Tower Theatre Company : Astravax

Astravax

**Four short plays presented together as part of the Love [and Survival] in a Time of Covid festival

Friday 16th & Sunday 18th July, 2021

At the Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington

Census Night by Lucy Beacon, directed by Ciara Robley
Cast : Christabel : Rosanna Preston; Emily : Katherine Shaw
Olivia written, performed and directed by Joanna Nevin
One for the Road by Tamara von Werthern, directed by Ruth Sullivan
Cast : Angharad Ormond
Cry Freedom by Menesh Patel, directed by Simona Hughes
Cast : Sangita Mogdil, Matthew Ibbotson

Production Team**
Event co-ordinator : Ruth Sullivan
Set Design : Peter Foster, Jude Chalk
Lighting Design : Samuel Littley
Sound and Projection : Laurence Tuerk
Stage Managers : Roanne Insley, Jacqui Dickson

For Love [and Survival] in a Time of Covid
Artistic Directors : Ruth Sullivan, Angharad Ormond, Simona Hughes

Census Night

This is Rosanna Preston's fourth acting role at the Tower after she had the pleasure of playing the King of France and other roles in the Tower’s opening production of Henry V, Mrs Higgins in Pygmalion and Edith in Rules for Living. She was also Assistant Director on The Thrill of Love. Elsewhere she has played Polina in The Seagull, Trowle in the Chester Mystery Plays, Wife in Let us Make the Flames of the Revolution Rage Furiously, Atossa in The Persians, Zelda in An Afternoon in Zelda's Silence and Woman in La Rose Rouge. Rosanna has also directed Visitors for the Woodhouse Players.

This is Katherine Shaw's second performance with the Tower Theatre. She last played little Emily in the Company’s 2012 production of David Copperfield. She is incredibly pleased to be back and hopes that there is not such a long break before her next show! Katherine is currently studying Drama & Classics at A-level and aspires to study acting at University. As Census Night concerns a relationship between a child and her Grandmother, she dedicates her performance to her own Granny who passed away very recently.

Ciara Robley has appeared in three Tower productions : Pravda, 1984 and Antigone, and she was Assistant Director for The Merry Wives of Windsor. 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).

Olivia

Joanna Nevin trained at Drama Centre, London. This summer she has been playing Olivia (and directing music) for an open-air touring production of Twelfth Night. Past roles with the Tower Theatre include Camilla in King Charles III, Sandra in Love, Love, Love and Emily Brontë in Brontë. Other credits include Ruth in About 500 (finalist in the 2021 OnComm Awards), Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing (Drama Impact), Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (Ashcroft Theatre), Lily Byrne in A Man of No Importance (Union Theatre and Arts Theatre) and Elizabeth in Lola Montez (UK tour). She also works as an Education Practitioner at Shakespeare's Globe.

One for the Road

Angharad Ormond graduated from Drama Studio London in 2009. She has been a Tower Theatre company member for 6 years and was the recipient of the 2017 Frank Smith award which recognises outstanding contributions from a new member. She has previously served on the Artistic Team as an Assistant Artistic Director, co-ordinating the new directors programme. Angharad both acts and directs for the company, focusing on the latter more over the recent years. Directing credits include Kindertransport, an immersive production of 1984, and a modern reimagining of The Canterbury Tales. Angharad is particularly interested in theatre that pushes the boundaries, both artistically and politically, and she has a passion for multi-modal creations, combining masks, puppetry, movement and live music. During lockdown she co-produced The Tower Theatre Podcast, created a brand-new radio drama, 5 Women, and even returned to performing. Angharad also works as a Clinical Psychologist, which feeds her collaborative and nurturing approach to directing.

Ruth Sullivan has been a Tower member for 14 years and has performed, directed, choreographed and designed sound for many productions in that time. Her most recent play as a director for the Tower was King Charles III which was a large scale ensemble piece but she does have some experience of monologues, having performed in Happy Days. Since the theatre was forced to close last March she has been part of Virtual Tower and the Tower podcast, both directing and performing. As a Foley Artist she’s usually found in a dark studio, making sounds for TV drama and film (as well as an occasional foray into radio) and regularly works with directors such as Katie Mitchell and Simon McBurney to create and perform live theatre sound. She’s one of the Tower’s new Artistic Directors and is so pleased to be finally back in the theatre.

Cry Freedom

Menesh Patel has trained at numerous institutions including Identity Drama School. He also attended Meisner training at Cockpit Theatre. As well as having earned a Honours degree in Pharmaceutical Science, he has other specialised qualifications. His most recent role was John in Soldiers Through Generations. This is his third outing with the Tower Theatre, but this time as a writer; previously he played Mahmoud Ali and Mohammed Latif in A Passage to India. His recent comedy short is Goldfish, and he is currently undertaking a MA in Writing at CSSD.

Simona Hughes completed her MFA in Advanced Theatre Practice at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and graduated (with distinction) in 2019. She has been a Tower Theatre Company member for 20 years, during which time she has served on the Management Committee and both acted and directed. Directing credits at Tower include Little Nell, Brontë, Love Love Love, Table and A Passage to India. She has also directed short pieces at Theatre 503, Vault Festival, The Bread and Roses and The Pit (Barbican) and has written and directed her own play About 500, which is nominated as an OnComm finalist. Simona has also executive produced a feature film, County Lines, which was recently released on BFI player/Curzon Home cinema.

Since rekindling a love of acting at evening classes, Sangita Modgil has appeared in two Tower productions : Henry V and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Her other appearances have been in short films including Public House and more recently in various Virtual Tower productions.

Matthew Ibbotson joined the Tower in early 2018 and is delighted to be involved in his fifth production, following performances in Kafka's Dick, To Kill A Mockingbird, Gainsborough's Girls and A Passage to India. He studied Drama at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, appearing in works by Shakespeare, Chekov and Strindberg. He studied Drama at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, appearing in works by Shakespeare, Chekov and Strindberg. During the last year, Matthew has been heavily involved in many of the Virtual Tower productions.