|
||
|
Tuesday 17th - Saturday 21st |
The Tower Theatre performing |
|
Photography by David Sprecher
|
Cast Tom : David Sellar William : Michael Gibson Mrs. Beech : Cathy McManamon Mr. Stelton : Richard Willis Zach : Isaac Insley Peggy Foulkes : Despina Sellar Dr. Nancy Little : Harriet Watson George : Aaron Tewelde Carrie : Bessy Walmsley Ginnie : Eliza Insley Anthony Peters : Richard Kirby Gwen Fletcher : Sarah Sharp Annie Hartridge : Pam Gordon Charlie Ruddles : Jonathan Norris Ticket Man : Chris Falco Cockney Woman : Kate Fearnley Rachel : Helen Guthrie Other Children : Tashi Dema, Mitko Falco, Charlotte Gordon, Ezra Roberts, Jada Jones, Noah Liddington, Louis Millar, Alexander Porter Other parts played by members of the Company |
The Band |
 | David Sellar joined the Tower Theatre in 1983. His first major role was as Billy Flynn in Chicago. Since then he has appeared in many other productions, the latest being Mel Edison in The Prisoner of Second Avenue earlier this year.
|
 | Michael Gibson has been in several school productions, including playing Sebastian in Twelfth Night and he loves singing in the choir. He has been a huge Doctor Who fan since he was three and thinks Matt Smith is the best Doctor. His favourite musical is Matilda, which he has seen twice, because the dancing is really sharp and the man who plays Miss Trunchbull is incredibly funny. Michael likes art and inventing things. At the moment he is making a Greek vase at school and he designed his bedroom with a secret den reached by walking through the wardrobe. When he grows up, Michael would like to be a designer.
|
|
 | Cathy McManamon's recent theatre credits include Anita in Girls Night (number one tour), Janine in Dare (Bloomsbury), Agnetha in Believe (Man in the Moon), Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods (Westminster), Mae in Mud (Etcetera), Flora in Cold Comfort Farm (Bird's Nest), Gill in If You Loved Me (Rosemary Branch), Ghoolie in The Rocky Horror Show (Lauderdale House), Soloist in No Frills (King's Head) and Science Officer in Return to the Forbidden Planet (Upstairs at the Gatehouse). Film and Television credits include The Borrowers, Star Wars Episode One, Grange Hill and Waking the Dead, as well as pop video appearances for Madonna and The Archangels. Cathy performs her own cabaret act Shaken not Stirred at various venues.
|
 | Richard Willis has been a member of the Tower Theatre for many years. He has performed in various shows from
Shakespeare to Guys and Dolls. He last appeared on the stage in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Upstairs at the Gatehouse. Over the years, Richard has performed not only in Covent Garden and at Sadlers Wells but also throughout the country. He gained his Equity card in the early 80's and has performed on stage and TV. He has sung with various bands and has recorded an advert for Kodak photographic.
|
|
 | Isaac Insley's first Tower Theatre Company show was David Copperfield in which he was part of the ensemble cast. He is very much enjoying the Mr Tom rehearsals, though since he is also in rehearsal for his school Pantomime (Cinderella) he is worried that he will be muddling up Zach's lines with those of Baroness Streptococcus. In his spare time, Isaac loves drawing, making things and is very keen on puppets. His ambition is to be involved on the artistic side at the Little Angel Puppet Theatres.
|
 | Despina Sellar joined The Tower in 1983. Her first part was as Mrs Manningham in Gaslight. Since then she has played
a wide variety of roles ranging from Mrs Kendal in The Elephant Man through Maggie in Outside Edge to Beatrice in A View From The Bridge. Her last role was as Edna Edison in The Prisoner of Second Avenue earlier this year. She has also directed several plays for the Tower - her directoral debut was Shirley Valentine back in 1994, and this was followed by Six Degrees of Separation, What the Butler Saw, Stones in his Pockets, Moonlight and Magnolias and, most recently, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
|
|
 | Harriet Watson was lucky enough to do a lot of acting at school but then there was a long gap before joining the Tower Theatre Company in 1998. Her first part was a wonderful character in Good Fun and since then she has played a wide variety of roles. Notably, twice as an ambiguous man/woman! She says it's great fun now to be involved in a big, hectic musical with lots to do.
|
 | In 2012 Aaron Tewelde performed at the Hackney Empire with the Anna Fiorentini theatre and film school and in
June of this year he passed the grade one LAMDA exam with a merit. He is really enjoying the rehearsals and has made lots of new friends. In his spare time he loves playing football and playing computer games. In the future he hopes to become an actor or a football player.
|
|
 | Bessy Walmsley is really enjoying learning all the dances and songs and making new friends in the cast.
She's taken part in and practised different arts and music for quite a few years but this is the first time she's had the opportunity to do something where she gets to do all the things she loves in one show! Learning and researching the characters she plays in the story of Goodnight Mr Tom has also been pretty handy, and good timing as she's studying World War II at school. She's working with the Tower Theatre for the first time and even with all the hard work, it has really made her realise that the effort is worthwhile. It gives her a big buzz and she hopes she can do more work like this in the future.
|
 | Eliza Insley first appeared in the Tower Theatre Company's production of David Copperfield in 2012 as part of the ensemble cast when she liked the frequent costume changes. Eliza is enjoying working on Goodnight Mr Tom, though she finds the dancing challenging. Eliza has recently developed an interest in Chess, and hopes to play in a tournament soon.
In the future, Eliza would like to live near the sea with lots of dogs.
|
|
 | Richard Kirby graduated from the City Lit in 2004 after spending many years in various drama groups in North London. He played the Lord Mayor of London in Catchy with Total Beast, the Gravedigger and Player King in the Tower Theatre's Hamlet, and Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream with Connecting Arts. On screen has played a lorry driver in a safety viral for Transport for London, a disgusted passer-by in an anti-smoking viral, a villager in Born of Hope for Actors at Work and Sergeant O'Rourke in Detective Story by Psychic Cat Productions. Has also been fight director on Double Falsehood and Turn of the Screw for CP Theatre and on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for the Tower.
|
 | This is Sarah Sharp's fifth production with the Tower. This year she has appeared in The Voysey Inheritance and Educating Rita - she is delighted to be rounding off the year with an all-singing all-dancing spectacular alongside such a wonderful cast. As well as acting she is also prolific as a reviews and features writer for several online magazines,
and spends her spare time writing songs and annoying her housemates. She has just written and directed her first short film.
|
|
 | Pam Gordon grew up performing in pantomimes and local productions at the Empire and Neptune theatres in her home town of Liverpool. She took 'gap' years before and after university studying at The Northern Ballet School and Laine Theatre Arts and has since put that training to good use in her career as a tax accountant. Pam has been a member of the Tower Theatre for ten years but accountancy exams and her two children, Charlie (also performing in Goodnight Mr Tom) and Max, have kept her from active involvement until now. She is extremely excited to be treading the boards once more in this fast-paced production.
|
 | Over his 20 Tower Company years, Jonathan Norris has somehow got tangled up in about 50 productions, whether acting (Hubbard in Dial M For Murder, Doolittle in Pygmalion); music-directing shows such as A Little Night Music and Guys and Dolls, or otherwise adding music to things, producing from somewhere a trombone to be played in Curiouser and Curiouser, Lark Rise and David Copperfield. Eschewing traditional advice he performed a Morris dance in Lark Rise and taught others to do so for Garden. By day, he and his wife commute in from fashionable Clapton to earn a crust as Administrators of the Company.
|
|
 | Chris Falco is originally from the Big Apple where he was in high school and university productions. His most memorable role is a toss up between doing sets for The Glass Menagerie and playing Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Show. Working as a banker in the City, he is enjoying his first venture into London Musical Theatre. This proud father of two boys, one of whom is in the show, looks forward to future London stage productions.
|
 | Kate Fearnley is the only member of the cast who can remember the Day War Broke Out. Since joining the Tower company in 1989 she has acted in plays from The Mysteries to 5/11, with excursions to the Isle of Wight, Rockport, Massachusetts and the Minack. She was a "Knitting Granny" for Shreddies and often acts in student films.
|
|
 | Helen Guthrie is delighted to be back on stage after playing the title role in Annie and appearing in Caught in the Net. Helen studied ballet and modern dance for many years and was a junior
associate at the Royal Ballet School.
|
 | This is Tashi Dema's first show and she is absolutely loving rehearsals! She would love to be involved in the creative arts in some way in future. Maybe dance or drama. She also enjoys reading, singing and visiting new places.
|
|
 | Mitko Falco is completing his first full year in England, having come to London in early 2013 from Bulgaria, where he had done folk dancing and singing. He loves all types of sports and loves to spend his summers outdoors and in the country, so is happy to imagine he is out of London during rehearsals. He is torn between being a policeman and banker when gets older.
|
 | Charlotte Gordon (known to her friends and family as Charlie) has just turned 6 years old during rehearsals for Goodnight Mr Tom. Charlie loves to dance, sing and act and has attended week-long holiday workshops of Matilda, Bugsy Malone and Les Miserables. She has also been involved in school shows, most recently dressed as a monkey singing "Hey hey we're the monkeys"! Her favourite lesson at school is maths and when she's not working hard she enjoys attending gymnastics classes. Charlie is very excited to be performing in her first Tower Theatre production.
|
|
 | Ezra Roberts has attended Stoke Newington Stagecoach for the past four years and recently gained a distinction in his LAMDA grade two acting exam. Beside music and acting Ezra loves space ... and Lego!
|
 | Jada Jones Jada Jones has really enjoyed rehearsals for Mr Tom and she has even taught her younger sister and brother songs from the show. She enjoys singing, dancing and performing, and loves attending Stagecoach Stoke Newington and the Marmalade Dance Academy. Jada also enjoys playing the saxophone and piano in the School Big Band and orchestra and she has recently
started playing the steel drums! If not showcasing her creative writing skills and masterminding shows for her to perform with her siblings and friends, Jada spends her time singing along to music and putting together outfits. She would love to be an actress/singer/dancer like Jennifer Lopez!
|
|
 | Noah Liddington has danced in productions at Jacksons Lane Theatre. He is enjoying the rehearsals immensely apart from when he has lots of homework. Noah is quite an active person and enjoys all types of sport, particularly karate and basketball. He also enjoys playing his clarinet and will be soon taking piano lessons as well. Noah would like to become an engineer as he loves the programmes How stuff's made and Mythbusters and is keen to invent a new type of bespoke heating system. He has designed this already but doesn't want anyone to know as it is not patented yet!
|
 | Although Louis Millar has been part of the school drama club for the past two years, this is the first time he's branched out beyond the school gates and, he says, he loves it! An ardent fan of Top Gear and all things car-related, it's been difficult to step away from his four-wheeled friends, but the excitement of being involved in Goodnight Mr. Tom has almost made him forget Jeremy Clarkson's very existence. Louis particularly loves singing (usually early on Sunday and Saturday mornings), and has had various musical run-ins with the recorder and the trombone, but he now has his sights firmly set on the oboe in the future.
|
|
 | Alexander Porter is 9 years old (soon to be 10) and has always enjoyed performing. He loves singing and has started to write some songs of his own. He plays piano and violin and enjoys orchestra and jazz band at school, and he sings in the chamber choir. He also wants to learn to play the saxophone. He loves sketching and painting and has a keen interest in all aspects of wildlife and loves animals. He is a big fan of David Attenborough.
|
 | In 27 years as a Tower member Colin Guthrie has musical directed, composed, directed and acted in many shows. Recent shows he has musical directed include David Copperfield, The Boy Friend and Lark Rise. Acting roles have included Mozart in Amadeus, Ian in Shining City, William Cain in Her Naked Skin and, most recently, a Beggar Musician in Dying For It. He has directed many shows including the recent production of The Voysey inheritance, as well as the last play to be produced at the Tower's old home in Canonbury, Strangers on a Train. By day, Colin is a sound engineer for BBC Radio Drama and has directed a number of radio plays, including adapting and directing the first radio production of Peter Nichols' Passion Play.
|
|
 | Allan Stronach has directed fourteen shows at the Tower including Sordid Lives (London & Edinburgh), Calendar Girls, Dead Funny, Road, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Sweeney Todd, Entertaining Mr Sloane and Teechers. With other North London companies he has directed mainly musicals including Oklahoma, Sweet Charity, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Oliver, Me and My Girl, Anything Goes, Half a Sixpence, The Little Shop of Horrors, Mr Cinders, Copacabana and the British Amateur Premiere of Godspell. With the National Youth Theatre he worked as Course Director and as Assistant Director
on Murder in the Cathedral in St. Giles' Cathedral as part of the official Edinburgh International Festival. As a writer Allan adapted the novel Kes into a stage play performed professionally at the Redgrave Theatre, Farnham and the Oldham Coliseum as well as hundreds of schools throughout the UK (and Australia!).
| |||