRAPHY BY
Emma Rice & Etta Murfitt
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Aled Thomas
STAGE MANAGER
Megan McClintock*
CASTING
Sam Jones CDG, Matilda James
SOUND NUMBER ONE
Charlie Simpson
ORIGINAL COSTUME MAKERS
Clare Ramsell, Angelina Peroni
& the team at Shakespeare’s Globe
US immigration services provided by Law Office of Lisa Palter, Mill Valley, CA www.lisasvisas.com
PHOTOGRAPHER
Steve Tanner
ORIGINAL PROP BUYER
Liz Vass
FEBRUARY 9 - MARCH 5, 2017
Bram Goldsmith Theater
*Indicates a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of
Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Kneehigh are a Cornwall based theatre company with a local, national and
international profile. For over 30 years they have created vigorous, popular and
challenging theatre and perform with joyful anarchy.
Kneehigh tell stories. Based in breath-taking barns on the south coast of
Cornwall, Kneehigh create theatre of humanity on an epic and tiny scale. They
work with an ever-changing ensemble of performers, artists, technicians,
administrators, makers and musicians, and are passionate about their multidisciplined creative process.
In 2010 Kneehigh launched the Asylum, a beautiful and flexible nomadic
structure, which means they now have a venue to call home as well as being
one of the leading touring theatre companies in the UK. They have now
presented 6 Asylum seasons and will continue to reinvent the space and
explore new locations in future years.
ORIGINAL PRODUCER
Paul Crewes
ORIGINAL COSTUME SUPERVISOR
Ed Parry
Special thanks to: Andrew Durand, Giles King, Patrycja Kujawska, Ian Ross and Adebayo Bolaji who were in the original production at Kneehigh’s Asylum in 2015, and to all the team at Shakespeare’s Globe.
ABOUT KNEEHIGH
STARRING
Nandi Bhebhe, Seamas Carey, Emma Darlow, Ncuti Gatwa, Kyla Goodey, Chris Jared, Craig Johnson, Pat Moran,
Katy Owen, Mike Shepherd, Adam Sopp, Akopre Uzoh
COMPANY STAGE MANAGER
Kate Foster
Thanks to: Nick Ferguson, Matt Noddings, Keziah Serreau, Lucinda Allen, David Harraway, David Miller, Ewan
Wardrop, Alex Shenton-Parkin, Lin Potter and Wrightsure, Dave Cork at PRS, Stage Sound Services, Jedd at White
Light, Alice King, Mae Voogd & Louis King and Maureen Rice.
ORIGINAL PUPPET MAKERS
Lyndie Wright & Sarah Wright
Alongside their national and international touring and Asylum seasons, they
run the Kneehigh Rambles, aiming to engage creatively with communities in
Cornwall and beyond through event and adventure.
LEARN MORE!
website: Kneehigh.co.uk | edu site: Kneehighcookbook.co.uk
twitter, facebook & instagram: @WeAreKneehigh
Kneehigh are supported by Arts Council England and Cornwall Council.
Mike Shepherd
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Ali Robertson
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Charlotte Bond
GENERAL MANAGER
Liz King
PRODUCER
Steph Curtis
COMPANY STAGE MANAGER
Fiona Buxton
FINANCE OFFICER
Bethany Lyne
DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Teri Laing
COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING MANAGER
Dann Carroll
COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT
Millie Jones
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Taryn Harris
ADMINISTRATOR
Anna Maria Murphy
RAMBLES LEAD ARTIST
Sam McAuley / makesthree.org
MARKETING CONSULTANT
Clióna Roberts
PRESS
Steve Tanner
PHOTOGRAPHY
Kneehigh Board
Alan Livingston (CHAIR)
Peter Cox, Teresa Gleadowe, Clare Morpurgo, Daphne Skinnard, Simon Williams
Brett Harvey
FILM MAKER
Daryl Waller
ILLUSTRATOR
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 7
About the Artists
About the Artists
NANDI BHEBHE (Tips the
Cat / Harry) trained at the
Liverpool Institute of Performing
Arts. Previous theatre includes: A
Midsummer Night’s Dream
(Shakespeare’s Globe); 5,6,7,8
(Royal Court); Episodes of
Blackness (Vocab Dance Company); Fela! (National
Theatre / Broadway / US Tour); A Season in the Congo
(Young Vic Theatre); White Out (Barrowland Ballet
Dance Company).
NCUTI GATWA (Adi) trained
at the Royal Conservatoire of
Scotland. Previous theatre
includes: A Midsummer Night’s
Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe);
Victoria, Hecuba, The BFG, And
Then There Were None, Cars +
Boys, A Woman in Mind (Dundee Rep); Romeo and
Juliet (Home, Manchester); Shakespeare in Love
(West End) and Lines (Yard Theatre). Television
includes: Bob Servant and Stonemouth.
SEAMAS CAREY (Musician)
is a performer, composer and
silent film pianist who grew up
in Cornwall. He spent most of his
childhood watching Kneehigh,
as his dad - Jim, worked for the
company for many years. Full
circle indeed. Theatre work includes: Hetty Feather
(Kenny Wax, Novel Theatre & William Archer);
Neptunalia (Cscape Dance); Wolf’s Child, Yule-Tide
Ark-Ive, 100: The Day Our World Changed (Wild
Works); Two Punks and a Tandem, The Elves and the
Shoemaker, The Ballad of a Thin Man, The Tallest
Horse on Earth (Silly Boys); The Ugly Sisters (Bec
Applebee); The Giants (Wassail Theatre); Dracula,
Great Expectations (Rabbit Theatre); The Winter’s Tale,
Moominland Midwinter, Heidi: A Goat’s Tale (The
Egg, Theatre Royal Bath); The Little Match Girl (Dot &
Ethel Theatre); Griselda’s Grandad (Shanty Theatre);
The Last Illusion, The Strongman and The Lion Tamer
(Bash Street Theatre). He has also facilitated
workshops with Travelling Light Theatre and guest
lectured on silent film music at Falmouth University.
Silent film compositions include: One Week, The
High Sign, Steamboat Bill Jr, Sherlock Jr (Buster
Keaton); The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene);
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Lottie Reiniger);
Easy Street (Charlie Chaplin); Blackmail (Alfred
Hitchcock) and Sunrise (F.W. Murnau).
KYLA GOODEY (Lily’s Mum)
trained at Desmond Jones
School of Mime and Physical
Theatre and Clowning. Theatre
includes: A Curious Evening of
Trance and Rap (Brighton
Festival / UK Tour); Charity Shop
Cabaret (Trifle Gathering, Edinburgh Fringe); Don
Quixote, Tregeagle (Kneehigh, UK / European Tour);
Gastronomic (Hoodwink, UK / European Tour);
Hamlet (Cube, UK Tour); Hamlet, Quasimodo, Twelfth
Night Miracle (Minack Theatre); Streaming (Pipeline,
The Pleasance); Sex and Docks and Rock and Roll
(Red Ladder, City Variety Leeds); The Thing about
Psychopaths (Red Ladder, The Park) and Wolf’s Child
(Wild Works, Norfolk and Norwich Festival). Film
includes: A to B, Worag, Wind and Spat de Wertha.
Television includes: Doc Martin.
EMMA DARLOW (Madame
Bounine) trained at Mountview
Academy of Theatre Arts. Theatre
includes: Pinocchio (Iris Theatre);
Playing for Time (Sheffield
Crucible Theatre); Grimeborn:
Napoleon Blown Apart (Arcola
Theatre); Here is Where We Meet (Marlowe Theatre
Studio); The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (Bouffes
du Nord); Stitched Up and As You Like It (Broken
Holmes Productions). Film includes: Planted
Evidence, After a Home Tie and Taking the Light.
8 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE
CHRIS JARED (Grandad
Present / Vicar / Lily’s Dad)
trained at Guildhall School of
Music and Drama. Theatre
includes: Hamlet, As You Like It,
All’s Well that Ends Well, The
Taming of the Shrew (RSC);
Coriolan/us, Praxis Makes Perfect (National Theatre
Wales); The Duchess of Malfi (Nottingham
Playhouse); The Late Henry Moss (Southwark
Playhouse); Cyrano de Bergerac (Royal and Derngate,
Northern Stage); The Revenger’s Tragedy (Hoxton
Hall); Three Sisters (Royal Exchange Theatre,
Manchester); Much Ado About Nothing (Open Air
Theatre, Regent’s Park) and Emperor and Galilean
(National Theatre). Film includes: Robin Hood, The
Drop and Clown Café.
CRAIG JOHNSON (Lord
Something-or-Other / Mrs.
Turner) has been an actor with
Kneehigh for the last 15 years,
performing in major national
and international tours such as
Tristan & Yseult, Cymbeline, Don
John, A Matter Of Life And Death and The Bacchae, as
well as small-scale village hall shows, including
directing and acting in Journey To The Centre Of The
Earth. Craig also recently appeared in Alaska
(Blackfish Theatre), One Darke Night (o-region) and
the Cornish feature film Tin (Dir. Bill Scott). Craig has
also created and directed several theatre
performances for The Eden Project, Cornwall. As a
solo artist Craig performs under the name Squashbox
Theatre, creating marvellous, quirky and inventive
shows that incorporate puppetry, storytelling, natural
history, live music and comedy, touring all over the
UK.
actor includes: Tristan & Yseult, Steptoe and Son,
Midnight’s Pumpkin, The Red Shoes, The Bacchae,
Cymbeline, The Wooden Frock, A Matter of Life and
Death and Don John (Kneehigh). Film includes: Anna
Karenina and Pan. Mike is a member of the Globe’s
Creative Cabinet and looks forward to Kneehigh’s
ongoing association with this exciting powerhouse of
a theatre.
PAT MORAN (Music Director /
Musician) trained at California
Institute of the Arts, earning a
Performer/ Composer MFA.
Recent credits include Music
Director and multiinstrumentalist in A Midsummer
Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe); Tristan & Yseult
(Kneehigh / US Tour); Sleeping Beauty (Bristol Old
Vic) and An Audience with Meow Meow (Berkeley
Repertory Theatre). Pat has written original music
and lyrics for over a dozen professional produced
theatre productions and served as resident composer
/ lyricist / musical director / multi-instrumentalist for
the San Francisco Mime Troupe from 2007 – 2013.
He currently writes and records as a solo artist and
with the duo Yesterday’s Camel.
ADAM SOPP (Boowie / Barry)
trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre
School. Theatre includes: Sunny
Afternoon (Hampstead / West
End); Symphony (Waterloo
Vaults); The El Train (Hoxton
Hall); Backbeat (West End /
World Tour); This Place Means (Greenwich &
Docklands International Festival); Naked Soldiers
(Warehouse Theatre); The Daughter-in-Law (New Vic);
A Chorus of Disapproval (Ipswich Wolsey / UK Tour);
All Quiet on the Western Front (Nottingham
Playhouse / UK Tour); (In Parenthesis) (Churchill
Theatre, Bromley); Les Misérables and Oliver! (West
End). Television and film includes: Stan Lee’s Lucky
Man, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jeffries, Father
Brown, WPC 56, Holby City, Doctors, Casualty 1907,
Teenage Kicks, Abroad and Grange Hill. Alongside
acting, Adam is an accomplished musician and has
written music for theatre and computer games.
KATY OWEN (Lily Tregenza)
trained at the Royal Welsh
College of Music and Drama.
Previous theatre includes: A
Midsummer Night’s Dream
(Shakespeare’s Globe); Rebecca
(Kneehigh); The World of Work
(Difficult Stage); Apparitions of Spirits with the
Forsythe Sisters (Gaggle Babble); Maudie’s Rooms,
Plum and Cinders (Sherman Cymru) and Under Milk
Wood (Royal and Derngate, Northampton). Film and
television includes: Daddy’s Girl, Shopping for
Happiness, What We Did on Our Holidays, A Certain
Date and The Devil’s Violin.
MIKE SHEPHERD (Grandma
Present / Grandad Past) is an
actor, director, teacher and the
artistic director of Kneehigh. He
started Kneehigh in 1980 and
has worked almost exclusively
for the company ever since. Mike
is a pioneer of Kneehigh’s transportable venue the
Asylum and actively involved in the Kneehigh
Rambles. Rambles are currently themed Run for your
Life and as well as working with community groups
and individuals in Cornwall, have been working with
refugees in the Calais Jungle and the homeless in
Bogotá, Colombia. Work as director includes: Dead
Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs) (Kneehigh,
UK and International tour); A Very Old Man with
Enormous Wings (Little Angel Theatre, Islington) and
The Tin Drum (Kneehigh, 2017 Tour). Work as an
AKPORE UZOH (Blues Man /
Old Adi) trained at Guildhall
School of Music and Drama and
previous theatre credits include: A
Day In The Life (STET The English
Theatre); Go Make You Ready
(China Tour); The Lights (The
Spring); Cherry Pickin’ Your Blossom (Albany Theatre);
Rebellion (Hackney Empire); Blacks (Stratford Theatre)
and Torn (Arcola Theatre). As director: What’s Beneath
the Hoodie (Stratford Circus Theatre).Film: as a writer
director A Day In The Life (Film).
MICHAEL MORPURGO (Adapter) is one of the
UK’s best-loved authors and storytellers. He was
appointed Children’s Laureate in May 2003, a post
he helped to set up with his friend Ted Hughes in
1999. He was awarded an OBE for services to
Literature in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2007.
He has written over 130 books with world sales of
over 34 million copies, including Kensuke’s Kingdom
which won the Children’s Book Award 2000 and was
shortlisted for the Whitbread Children’s Book Award
and the Carnegie Medal in 2000. His novel, Private
Peaceful, a harrowing story about the First World War
was published in autumn 2003. It won the 2004 Red
House Children’s Book Award and the Blue Peter
Book Award in 2005. His novel Shadow about a boy
from Afghanistan and the dog he befriends won the
Red House Children’s Book Award 2011, voted for by
children. Pinocchio by Michael Morpurgo, illustrated
by Emma Chichester-Clark was published in
September 2013. Many of Michael’s books have
been adapted for the stage. These include Private
Peaceful, Kensuke’s Kingdom, Why the Whales Came,
The Mozart Question, and most notably, the National
Theatre’s production of War Horse. This production of
Michael’s moving and powerful story of survival on
the Western Front reached number one in the
Observer’s top ten theatre performances and was also
awarded the best design prize in the Evening
Standard Theatre Awards. This production has now
moved to New York where it has been awarded five
Tony Awards. The film of War Horse by Steven
Spielberg was released in January 2012. In 1976,
Michael and his wife, Clare, started the charity Farms
for City Children. They help to run three farms around
the country, in Gloucestershire, Pembrokeshire and
North Devon. Each farm offers children and teachers
from urban primary schools the chance to live and
work in the countryside for a week, and gain handson experience.
EMMA RICE (Director / Adapter /Choreographer) is
Artistic Director for Shakespeare’s Globe and directed
the recent productions of A Midsummer Night’s
Dream and 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips.
For the last 20 years she has worked for Kneehigh as
an actor, director and Artistic Director. Her
productions for Kneehigh include: The Wooden
Frock, The Bacchae, Tristan & Yseult, Cymbeline (in
association with RSC), A Matter of Life and Death (in
association with National Theatre), Rapunzel (in
association with Battersea Arts Centre), Brief
Encounter (in association with David Pugh and
Dafydd Rogers Production), Don John (in association
with the RSC and Bristol Old Vic), Midnight’s
Pumpkin, The Wild Bride, Wah! Wah! Girls (in
association with Sadler’s Wells and Theatre Royal
Stratford East for World Stages) and Steptoe and Son.
Other work includes: the West End production of The
Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Oedipussy (Spymonkey);
The Empress (RSC) and An Audience with Meow
Meow (Berkeley Repertory Theatre).
STU BARKER (Composer) has worked extensively
as composer /musical director with Kneehigh over
the last 20 years. Work as composer or musical
director includes: A Matter of Life and Death, Tristan &
Yseult (National Theatre); Brief Encounter (Broadway /
West End); Cymbeline, Don John (RSC); Hansel and
Gretel (Bristol Old Vic); The Bacchae, The Wooden
Frock (West Yorkshire Playhouse); Nights at the
Circus, The Red Shoes (Lyric Hammersmith); The Wild
Bride, Rapunzel, Midnight Pumpkin (Battersea Arts
Centre) and Pandora’s Box (Northern Stage). Previous
work for Shakespeare’s Globe includes: A
Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter’s Tale and
Romeo and Juliet. Stu has also worked with Bristol
Old Vic, Donmar Warehouse, Welfare State
International, Contact Theatre, Horse and Bamboo,
Liverpool Lantern Company, And Now and Travelling
Light. Television includes: The Cult of the Suicide
Bomber and Beyond Grief. He is also trombonist with
C. W. Stoneking & His Primitive Horn Orchestra.
SARAH WRIGHT (Puppet Director) is Artistic
Director of Curious School of Puppetry, an Associate
Artist of Kneehigh and of Little Angel Theatre. Puppet
Direction and Consultation includes: Macbeth
(Shakespeare’s Globe); Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and
other love songs), Brief Encounter, The Red Shoes,
Hansel and Gretel, The Wild Bride (Kneehigh); A Very
Old Man with Enormous Wings, Angelo (Little Angel
Theatre); The Empress, The Tempest (RSC); The Double
(Bath Theatre Royal); Silent Tide, Curious Ganz (Silent
Tide) and Sleeping Beauty (Matthew Bourne’s New
Adventures). Work as a Performing Puppeteer
includes: Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love
songs) (Kneehigh); Venus and Adonis (RSC); A Very
Old Man with Enormous Wings, Jabberwocky (Little
Angel Theatre); Fish Clay Perspex, Plucked, Hollow
Men (Faulty Optic); Animo, Satyagraha research
(Improbable / English National Opera) and The Queen
of Spades (Welsh National Opera).
SIMON HARVEY (­Associate Director) is a director
and performer based in Truro, Cornwall. Simon is an
Associate Director and Artist of Kneehigh. His work
includes: Steptoe and Son, The Wild Bride, The Red
Shoes, Hansel & Gretel, Brief Encounter and
Cymbeline. In 2014, Simon directed the largescale
production Noyes Fludde (Kneehigh in collaboration
with Orchestival), featuring a cast of over 500 people.
Simon recently adapted and directed FUP (based on
the novella of the same name by Jim Dodge) which
played as part of the 2016 Kneehigh Asylum season.
He is the Artistic Director of o-region for whom he
directed Laughing Gas (Darke, Grose), One Darke Night
and The Dead Monkey (Nick Darke) and Stay Brave
Brian Gravy (Carl Grose). He also produced and
performed in Superstition Mountain by Carl Grose. His
work in film includes producing the feature films The
Midnight Drives (Mark Jenkin) and producing and
acting in Weekend Retreat and Brown Willy (2016)
(both by Brett Harvey). Other directing credits include:
If the Shoe Fits (Cscape); Orpheus (Theatre Damfino);
Oh Mary (Bec Ppplebee); Christmas Time (Near Ta
Theatre); Above Bored (Owdyado Theatre); Alaska
(Blackfish Theatre); Great Expectations, Dracula (Rabbit
Theatre) Dick Whittington and His Mousehole Cat (Hall
for Cornwall), The Musicians (HFC Youth Theatre) and
Trevithick for Kernow King / Palores Productions.
ALED WILLIAM THOMAS (Production Manager)
After graduating from the Royal Welsh College of
Music and Drama, Aled started out touring with
regional and national Welsh language theatre
companies. He has worked on award winning operas
with Music Theatre Wales before moving east across
the border. Undertaking a season with English Touring
Opera and joining the Lovesong team for Frantic
Assembly before being introduced to the wonderful
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 9
About the Artists
theatre makers Kneehigh for Steptoe & Son, Tristan &
Yseult, both UK and US tours and Dead Dog in a
Suitcase (and other Love Songs) that toured the UK and
beyond. Recently Aled became the Production
Manager for Kneehigh’s Asylum and continues onto
946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips.
KATE FOSTER (Company Stage Manager) studied
theatre and media in Liverpool, England, where she
got her first role backstage in theatre. She has
worked extensively through-out the UK on
productions such as Royal De Lux on their Giant
Spectacular Puppet show and with companies such
as English Touring Theatre and the Everyman
Playhouse theatres in Liverpool. Her previous work
for Kneehigh includes the UK and International tour
of Dead Dog in A Suitcase (and other love songs) as
well as rehearsal ASM and prop maker for Emma
Rice's recent production, The Flying Lovers of Vitesbk.
MEGAN McCLINTOCK (Stage Manager) is
always happy to come home to Berkeley Rep after
starting her stage management career as a Berkeley
Rep fellow. In the years since she has stage managed
at American Conservatory Theater, Aurora Theatre
Company, Center Repertory Company, California
Shakespeare Theater, Marin Theatre Company, and
the San Francisco Opera. Favorite Berkeley Rep
credits include Treasure Island, The Intelligent
Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with
a Key to the Scriptures, Girlfriend, The Arabian Nights,
The White Snake, No Man’s Land, Dear Elizabeth,
Tristan & Yseult, The Wild Bride, Eurydice, and How To
Write a New Book for the Bible. Megan has a BA in
theatre and history from Willamette University.
SIMON BAKER (Sound Designer) trained at the
Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and is now a
Fellow. His work for Kneehigh includes: Steptoe and
Son (UK Tour), Rebecca (UK Tour), The Umbrellas of
Cherbourg (West End), Brief Encounter (West End /
Broadway; 2011 Tony and Olivier Nominations for
Best Sound), Don John (in association with the RSC /
International Tour), The Red Shoes (International
Tour) and The Wild Bride (Kneehigh / International
Tour / BBC Radio Production and Cast Recording).
Simon is also an Associate Artist of the Old Vic
Theatre and his work includes: The Caretaker, The
Master Builder, Future Conditional, High Society and
Electra. Other theatre includes: A Midsummer Night’s
Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe); Groundhog Day (Old
Vic); Matilda the Musical (West End / Broadway / US
Tour / Australian Tour – 2012 Olivier Award for Best
Sound); Anything Goes (Sheffield Crucible / UK Tour);
An Audience with Meow Meow (Berkeley Repertory
Theatre); Shakespeare in Love (Noel Coward Theatre);
The Roaring Girl (RSC); Mojo (Harold Pinter Theatre);
The Light Princess, The Amen Corner (National
Theatre) and Josephine and I (Bush Theatre).
10 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE
About the Program
JAY JONES (Associate Sound Designer) trained at
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His work
for Kneehigh includes: Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and
other love songs), Brief Encounter (USA & Australian
Tour); Tristan & Yseult (UK Tour); The Wild Bride
(Berkeley Repertory Theatre CA, & St Anne’s
Warehouse NYC). He is currently the Sound
Supervisor for Shakespeare’s Globe. As Number One
Sound Operator, most recent credits include: A
Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe),
High Society (Old Vic); Shakespeare in Love (Noel
Coward Theatre). Other theatre credits include: Wah!
Wah! Girls (Theatre Royal Stratford East & Hall for
Cornwall); Aladdin (Theatre at the O2); Goodnight
Mr. Tom (Phoenix Theatre); Rock of Ages (Shaftesbury
Theatre); Leisure Society (Trafalgar Studios); Crazy for
You (Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park). Long Story
Short (Charing Cross Theatre); Ushers the Musical
(Charing Cross Theatre), Broken News (New
Wimbledon Studio); A Festival Guide (Dalston Roof
Garden) and Lysistrata (Albany Theatre)
CHARLIE SIMPSON (Sound Number One) Before
946, Charlie was Deputy Sound Supervisor at
Shakespeare’s Globe for the 2016 Wonder Season and
previous to this worked for Kneehigh as Head of Sound
for Rebecca (UK Tour). Number One Sound Operator
credits include King Charles III (Wyndham’s Theatre);
Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe); Brass (City
Varieties Music Hall/Hackney Empire); Spend Spend
Spend (Bridewell Theatre); Kiss Me Kate (Queen’s
Theatre Hornchurch); The Night Before Christmas (Soho
Theatre) and six years of productions for the National
Youth Music Theatre of Great Britain as both Sound
Operator and Sound Designer. Other sound credits
include Les Misérables (Queen’s Theatre); Memphis
(Shaftesbury Theatre); 13 (Apollo Theatre); High Society
(Old Vic); Fiddler on the Roof (Grange Park Opera); The
Boy Who Climbed Out Of His Face (Shunt); iTunes
Festival 2012 (Roundhouse); Pippin (Menier Chocolate
Factory) and Footloose (UK Tour)
ETTA MURFITT (Choreographer) is an Associate
Artist of Kneehigh and has choreographed The
Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Midnight’s Pumpkin, The
Wild Bride, Steptoe and Son, The Flying Lovers of
Vitebsk and Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love
songs). Etta has recently become an Associate of
Shakespeare’s Globe and choreographed A
Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Flying Lovers of
Vitebsk. She is also the Associate Artistic Director of
Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures and Re: Bourne
(their education arm). She has created, performed in
and collaborated on many productions with New
Adventures including Nutcracker!, Swan Lake,
Cinderella, The Car Man, Edward Scissorhands and
Sleeping Beauty and is very excited to start work on
New Adventures’ latest show The Red Shoes.
LEZ BROTHERSTON (Set & Costume Designer)
trained at the Central School of Art and Design and is
an associate artist of Matthew Bourne’s New
Adventures. Credits for New Adventures include:
Swan Lake, Edward Scissorhands, Cinderella, The Car
Man, Sleeping Beauty, Dorian Gray and Play Without
Words. He has designed for the National Theatre,
Royal Ballet, Scottish Ballet, The Royal Court,
Glyndebourne, Northern Ballet and various other
theatres in the West End. Previous collaborations
with Emma Rice are The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and
The Empress for the RSC. Recent credits include:
Showboat (Sheffield Crucible and West End); Oh
What A Lovely War (Theatre Royal Stratford East, West
End), Sister Act (West End, USA and Europe), Flowers
for Mrs. Harris, Pride and Prejudice (Sheffield
Crucible). Awards include: Best Costume Design for
Sleeping Beauty – 2013 Los Angeles Drama Critics
Circle Awards. A Tony Award, Outer Critics’ Circle and
two Drama Desk awards for Swan Lake (AMP), eight
Olivier nominations, winning an Olivier for
outstanding achievement in dance for set and
costume for Cinderella and the Critics’ Circle Award
for outstanding achievement in dance. This year he is
nominated for a UK Theatre Award for Flowers for
Mrs. Harris and Showboat.
MALCOLM RIPPETH (Lighting Designer) is an
Associate Artist of Kneehigh, productions including
The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, Tristan and Yseult, The
Wild Bride, Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love
songs), The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Red Shoes
and Brief Encounter. His other work includes A
Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe); The
Empress (RSC); Decade, Six Characters in Search of an
Author (Headlong); The Dead (Abbey Theatre Dublin);
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (Chichester Festival
Theatre); Calendar Girls (West End/Australia/Canada);
Only the Brave (Wales Millennium Centre); A View
from the Bridge (Gate Theatre Dublin); The Herbal Bed
(English Touring Theatre); The Birthday Party
(Manchester Royal Exchange); His Dark Materials
(Birmingham Rep); Refugee Boy (West Yorkshire
Playhouse); Spur of the Moment (Royal Court); The
Promise (Donmar Trafalgar); Stones in his pockets
(Tricycle); The Threepenny Opera (Graeae); West Side
Story (Sage Gateshead); Ours was the Fen Country (Still
House); Rapunzel (balletLORENT); Wallflower
(Quarantine); Pleasure (Opera North); Giovanna d’Arco
(Buxton Festival); Idomeneo (Garsington); (In
Parenthesis) (WNO); Capriccio (Santa Fe Opera). He is
the recipient of a WhatsOnStage Award and a Village
Voice OBIE for his work on Kneehigh’s Brief Encounter
(West End and Broadway).
BIRMINGHAM REP Birmingham Repertory
Theatre Company is one of Britain’s leading
producing theatre companies. Founded in
1913 by Sir Barry Jackson, Birmingham
Repertory Theatre Company rapidly became
one of the most famous and exciting theatre
companies in the country launching the
careers of an array of many great British actors
including Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson,
Edith Evans, Paul Scofield, Derek Jacobi,
Elizabeth Spriggs, Albert Finney, and many
more. In 2013 the company celebrated its
centenary. The Rep’s aim is to inspire a lifelong
love of theatre in the diverse communities of
Birmingham and beyond. As well as
presenting over 60 productions on its three
stages every year, the theatre tours its
productions nationally and internationally,
showcasing theatre made in Birmingham. The
commissioning and production of new work
lies at the core of the Rep’s programme and
over the last 15 years the company has
produced more than 130 new plays.
BERKELEY REP Berkeley Repertory Theatre
has grown from a storefront stage to a national
leader in innovative theatre. Known for its core
values of imagination and excellence, as well as
its educated and adventurous audience, the
nonprofit has provided a welcoming home for
emerging and established artists since 1968.
With two stages, a school, and a Tony Award for
Outstanding Regional Theatre, Berkeley Rep is
proud to premiere exhilarating new plays. Nine
shows seen at Berkeley Rep have ended up on
Broadway. More than 12 arrived off Broadway,
two moved to London, two turned into films,
and others have toured the nation. Come see
tomorrow’s plays today at Berkeley Rep.
THE KNEEHIGH RAMBLES aims to
engage creatively with communities in Cornwall
and further afield through event and adventure.
Kneehigh believes that theatre has the power to
transform; that it can help to imagine, console,
inspire and entertain. Rambles continues their
proud tradition of working with communities and
providing greater access to the arts.
Find out more about future Rambling
and how you can support the programme at
www.kneehigh.co.uk.
THE WALLIS The mission of The Wallis is to
be a vital cultural hub that uses unique arts
events and education programming to
entertain, enlighten and inspire children and
adults in our community and across the nation.
DIRECTORS NOTE: Kitten Summer
When I was 12, the same
age as Lily in our story,
our cat had kittens.
Four of them. The mother cat had
been a fairly grumpy pet, prone to
biting and that rabbit kicking thing
that bad cats do, but these kittens,
these kittens... My! They were
heaven sent! Funny, confident and
affectionate; that summer was one
of the happiest I can remember. The
snuggle of fur and the deep peace of
a sleeping feline on your lap. Three
were eventually found homes, but
one, Polly, stayed with us. She was
to the manor born, literally. Queen of
the Castle, Top Dog and King Pin all
in one. She had an attitude and an
intellect that wiped the floor with us
mere mortals. We loved her with a
passion and she purred at the centre
of our world. Once, she went missing and my Mum,
usually the voice of reason, took to her
bed, distraught. It felt as if the heart
had been ripped from us. Needless to say, she reappeared 3
days later, drenched, embarrassed,
ravenous and defiant.
Polly went on to live to a decent age,
but we have now been without her for
over twenty years. I miss her still and
can picture her in astonishing detail
as I write. And it is not just a generic
comfort and warmth that I miss. I
miss her personality, her swagger
and her joyous appetite for life and
pleasure. To this day, if we talk about
her, my Mum, my sister and I feel the
tears begin to bubble.
Such is the power of love for an
animal. And this is something
that Michael Morpurgo profoundly
understands. 946 allows us to
remember the intense passions,
senses and fears of being a child, and
through this deceptively simple lens
a global, timeless and political vision
appears. This story is so full of heart
and wonder that it bursts through the
page, through the generations and
through the soul. With a lightness of
touch that dances on our collective
memory, it tells us of innocence and
loss, of love and prejudice.
It was my Mum who told me to read
The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips.
She had been reading it to my nieces
and had decided it had everything a
Kneehigh show needed.
And this time, my Mum was not just
the voice of reason, but also the voices
of instinct and wisdom. She couldn't
have been more right.
I have loved every moment of bringing
this story to theatrical life. I have
stretched one hand back to touch the
hands of my Gran and Grandad who
lived through the war but are now
long gone. The other reaches firmly
forward to be placed in the hands of
my Kneehigh friends, old and new.
Once again they have thrilled and
moved me with their generosity,
bravery and breathtaking talent. And if
only I had another hand, I would rest
it now on the soft, warm back of my
beloved Polly.
- Emma Rice
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 11