Orpheus & Eurydice in the Suspension Bridge Vaults
Programme
February 17th - March 19th, 2017
Death is quiet. Death is dark. Death doesn't breathe...
This spring, descend into the otherworldly Suspension Bridge Vaults and experience this haunting love story like never before. Combining live music, singing and storytelling, we invite you into a forgotten chamber - untouched for 150 years - where the soul of Eurydice still waits for her lover Orpheus to return.
With just 12 tickets available for each performance, this will be in an intimate, immersive and exclusive experience.
Note: the roles of Eurydice and Persephone will be alternated between Hannah Douglas and Katy Sobey. For more information about who will be in which role at which performance, please contact the company.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Running time: approx 35 mins in the vaults
Please be advised that this performance is semi-promenade and will include walking and standing around the venue. Access to the vaults involves climbing a vertical ladder; please ensure that you are physically capable of doing so. Sturdy shoes are essential and audience members wearing unsuitable footwear (heels, open-toed shoes) will not be allowed in. There is a recommended minimum height of 1.4m. The vaults can be wet and/or muddy inside, particularly after heavy rain. Personal torches are not required . No photography permitted. Warm clothing is recommended. No latecomers will be admitted. If you experience vertigo or claustrophobia please consult the company before booking. Unsuitable for children under the age of 10; babes-in-arms not permitted.
CAST
Chris Donnelly - Hades / Charon / Zeus
Hannah Douglas - Eurydice / Persephone
Anthony Pinnick - Orpheus
Katy Sobey - Eurydice / Persephone
CREATIVE TEAM
Hannah Drake - Director / Graphic Design
Alison Farina - Script
Michelle Gaskell - Movement Consultant
James Lisk - Stage Manager
Edmund McKay - Lighting Consultant
Justin Palmer - Producer / Project Manager
Ellie Showering - Composer / Musical Director
Sarah Warren - Costume Designer
IN REHEARSAL
TECH REHEARSALS
COMPANY BIOGRAPHIES
CHRIS DONNELLY
Hades / Zeus / Charon
HANNAH DOUGLAS
Eurydice / Persephone
After immensely enjoying performing MacDuff and King Duncan in Macbeth in the Redcliffe caves last year, Chris is delighted to be working again with Insane Root in their equally exciting production of Orpheus and Eurydice in the Suspension bridge vaults.
Chris recently played Peter Waites and Barry Hardwick in the new play Darkness Darkness at the Nottingham Playhouse, having just returned from a six month tour of America, where he performed the role of Bottom in a critically acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has enjoyed working with that company on previous tours, playing Feste in Twelfth Night and the title role in Macbeth.
Chris has also had the pleasure of being part of the highly acclaimed, award winning Shakespeare At The Tobacco Factory theatre company ensemble since its inception in 2000, enjoying such roles Launce (Two Gentlemen of Verona), Bottom (MSND), Stephano (The Tempest), Iago (Othello), Autolycus in (The Winter’s Tale), Pompey
(Measure For Measure), Tranio, (Taming of the Shrew), Puck (MSND, Lollio (The Changeling) and Diomedes, (Troilus and Cressida).
He has also worked extensively in London, regional repertory theatres and full scale tours, playing roles including Horst in Bent, (nominated for an Evening Standard award for best actor), Skullery (Road), Billy (Billy Liar), Tony (Abiail’s Party), Coleman (Lullabies of Broadmoor), Richard (The Country), Hardy (The Edge of Darkness).
Chris’ TV credits, include No Offence, The Muskateers, Derren Brown – Faith & Fear, Vital Signs, Fat Friends, Silent Witness, Prime Suspect, Reckless, The Verdict, Wire In The Blood, Wycliffe, Drop The Dead Donkey, Casualty, Doctors and the character of Damion Spinks in Eastenders.
Hannah trained at ALRA and graduated in 2009.
Her theatre credits include: A Christmas Carol (Chapterhouse Theatre Co, UK Tour); The Jungle Book (Milkyway Productions, China); Big Brother Blitzkrieg (The Kings Head, London), Hands Up For Jonny Wilkinson’s Right Boot! (Livewire Theatre, UK Tour); ART (Omnibus Theatre); The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Chapterhouse Theatre Co, Open-Air Tour); Ghosts (Sell-A-Door Theatre Co, UK Tour); Touched By Tom Daley (Southwark Playhouse); East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Homespun Theatre Co, Edinburgh Festival); A Midsummer Nights Dream and The Tempest (Both for The Faction Theatre Co, London and UK Tour).
Film/TV credits include: The Halcyon (ITV); Alden Volney’s “Broadcaste” (Riff Raff); Clownface (Hellbound Media); Far From The Madding Crowd (DNA Films/Fox Searchlight Pictures); U want me 2 kill him? (Anonymous Content/Bad Hat Harry); Little Dorrit (BBC).
Hannah is really excited to be working with Insane Root and to be part of such an innovative production.
HANNAH DRAKE
Director
ALISON FARINA
Script
Hannah trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where she won the Elsa Roberts Prize for Directing. She is currently Resident Director for the 2017 UK National Tour of Jane Eyre (National Theatre).
Recent Directing credits include:
The Ruff Guide to Shakespeare (Take Thou That), Macbeth at the Redcliffe Caves 2015 & 2016 (Insane Root), NewsRevue (Canal Cafe Theatre), Julius Caesar (Take Thou That), The Snow Maiden (BS13 Company), Canopy of Stars (Theatre West), Lockdown (Bath Theatre Royal), 100 Miles North of Timbuktu / A Lonely Place (Theatre West), East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Homespun), An Act of Twisting (Provocation), Product Displacement (Edible), Convicts, Conflict & Love (Bolton Octagon), Fertility Objects (Butterfly Psyche).
As Assistant Director:
Lighthearted Intercourse (Bolton Octagon), Unrestless (Old Vic New Voices) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (SATTF). Hannah is a regular Visiting Director for the University of Cumbria and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and has directed for Bath Spa University.
www.hannahdrakedirector.co.uk | @HannahDrakeUK
Alison is a Bath-based theatre-maker, practitioner and playwright. She has had work commissioned and produced by both amateur and professional companies. Her canon of work includes eight full-length plays, various shorts and three family shows, all of which have been performed as The Rondo Theatre’s Christmas Show in Bath. These include; The Bluebird – Dec 2013, Return to Wonderland - Jan 2015 and The Snow Child - Dec 2015.
Her work has been performed Nationally in London, Bath, Whitstable, Isle of Man, Bristol, Exeter and Cheltenham and has had two separate regional tours of the Southwest from 2013 – 2015 for The Persistence of Memory (a play about Alzheimer’s) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (an adaptation of Anne Brontë’s classic). Internationally Alison’s work has been performed in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2014 (Fertility Objects,) and in Sonoma California in 2016 (The Bluebird).
Alison has a special interest in Heritage and Literary work and was commissioned by Temple Newsam House in Leeds to create Temple Tales (a five-episode Twitter script) in 2013 as well as writing their new and accessible audio tour script for all ages in 2015. Currently she is working with Wiltshire Artists, Phoebe Kemp, as a development facilitator and writing mentor for Phoebe’s one-woman-show, May, about the Disabled Suffragette Activist, Rosa May Billinghurst.
In 2013 Alison participated in the Rondo Theatre’s 24 Hour Plays as a writer and in 2014 was shortlisted for the Old Vic, New Voices TS Elliot Commission as well as the Salisbury Playhouse’s Original Drama call-out. This year Alison was long-listed for the 2017 Salisbury Playhouse Theatre Fest West Prize for her play Seven Tears by Moonlight.
JAMES LISK
Stage Manager
EDMUND MCKAY
Lighting Design
James has recently completed a Stage Management degree from Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Theatre credits in education include: Narrative (SM), Just Add Water (Technical Manager, Cardiff and Prague), The London Cuckolds (DSM), Reasons to be Pretty (DSM), Joy House (ASM), Unity 1918 (ASM).
Professional credits include: Macbeth at the Redcliffe Caves (Insane Root), BEASTS: Solo (Edinburgh Fringe & Chapter Theatr), Venue 13 (Edinburgh Fringe Venue), Dylathon (Wales Theatre Company & SC Productions)
JUSTIN PALMER
Producer
Justin trained as an actor at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the University of Bristol. He has worked extensively across the UK in theatre, film, TV and voiceover, and is an Associate Director of critically acclaimed Gentleman Jack Theatre.
Stage includes: Infectious (Welded Theatre), Twelfth Night (Rondo), Three Ships (Theatre West), All’s Well That Ends Well, The Revenger’s Tragedy & Timon of Athens (all Gentleman Jack), Converging Paths (Slung Low), Fertility Objects (Butterfly Psyche), After Dark (Bike Shed), 24 Hour Plays (Theatre Royal Bath), Mapping the City (Slung Low/Hull Truck), Drive in Deco (Part Exchange), The Mourning Few (Miniaturists/Arcola), 86,400 Seconds (FTC), Beyond the Front Line (Slung Low/Lowry), Romeo and Juliet (Bristol Old Vic).
TV includes: Trollied (Sky One), Crimewatch (BBC).
Edmund studied theatre design at Aberystwyth University & Central School of Speech & Drama. He focuses predominantly on lighting designs but also undertakes stage design alongside this when the opportunity arises. He is co-artistic director of Bristol based Welded Theatre company and was the set and lighting designer for their 2015 show Infectious.
His past work in theatre & opera includes: Macbeth by Insane Root 2015; Dogtag for Theatre West; Hotel Opera (Fellswoop); The Suicide, The Commune, As you Like It, Broken Heart, Swan Song & Three Sisters, Anthony & Cleopatra (all for CSSD); Alls Well that Ends Well & Revengers Tragedy (Gentleman Jack Theatre); Beachy Head (Analogue); The Carnival (Kompany Malakhi & Charody Productions).
Past work in dance includes: The World Behind Walls (Jessie Brett & Addisu Demissie); How I Faded & Disintegrated (Saun Taun John); Gig, The Factory (Co-lighting Designer: Earthfall Dance company).
Previous installations include Isolated Response (Net Audio Festival 2009) & Built to Last (Chapter Studio 2011).
ANTHONY PINNICK
Orpheus
Anthony trained at Drama Studio London.
Theatre credits include: Dracula (Pleasance, Edinburgh Fringe/King's Head Theatre), Richard II (Shakespeare's Globe), Peter Pan (Theatre By The Lake), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Courtyard Theatre), Up From Paradise (New Wimbledon Studio), The Little Mermaid (Riverside Studios), Romeo & Juliet (UK & European tour), The London Cuckolds (Pleasance, Islington). Film credits include: The Honourable Rebel (dir. Mike Fraser), Love Interest (dir. Maan Mansour), The Workshop (dir. Maan Mansour).
Anthony is part of a 5 piece rock band who have just recorded their first EP in January 2017.
KATY SOBEY
Eurydice / Persephone
Katy is from Bristol and trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Theatre includes: Rocky: A Horror Show (The Wardrobe Theatre), The Woodlanders (Hammerpuzzle/Cheltenham Everyman), Othello (Stafford Gatehouse), Here Be Monsters (UK Tour), Hot Air (Tobacco Factory Theatre/Myrtle Theatre Co.), King John (Hammerpuzzle/The Egg),A Midsummer Night's Dream (UK Tour), The Somerset Charabanc (Wassail Theatre Co.), Flood (Bike Shed Theatre), Sleeping Beauty and Aladdin (Little Wolf/Loughborough Town Hall), Early
Doors (Edinburgh Festival), The Snow Queen (Simply Theatre, Switzerland), Product Displacement (Rondo Theatre) and The Taming of the Shrew (Sam Wanamaker Festival, The Globe).
Katy has appeared in several radio plays for BBC Radio 4, including Tess In Winter, The All-Clear, The Shining Heart and Writing the Century: The Dock. She has also featured in multiple episodes of Poetry Please with Roger McGough. On television, Katy played featured character Esther Adams in BBC 1's daytime drama, The Indian Doctor.
Katy regularly records audiobooks and is a featured artist on Audible UK's Narrator's Greatest Hits. She is the voice of the popular young adult series, Geek Girl.
ELLIE SHOWERING
Composer / Musical Director
Ellie is a Bristol based singer, performer and composer who specialises in a capella and music in a theatrical context. Since graduating from Dartington College of Arts in 2009 with a degree in Contemporary Music Performance, their collaborative work has ranged from intimate shows designed for an audience of one to sold out theatre tours across the UK and Europe. Looking to push the limitations of the human voice, they actively seek out challenging and engaging performance and composition work.
SARAH WARREN
Costume Design
Sarah Warren graduated from The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School In July 2011 after completing an MA in Theatre Design as an award winning student. Prior to this she studied fine art and became involved in film and theatre when she worked as a set builder, painter and model maker on the “Wallace and Gromit” feature film “Curse of The Were-Rabbit” and then as the props maker for The Bristol Old Vic Theatre.
Since graduating in 2011 she has designed the sets and costumes for several theatre productions including shows for The SanaRt Theatre Company, community based theatre and film for Theatre Orchard, costume design for Insane Root's site specific productions, and amongst others set and costume design for The Rover staged at The Bristol Old Vic Studio.
In 2015 she was the assistant designer on a British independant feature film "Access All Areas" and has worked on several short films. Sarah also teaches model making, for specific projects, at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has designed and assisted on a number of their shows.
We are indebted to many people and companies who have helped bring this production to life. Without their support in time, money and enthusiasm this show would not have been possible. So, unending thanks to:
Laura and everyone at the Suspension Bridge Trust
Helen Beasley at BOVTS
Samuel Pope
Travelling Light Theatre Company
Bristol Quakers
The first year acting students of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (A-Group & B-Group).
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
In the creation of this show we invited a team of talented actors and singers to take part in a day of Research and Development. The contribution these actors made to the musical language and vision of the show was invaluable. Therefore thanks are due to: Chris Bone, Stephanie Kempson, Verity Standen & Dylan Wood.
THANKS