Chair – Sarah Dobson Artistic Director – Steph Urquhart Treasurer – William Baltyn Technical Director – David Balfour Publicity – Vicky Olusanya New Writing Co-Ordinator – Carl Fletcher Webmaster – William Baltyn Executive Officers – Emma Knott, Kim Morrison Deputy Chair – Carl Fletcher
As Summer makes an appearance we in the KDC committee are getting ready for the AGM. This year it’s on Tuesday 11 July at 7pm at the Hoop and Grapes.
It’s a great chance for you to have your say on the direction KDC will take for the next year so we’d love to see lots of you there. We’ll present a review of the year gone by, elect the new committee, and answer your questions on what the future hold for us.
Being on the KDC committee is a brilliant way for you to directly influence the shows and activities that we put on for our members. From show budgets and subs, to the shows themselves and how we market them, all these things and more are up to the committee to decide.
If you’d like to put yourself forward to be on the committee please contact Secretary Sarah by Monday 10 July to formally put your name in the hat. At the AGM you’ll be asked to give a 2 minute pitch on why you’d like the role and answer any questions before everyone there votes. You’ll need someone on the committee to propose you, and someone else to second you.
To help you decide if you’d like to stand, here’s a rundown of the committee positions and details on who’s standing down. You can still put yourself forward for a role if the existing person isn’t stepping down.
Chair – big boss of the committee who keeps everyone in check and on plan. Applicants must be existing committee members. Emma is standing down this year. For more info contact Emma on chair@kdctheatre.com
Artistic Director – responsible for setting the artistic direction of the company, choosing all the shows we put on and which theatres we use. Applicants must be existing committee members. Kim is standing down this year. For more info contact Kim on artistic@kdctheatre.com
Treasurer – holder of the bank account details and responsible for making sure we spend money on the right things. Applicants must be existing committee members. For more info contact Will on treasurer@kdctheatre.com
Secretary – needs to be an excellent organiser to keep the wheels of KDC turning. For more info contact Sarah on secretary@kdctheatre.com
New Writing Co-Ordinator – sources original writing for KDC to put on and nurtures our pool of writers. For more info contact Carl on newwriting@kdctheatre.com
Tech Director – lights, sound, props, costumes; all the things that make the actors look good! For more info contact Dave on tech@kdctheatre.com
Publicity – responsible for getting the word out about all the good things we’re doing. For more info contact Vicky on publicity@kdctheatre.com
Social Secretary – chief drinker and organiser of KDC get togethers. For more info contact Steph on social@kdctheatre.com
Webmaster – curator of the website and general go to person for all things computer-based! For more info contact Will on webmaster@kdctheatre.com
Executive Officers – very helpful people who pick up projects as the committee needs them to. A good starting place if you’re pondering committee life. For more info contact Emma on chair@kdctheatre.com
We look forward to seeing lots of you in July. In the meantime, happy sunbathing!
Congratulations to the ensemble cast and crew of What Keeps Me Awake; 27 June – 1 July at the Lion & Unicorn Theatre, Kentish Town:
Our cast:
Lee Gray
Georgina Parren
Matt Tylianakis
Danielle Florence
Spencer Pinkus
James Mbanefo
Michaela Mackenzie
Yasmin Aisha Mohamed
Grace Arnold
Kat Wootton
Jessica Rogers
Rachel Bothamley
Govind Hodgson
Our directors:
Dave Kerr, Asma Mani, Sarah Beebe, Sarah Dobson, Vicky Olusanya
Our writers:
Helen Jackson, Pete Barrett, Alex Dremann, P Hamilton, Vicky Olusanya,
Lewis Shilane, Trina Hasthorpe, Dwayne Yancey, Carl Fletcher, Mark
Harvey Levine and Irene L Pynn
Following the phenomenal response to the Full Stack new writing project, KDC Theatre are proud to announce What Keeps Me Awake, twelve brand new short plays, performing 27 June – 1 July, Lion & Unicorn Theatre, Kentish Town.
Auditions: Tuesday 2 May and Wednesday 3 May 7pm-9pm (registration from 6.45pm). Audition notice for full details Location: Theatre Delicatessen, 30 Marsh Wall, Canary Wharf Recalls: By invitation only Sunday 7 May 10am – 2pm
Jessica Rogers – Maggie
This is Jess’s first production with KDC though she has been involved with other amateur theatre groups, including a production of Noises Off in 2015 and taking a new writing play up to Edinburgh fringe last year. When Jess isn’t being wildly competitive in rehearsal warm up games she is a Learning and Development Advisor for Christie’s where she is about the only person in the world to get really excited by the prospect of role play in the classroom.
Billy Knowles – Paul
This is Billy’s third production with KDC after appearing in Stags & Hens at the Landor and Bones, here at the Barons Court. Billy has performed in a variety of roles at a number of fringe venues including The Magnetic Lady (White Bear), Boom Bang-a-Bang (Etcetera), Bacchus In Rehab (Etcetera), Amore the Merrier (Cockpit) and Shopping & F***ing at the Edinburgh Fringe. Billy has also performed in several shows with ARC Theatre Ensemble, toured playing various characters in rep with Rainbow Theatre Company and performed as part of The Works, a choir ran by the ENO. Billy is excited to be part of Den of Thieves and would like to dedicate his performance to his Mum and Dad.
Govind Hodgson – Flaco
Having spent much of his youth in country Australia listening to Reggaeton and Latin Hip Hop and R n B, it seems only right that Govind was finally given the opportunity to live out his dream playing a deluded white guy with aspirations of being a Latin King. While this is Govind’s 8th year with KDC, this is the first chance Govind has been given to play a part that’s really him, in that it’s not at all really him.
Jade-Marie Joseph – Boochie
Jade-Marie is an actress and filmmaker. She took an interest in acting at the age of three and by the age of five she attended ‘Bubblegum’ drama school. She also attended the well known stage school ‘Sylvia Young’ aged twelve for a few years. Jade-Marie has been involved in various productions, on stage, as well as in front and behind the camera. At fifteen Jade-Marie performed at the Hampstead Theatre’s production of Snow White where she played the The Queen/Witch in which she won a Jack Petchey Best Actress Award. She was part of the Tricycle Theatre young company for three years where she performed a string of productions which included The Kilburn Passion in 2014. She took an interest in film making later in life, her first project was a documentary based on urban youth culture and it was shown on BBC three website and was also aired on television in their programme called Life through our lense. Jade-Marie’s last staged productions were The Forty Elephants at Pop up Brixton (2015) and Black lives, black words at the Bush theatre (2016). She has just recently finished starring in new short film Morning Glory which will be coming out later on this year.
Keir Mills – Sal
This is Keir’s fourth production with KDC. Having somewhat exacerbated a family feud as Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet, he then attempted to keep his head Rudyard Kipling style as Dr Cardin in The Children’s Hour and then vehemently express a vision of anti-E.U.topia as The Terrorist in There Has Possibly Been An Incident. Alongside his stage work, Keir’s on-screen credits include the feature films City Rats and Shaun Of The Dead and acclaimed shorts, Honeymoon, The Outcasts and Green Means Stop. Not forgetting TV Shows including Channel 4’s Teachers and Messiah and the usual rounds of The Bill (R.I.P.) Holby City and Casualty amongst others.
Previous to this, the most amount of times Keir had written ‘Keir’ in any singular piece of writing was once. So he is proud to have taken the opportunity to set a new record.
Jed Soakell – Little Tuna
Jed is new to acting and most recently played the role of the Drum Major in KDC’s well-received Woyzeck (April 2016). He has taken acting courses run by Dominic Grant and is currently clowning around with Free Association Improv as well as doing stand-up. He loves playing Gypsy guitar and his acting hero is Christopher Walken.
Piers Burnell – Big Tuna
Piers is very happy to be back at the Barons Court after a 4 year hiatus. Past theatre credits include The Teacher & The Producer – Seduction, Chicago USA. Einstein – See Base Of Can, Battersea Arts Centre. Mr Samsa – Metamorphosis. Captain & Drum Major – Woyzeck. Judge Turpin – Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Reverend Parris – The Crucible. Reg Kray – Bones. Bruce Delamitri – Popcorn. Nugget – Equus. Comedian, Lodger, Warden – A Clockwork Orange and too many Shakespeares to mention! Various devious characters in BBC’s Crimewatch. MTV Run Run Run and Music Video Too Much Tea for Playground Legend.
Director – Duncan Moore
Assistant Director – Stephanie Urquhart
Stage Manager – Sarah Beebe
Lighting and Sound Design – Martin E. Rosso
Set – Stewart Moore
Props and Costume – Kate Moore and Liz Kelsch
Producer – Sarah Edwards
This is Ben Baxter’s third production in London, having previously played George in ‘After the Dance’ (Putney Arts Theatre) and Saint Matthew in ‘The Last Days of Judas Iscariot’ (Sedos). Recent roles elsewhere have included Orlando in ‘As You Like It’, Algernon in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ and an ensemble role in ‘Oh! What a Lovely War’
David Matthews is from Leicester and went to Cardiff University where he trained as a journalist. He now lives in London with his family and works in theatre. He hasn’t acted in over 10 years and is excited to get on stage again. He was relieved to hear about the line learner app.
Dean Bartholomew is very excited to be a part of KDC’s production of ‘The Ghost Train’ and was more than happy to take on the role of Herbert Price. Having been involved in amateur theatre for the past five years, he is relishing the opportunity to tread the boards once more.
Elizabeth Stevens has been acting on stage and screen for the past 10 years. Her most recent work includes ‘The Children’s Hour’ at the Rosemary Branch theatre, Simon Stephen’s ‘Pornography’ at the Bridewell Theatre and ‘Let the Clock Chime On’ with BFI Film Academy.
Felix Newman is a recent graduate of German and Politics and made the leap to the big smoke this summer to begin a sales role in the digital marketing industry. He’s been a keen amateur actor throughout university and have loved the chance to carry on in London with KDC!
Gabriella Guymer-Davies left Norfolk when she moved to London late last year. She now works in a Central Government Department in Whitehall and previously enjoyed working for the Crown Prosecution Service in Norwich. Previous acting experiences includes playing more Victorian boys (Tiny Tim, Oliver Twist to name a few) than she cares to remember; a sheep and a talking bird. She is now very happy in London and is enjoying playing a female character, who is not an animal.
‘The Ghost Train’ marks Hannah Brooks’ first performance with KDC Theatre since moving to London in December. Having graduated from Leeds University in 2016 with a degree in Spanish, Hannah returned home to Oxford where she made her debut performance at the Playhouse as Elinor in OTG’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’. Hannah is excited to be treading the boards once again with an exciting company.
After a 10 year hiatus from theatre, where the only acting he did was to convince himself that he really, honestly didn’t want to do any theatre anyway, James Cross is returning to the stage. Past theatrical highlights include many musicals, a stage adaptation of ‘Clerks’ and directing ‘The Exonerated’ at University.
Jill Davy has most recently been seen in ‘A Christmas Carol’ for Katch22. Other productions include ‘Clybourne Park’, ‘Breathing Corpses’, ‘Science Experiment’ (also writer), ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol’, ‘The Haunting of Hill House’, ‘Up Pompeii’, ‘The Great Santa Kidnap’, ‘The 101 Dalmatians’ and ‘Kindly Leave the Stage’. Jill has performed in Italy, Portugal and Spain, toured TIE and Panto as well as appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Cardiff International Music Theatre Festival.
This is Paul Caira’s first role with KDC. Recently he has performed with Sedos in ‘Pornography’, ‘Whose Life is it Anyway?’ and ‘One Man, Two Governors’. He is not from Cornwall.
‘The Ghost Train’ is Nick Mouton’s fifth directorial effort with KDC, following ‘Junk’, ‘Noir’, ‘Female Transport’ and ‘Tiger at the Gates’. He has additionally directed ‘The Devils’ and ‘Whose Life is it Anyway?’ for Sedos and ‘One Night Hire’ for independent theatre company So It Goes. He recently joined the Director’s Cut theatre company where he’s directed two short new writing pieces at the Pleasance Theatre and Southwark Playhouse. @NickMouton
This is Mauro Galluzzo’s fifth KDC production as Stage Manager. Having first worked with Nick back in 2009 in ‘Dangerous Corner’ and again in 2011 with ‘Female Transport’, he’s looking forward to getting on board ‘The Ghost Train’. He’s also produced the ‘Butler Didn’t Do It’ for KDC and is on the committee.
Kinga Kliss – Assistant Stage Manager
Ben Hussey – Lighting Designer
Rose Pickles – Sound
Neil Ballinger – Poster
Jim Yip & Marcella Toth – Photography
What’s your previous theatre experience?
I was a member of a youth theatre company for many years where I was lucky enough to play characters ranging from Elaine in Laura Wade’s Breathing Corpses, to Blazerbird in Feathers in the Snow, and a Jewish Hedgehog in Wind in the Willows – A Musical which I was strictly not allowed to sing in. It was an amazing company, and we had a lot of fun both in rehearsals and in the pub after. Actually a very good foundation for KDC…
Tell us about your character in The Ghost Train
Peggy is a new bride who always tries to remain positive through adversity, and ensure her new husband doesn’t ‘grouse’. Out of all of the people stranded at the station, she is the one who tries to connect with everyone and is always thoughtful towards the other characters, sometimes at her peril…
How have you found the rehearsal process?
I am loving the rehearsal process. It’s intense, but Nick (the director) has unlimited patience and enthusiasm, which really helps the cast. The cast is made up of a fantastic group of people, which adds to the fun, tenfold. We sometimes rehearse in the function rooms of the Hoop & Grapes, which is great. Guinness, the pub’s cat, has much less enthusiasm for the play.
Describe the show in three words.
Hand-wringing, heart-warming and horribly scary.
What are you looking forward to about show week?
I always love how close you get as a cast, so I’m certainly looking forward to the backstage and after show fun. It will be really interesting to hear the audiences’ reaction as well, to see if we have done our jobs properly and that they come on the journey with us. It’s just such a great play to be a part of and we are so lucky to be performing in Barons Court Theatre as it really fits the mood of the play.
What is your favourite spooky film or TV show?
Possibly Young Frankenstein as it is everything good about British humour, and really takes the fun out of the spooky genre.