Pravda
by Howard Brenton and David Hare
Directed by Louise Bakker
Tuesday 7th - Saturday 11th November, 2017
The Tower Theatre performing at the Bridewell Theatre, off Fleet Street
Photography by Ruth Anthony
Cast List
Andrew May : Oliver Ferriman
Lambert Le Roux : Max Fisher
Eaton Sylvester : Nick Mouton
Michael Quince MP : David Hankinson
Elliot Fruit-Norton : Nigel Campbell
Rebecca Foley : Elizabeth (Hannah) West
Bill Smiley : Calvin Crawley
Sir Stamford Foley : John Chapman
Hamish McLennan : John McSpadyen
Harry Morrison : Robert Orchard
Cindy : Ciara Robley
Moira Patterson : Madeleine Gordon
Dennis Payne : Nigel Oram
Lord Ben Silk : John McSpadyen
Bishop of Putney : Bill Boyd
Cliveden Whicker-Baskett : Robert Orchard
Mack "Whipper" Wellington : John Chapman
Larry Punt : Christopher O'Dea
Doug Fantom : Ian Hoare
Leander Scroop : Nigel Oram
"Breaker" Bond : Michael Mayne
Princess Jill : Madeleine Gordon
Donna Le Roux : Ciara Robley
Ian Ape-Warden : Nigel Oram
Hannon Spot : Michael Mayne
Bert : Ian Hoare
Ensemble : Julia Collier, Jill Ruane, Madeleine Gordon
Production Team
Director : Louise Bakker
Set Design : Lisa Castle
Costume Design : Kathleen Morrison
assisted by David Taylor
Lighting Design : Laurence Tuerk
Sound Design : Rob Ellis
Stage Manager : Kat Newbould
Assistant Director : Julia Collier
DSM : Stephen Brasher
ASMs: Karen Hope, Hindatu Yvonne Comma
Lighting Operator : Rob Hebblethwaite
Sound Operator : Kaushal Ginige
Fight Director : Richard Kirby
Voice Coach : Jessica Hammett
Set Construction and Get-in : Keith Syrett, Dom Ward, Zahra
Mansouri, Nick Insley, Stephen Ley, Colin Guthrie, Rob Irvine, Martin Mulgrew
Oliver Ferriman
began acting with the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company and National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and has appeared in a wide range
of theatre, television and film productions. His credits include the role of Jesus in The Passion (performed in South Africa);
roles in The Kitchen, Decade, Fuente Ovejuna, Richard III and Way to Heaven; television credits for the BBC's
Torchwood and Doctor Who; and a 'zomcom' feature film. Pravda will be Oliver's first production with the
Tower Theatre Company.
Max Fisher is returning to the Tower Theatre Company after an absence of twenty years. At the Tower he
played roles from Shakespeare to Ibsen, Osborne to De Filippo and Feydeau to Woody Allen - even actually playing Woody Allen. Away
from the Tower, Max has worked with other established theatre companies, scratch companies for one-off productions and in voice-over work.
As a dramatist, his plays have been performed in the UK and US and he appeared in his own one-man play at the Pleasance Theatre on the
Edinburgh Fringe, to considerable critical acclaim.
This is Nick Mouton's first show with the Tower Theatre. Nick is a bit of a journeyman of London fringe theatre
having performed with a number of companies over the years, including Basement Bodies Theatre (Bouncers); KDC Theatre
(Breathing Corpses); Putney Theatre Company (After the Dance); Sedos (Heaven Can Wait); and South London Theatre
(The White Devil). He has also written and directed a number of plays that have been performed across the capital.
Having been born in South Africa and spent the majority of his life in the Northern hemisphere, Nick is glad to be able to
briefly channel himself back to his Southern hemisphere roots, albeit a different country. He's happy to think that all those hours
spent watching Neighbours and Home and Away in the 90s have finally come to good use.
David Hankinson studied acting at The Oxford School Of Drama, funded by a scholarship
from Michael Codron, the legendary West End theatre producer who brought to the stage early
productions from the likes of Tom Stoppard and Harold Pinter. While David is perhaps a little
less well-known than those two great figures in the history of the British stage, he has pursued
an enjoyable and occasionally successful career as an actor in theatre, his favourite role being
Algernon in a UK tour of The Importance Of Being Earnest. In television and film
David has a habit of making small contributions to big projects, having featured prominently in
the opening sequence of the feature film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and less
prominently (in fact, entirely hidden) as a Dalek Operator in Doctor Who between 2005 and 2008.
This is David's first production for the Tower Theatre Company.
Nigel Campbell studied Drama and Theatre Studies at Royal Holloway College. This was followed by a five
year stint as a professional actor in theatre, radio and film. He also ran drama workshops for the National Theatre's education
department. More recently, he has performed the roles of the Inspector in An Inspector Calls and Richard Greatham in
Hay Fever with the St George's Players in Paris where he lived for many years. This is Nigel's first production with the
Tower Theatre Company.
Elizabeth (Hannah) West recently joined the Tower Theatre Company; Pravda is her first production with them and she
is really excited to be cast as Rebecca Foley. She is currently studying an Acting Diploma at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and
is in the process of setting up her own group, The actorvists, which combines acting with her other passion of human rights.
Hannah has been involved in amateur dramatics since she was a child performing with Scottish Youth Theatre, Patchwork Theatre Company and
Collusion Youth Theatre. Stage credits include Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Step Sister in Rockerella and Sarah Patch in
The Guardian of the Tower. TV and Film credits include Office Girl in Weird Love and The Young Bride in The Castle, a 12-part
series for Sky TV. Hannah's background is in human rights and she currently works part time for a disabled charity in London. In her spare
time, she is a singer-songwriter, playing guitar and tabla.
Calvin Crawley joined the Tower a year ago, and this is his first production. He trained on the RADA
foundation course based in Cambridge, and has performed in a number of short films and theatre productions. He performed in
Extremism at the Theatre Royal Stratford East and the Theatre Royal York, which then transferred to the National Theatre for a
performance. He recently filmed his first feature film, Cult, playing the lead.
By day John Chapman works as a freelance education consultant and writer recently completing work for the
BBC's Bitesize revision website. Prior to this he worked at the "chalkface" for rather longer than he cares to remember.
He has always been interested in the world of drama and in 2004 served as a panellist on the Olivier Awards, seeing a mammoth
70 productions in one year.
Not counting the odd (probably very odd) Nativity play, John first took to the stage as a schoolboy pretending to be a Latin frog; he has
since been involved with over 140 productions. Favourite acting roles have been Hector in The History Boys (an award winner),
Norman in The Norman Conquests, Felix in Humble Boy, Mr Micawber in David Copperfield (in London and at the
Minack Theatre in Cornwall) and Bottom (A Midsummer Night's Dream) in the Tower's collaboration with the RSC last year.
Best directing jobs have been with The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Lord of The Flies, Glorious!
and the eleven works of Alan Ayckbourn which he has steered to a successful conclusion, the most recent of which
(Bedroom Farce) was seen earlier this year.
John McSpadyen is now in his 28th year as a Tower member, having been an ASM, SM,
technical operator, set designer, actor and director. He has been onstage in (amongst others) Blue Remembered Hills,
Les Liaisons Dangereuses, The Factory Girls, Translations, Dealer's Choice, Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll, Farragut North
and Hindle Wakes. His productions as director include Copenhagen, Faith Healer, The Constant Wife, Bash,
Speaking in Tongues and Farewell to the Theatre. In between shows, he can generally be found wielding a power tool
at a Sunday get-in. Away from the Tower, John bakes shortbread and watches TV quiz shows.
Robert Orchard is making his Tower debut after too many years 'resting' due to work as a political journalist.
Most of his acting has been in South Wales, including parts in Journey's End, Claw, Under Milk Wood, Arsenic and Old Lace, Bingo,
The Alchemist and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Bitten by the bug (and the bugs) of outdoor drama, he helped found the
pro-am Everyman Open Air Theatre Festival near Cardiff, where roles included the Clown in The Winter's Tale and Oberon in A
Midsummer Night's Dream, before launching his own company, Moonlight Theatre. More recently, Robert's performing was mainly confined
to the BBC's Yesterday in Parliament and occasional character voices for Radio 4 political documentaries.
He dimly recalls writing student comic revues with Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, and took his own satirical show, Knockers,
to the Edinburgh Fringe where he claims it was laughed off the stage.
Ciara Robley is thrilled to be in her first production with the Tower Theatre. Previous roles include Wynne in
Dinner (New London Actors), Orinthia in The Apple Cart, First Girl in Blood Wedding and Hoodie/Despair in What
the Dickens (KDC Theatre). She has also previously dabbled behind the scenes as Assistant Director in
A Number (KDC Theatre) and as composer in Gormenghast (SEDOS).
This is Bill Boyd's third show with the Tower - he played Father Yelpidy in Dying For It in 2013 and
Horster in An Enemy of the People earlier this year. Between these shows he has
played two other clergymen - Cardinal Wolsey (Anne Boleyn) and Rev. Charles Hare (A Clergyman's Daughter), and also Inspector Michaud
(Therese Raquin). Previous roles include Firs (The Cherry Orchard), Arthur Winslow (The Winslow Boy), Chebutikin (Three Sisters),
Petey (The Birthday Party) and Scullery (Road).
Michael Mayne's most recent apperance was as Constable Macdonald in The Ladykillers. Previous credits include Cornwall in King Lear, Organ in Tartuffe, Julius Caesar, Sidney in Smells of Wee, Shylock in
The Merchant of Venice, Fred in Fred and Madge and Jake in Jake's Women. Michael is a classically trained Actor - a graduate of the
London Academy of Music and Drama Art (LAMDA). He worked in the professional theatre for 20 years before family commitment moved him into the commercial world;
now those commitments are fulfilled he is working his way back into the Business.
Nigel Oram has appeared in five previous Tower productions (Farragut North, Othello, Doctor Faustus,
The Importance of Being Earnest and An Enemy of the People). He has also stage managed (Clybourne Park) and operated
sound and/or lights (Major Barbara, Travesties, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Mother's Day, Charley's Aunt and
The Night Heron).
Ian Hoare has acted in more than twenty productions for the Tower. In 2016 he made his debut as a
Tower director with Hindle Wakes, and he followed that with An Enemy of the People earlier this year.
Pravda is Christopher O'Dea's second appearance with the Tower Theatre; he played Peter in Romeo and Juliet last year in both London and Paris.
He has previously been, and continues to be, involved with the KDC Theatre Company, having performed in unique productions including a female-led Hamlet,
original murder-mystery farce The Butler Didn't Do It, and dark comedy The Arsonists. He graduated from Aberystwyth University with a Joint Honours Degree in
English Literature with Drama and Theatre Studies, and also dabbles in voice acting and radio work.
Jill Ruane joined the Tower in 2007 and since then has been involved in many shows, both on stage and behind the scenes.
Her acting credits include Catherine Stockmann in An Enemy of the People, Ida in Farragut North, Goneril in King Lear, Sarah in Speaking in Tongues, Una in Blackbird, Christine in
Miss Julie, Woman in Bash - Medea Redux and Mairead in The Lieutenant of Inishmore.
Madeleine Gordon is new to the Tower but has taken part in amateur theatre for the past couple of years.
Her recent credits include Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice (Richmond Shakespeare Society, Oct 2016), Anne Brontë in
We Are Three Sisters (RSS, March 2016) and Harriet in Teddington Theatre Club's production of Colder Than Here
for which she was nominated for a Arts Richmond SWAN Award. She trained in Theatre Arts at Goldsmiths College, London.
Julia Collier is a trained actress and vocal coach. She also writes plays and is a sketch comedy performer. Her recent
credits include Sex, Spies and Streaming at this year's Camden Fringe and appearing as a Bond baddie in a comedy play about James Bond's daughter,
Martini Bond"! Her last performance with Tower was in Bombshells; she has also been involved with Wardrobe and the voice work on a number of plays.
Louise Bakker has been a member of the Tower Theatre since 2008, and is an
Assistant Artistic Director for the company. She is a stage director across
opera, theatre and musicals, and will be mounting a production of Assassins
at the Pleasance Theatre, London in March 2018.
|
|
Pravda
by Howard Brenton and David Hare
|
||
|
Tuesday 7th - Saturday 11th November, 2017 |
The Tower Theatre performing at the Bridewell Theatre, off Fleet Street |
||
Photography by Ruth Anthony
|
Cast List
|
Production Team
|
|
| Oliver Ferriman
began acting with the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company and National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and has appeared in a wide range
of theatre, television and film productions. His credits include the role of Jesus in The Passion (performed in South Africa);
roles in The Kitchen, Decade, Fuente Ovejuna, Richard III and Way to Heaven; television credits for the BBC's
Torchwood and Doctor Who; and a 'zomcom' feature film. Pravda will be Oliver's first production with the
Tower Theatre Company.
|
|
Max Fisher is returning to the Tower Theatre Company after an absence of twenty years. At the Tower he
played roles from Shakespeare to Ibsen, Osborne to De Filippo and Feydeau to Woody Allen - even actually playing Woody Allen. Away
from the Tower, Max has worked with other established theatre companies, scratch companies for one-off productions and in voice-over work.
As a dramatist, his plays have been performed in the UK and US and he appeared in his own one-man play at the Pleasance Theatre on the
Edinburgh Fringe, to considerable critical acclaim.
|
|
|
This is Nick Mouton's first show with the Tower Theatre. Nick is a bit of a journeyman of London fringe theatre
having performed with a number of companies over the years, including Basement Bodies Theatre (Bouncers); KDC Theatre
(Breathing Corpses); Putney Theatre Company (After the Dance); Sedos (Heaven Can Wait); and South London Theatre
(The White Devil). He has also written and directed a number of plays that have been performed across the capital.
Having been born in South Africa and spent the majority of his life in the Northern hemisphere, Nick is glad to be able to
briefly channel himself back to his Southern hemisphere roots, albeit a different country. He's happy to think that all those hours
spent watching Neighbours and Home and Away in the 90s have finally come to good use.
|
|
David Hankinson studied acting at The Oxford School Of Drama, funded by a scholarship
from Michael Codron, the legendary West End theatre producer who brought to the stage early
productions from the likes of Tom Stoppard and Harold Pinter. While David is perhaps a little
less well-known than those two great figures in the history of the British stage, he has pursued
an enjoyable and occasionally successful career as an actor in theatre, his favourite role being
Algernon in a UK tour of The Importance Of Being Earnest. In television and film
David has a habit of making small contributions to big projects, having featured prominently in
the opening sequence of the feature film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and less
prominently (in fact, entirely hidden) as a Dalek Operator in Doctor Who between 2005 and 2008.
This is David's first production for the Tower Theatre Company.
|
|
|
|
Nigel Campbell studied Drama and Theatre Studies at Royal Holloway College. This was followed by a five
year stint as a professional actor in theatre, radio and film. He also ran drama workshops for the National Theatre's education
department. More recently, he has performed the roles of the Inspector in An Inspector Calls and Richard Greatham in
Hay Fever with the St George's Players in Paris where he lived for many years. This is Nigel's first production with the
Tower Theatre Company.
|
|
Elizabeth (Hannah) West recently joined the Tower Theatre Company; Pravda is her first production with them and she
is really excited to be cast as Rebecca Foley. She is currently studying an Acting Diploma at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and
is in the process of setting up her own group, The actorvists, which combines acting with her other passion of human rights.
Hannah has been involved in amateur dramatics since she was a child performing with Scottish Youth Theatre, Patchwork Theatre Company and
Collusion Youth Theatre. Stage credits include Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Step Sister in Rockerella and Sarah Patch in
The Guardian of the Tower. TV and Film credits include Office Girl in Weird Love and The Young Bride in The Castle, a 12-part
series for Sky TV. Hannah's background is in human rights and she currently works part time for a disabled charity in London. In her spare
time, she is a singer-songwriter, playing guitar and tabla.
|
|
|
Calvin Crawley joined the Tower a year ago, and this is his first production. He trained on the RADA
foundation course based in Cambridge, and has performed in a number of short films and theatre productions. He performed in
Extremism at the Theatre Royal Stratford East and the Theatre Royal York, which then transferred to the National Theatre for a
performance. He recently filmed his first feature film, Cult, playing the lead.
|
|
By day John Chapman works as a freelance education consultant and writer recently completing work for the
BBC's Bitesize revision website. Prior to this he worked at the "chalkface" for rather longer than he cares to remember.
He has always been interested in the world of drama and in 2004 served as a panellist on the Olivier Awards, seeing a mammoth 70 productions in one year. Not counting the odd (probably very odd) Nativity play, John first took to the stage as a schoolboy pretending to be a Latin frog; he has since been involved with over 140 productions. Favourite acting roles have been Hector in The History Boys (an award winner), Norman in The Norman Conquests, Felix in Humble Boy, Mr Micawber in David Copperfield (in London and at the Minack Theatre in Cornwall) and Bottom (A Midsummer Night's Dream) in the Tower's collaboration with the RSC last year. Best directing jobs have been with The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Lord of The Flies, Glorious! and the eleven works of Alan Ayckbourn which he has steered to a successful conclusion, the most recent of which (Bedroom Farce) was seen earlier this year. |
|
|
|
John McSpadyen is now in his 28th year as a Tower member, having been an ASM, SM,
technical operator, set designer, actor and director. He has been onstage in (amongst others) Blue Remembered Hills,
Les Liaisons Dangereuses, The Factory Girls, Translations, Dealer's Choice, Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll, Farragut North
and Hindle Wakes. His productions as director include Copenhagen, Faith Healer, The Constant Wife, Bash,
Speaking in Tongues and Farewell to the Theatre. In between shows, he can generally be found wielding a power tool
at a Sunday get-in. Away from the Tower, John bakes shortbread and watches TV quiz shows.
|
|
Robert Orchard is making his Tower debut after too many years 'resting' due to work as a political journalist.
Most of his acting has been in South Wales, including parts in Journey's End, Claw, Under Milk Wood, Arsenic and Old Lace, Bingo,
The Alchemist and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Bitten by the bug (and the bugs) of outdoor drama, he helped found the
pro-am Everyman Open Air Theatre Festival near Cardiff, where roles included the Clown in The Winter's Tale and Oberon in A
Midsummer Night's Dream, before launching his own company, Moonlight Theatre. More recently, Robert's performing was mainly confined
to the BBC's Yesterday in Parliament and occasional character voices for Radio 4 political documentaries.
He dimly recalls writing student comic revues with Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, and took his own satirical show, Knockers,
to the Edinburgh Fringe where he claims it was laughed off the stage.
|
|
|
|
Ciara Robley is thrilled to be in her first production with the Tower Theatre. Previous roles include Wynne in
Dinner (New London Actors), Orinthia in The Apple Cart, First Girl in Blood Wedding and Hoodie/Despair in What
the Dickens (KDC Theatre). She has also previously dabbled behind the scenes as Assistant Director in
A Number (KDC Theatre) and as composer in Gormenghast (SEDOS).
|
|
This is Bill Boyd's third show with the Tower - he played Father Yelpidy in Dying For It in 2013 and
Horster in An Enemy of the People earlier this year. Between these shows he has
played two other clergymen - Cardinal Wolsey (Anne Boleyn) and Rev. Charles Hare (A Clergyman's Daughter), and also Inspector Michaud
(Therese Raquin). Previous roles include Firs (The Cherry Orchard), Arthur Winslow (The Winslow Boy), Chebutikin (Three Sisters),
Petey (The Birthday Party) and Scullery (Road).
|
|
|
Michael Mayne's most recent apperance was as Constable Macdonald in The Ladykillers. Previous credits include Cornwall in King Lear, Organ in Tartuffe, Julius Caesar, Sidney in Smells of Wee, Shylock in
The Merchant of Venice, Fred in Fred and Madge and Jake in Jake's Women. Michael is a classically trained Actor - a graduate of the
London Academy of Music and Drama Art (LAMDA). He worked in the professional theatre for 20 years before family commitment moved him into the commercial world;
now those commitments are fulfilled he is working his way back into the Business.
|
|
Nigel Oram has appeared in five previous Tower productions (Farragut North, Othello, Doctor Faustus,
The Importance of Being Earnest and An Enemy of the People). He has also stage managed (Clybourne Park) and operated
sound and/or lights (Major Barbara, Travesties, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Mother's Day, Charley's Aunt and
The Night Heron).
|
|
|
|
Ian Hoare has acted in more than twenty productions for the Tower. In 2016 he made his debut as a
Tower director with Hindle Wakes, and he followed that with An Enemy of the People earlier this year.
|
|
Pravda is Christopher O'Dea's second appearance with the Tower Theatre; he played Peter in Romeo and Juliet last year in both London and Paris.
He has previously been, and continues to be, involved with the KDC Theatre Company, having performed in unique productions including a female-led Hamlet,
original murder-mystery farce The Butler Didn't Do It, and dark comedy The Arsonists. He graduated from Aberystwyth University with a Joint Honours Degree in
English Literature with Drama and Theatre Studies, and also dabbles in voice acting and radio work.
|
|
|
Jill Ruane joined the Tower in 2007 and since then has been involved in many shows, both on stage and behind the scenes.
Her acting credits include Catherine Stockmann in An Enemy of the People, Ida in Farragut North, Goneril in King Lear, Sarah in Speaking in Tongues, Una in Blackbird, Christine in
Miss Julie, Woman in Bash - Medea Redux and Mairead in The Lieutenant of Inishmore.
|
|
Madeleine Gordon is new to the Tower but has taken part in amateur theatre for the past couple of years.
Her recent credits include Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice (Richmond Shakespeare Society, Oct 2016), Anne Brontë in
We Are Three Sisters (RSS, March 2016) and Harriet in Teddington Theatre Club's production of Colder Than Here
for which she was nominated for a Arts Richmond SWAN Award. She trained in Theatre Arts at Goldsmiths College, London.
|
|
|
|
Julia Collier is a trained actress and vocal coach. She also writes plays and is a sketch comedy performer. Her recent
credits include Sex, Spies and Streaming at this year's Camden Fringe and appearing as a Bond baddie in a comedy play about James Bond's daughter,
Martini Bond"! Her last performance with Tower was in Bombshells; she has also been involved with Wardrobe and the voice work on a number of plays.
|
|
Louise Bakker has been a member of the Tower Theatre since 2008, and is an
Assistant Artistic Director for the company. She is a stage director across
opera, theatre and musicals, and will be mounting a production of Assassins
at the Pleasance Theatre, London in March 2018.
|