Tower Theatre Company : Travesties

Travesties

by Tom Stoppard

Directed by Adam Taylor

Tuesday 7th -
Saturday 11th April, 2015

The Tower Theatre performing
at the Bridewell Theatre, off Fleet Street

Photography by Ruth Anthony

Cast
Old Carr : Bob Hough
Young Carr : Dom Ward
James Joyce : Sean McMullan
Tristan Tzara : Alan Madrell
Lenin : Adrian Calvo-Valderrama
Nadya : Sacha Walker
Gwendolen : Camilla Fox
Cecily : Lisa Castle
Bennett : Robert Irvine

Production Team
Director : Adam Taylor
Set Design : Michael Bettell
Costume Design : Jessica Hammett
Lighting Design : Robert Irvine
Sound Design: Laurence Tuerk
Additional Foley Sound : Ruth Sullivan

Stage Manager : Jennifer Kohn
Assistant Director : Lynn Facey
Assistant Stage Managers : Lily Ann Coleman, Annabel Hackett
Lighting Operator : Nigel Oram
Sound Operator : Kaushal Ginige
Set Construction and Get-in : Keith Syrett, Jude Chalk, Michael Bettell, Phillip Ley, John McSpadyen and members of the cast & crew

Bob Hough's fortune has declined since his first role with the Tower Theatre as God in Kleinzeit. Subsequently he has gone downhill: tortured half to death in Death and the Maiden; abandoned in Endgame; kicked and crushed to death respectively in Entertaining Mr Sloane and The Crucible; a heart attack in Baba Shakespeare; but as Blenkinsop in The Doctor's Dilemma he was dragged from death's door by a miracle serum. Will he survive to the end of the evening as the old shabby Carr?

Sacha Walker has appeared over the last year with the Tower as Pattie in Season's Greetings, mum Kath in The Kitchen Sink and the prison guard Shawna in Coyote on a Fence. Previously she appeared as Suffolk in 5/11, Margarita in Dying For It and Mrs Mary McLeavy in Loot. Roles for other companies include Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Madame Arcati in Blithe Spiritand Sian in Dinner. Outside of theatre Sacha works for the advocacy and campaigning organisation ONE.

Lisa Castle has most recently appeared as Joan in After the Dance. Previous roles with the Tower Theatre include Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Nell Gwyn in Playhouse Creatures and Corrie in Barefoot in the Park. Elsewhere : Andi in Your Nation Loves You (Delirium); Nina in The Seagull (Frank Theatre); Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing and Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor (Rooftop Theatre).

Dom Ward joined the Tower by accident, having been press-ganged into a production of The Entertainer in 2001. Having briefly cornered the market in romantic juveniles including roles in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Hot Mikado, Dom went off to train at Mountview. Since then he's broadened his range, playing a range of undesirables from the Devil (Brimstone & Treacle) to Stanley (The Birthday Party). Most recently, Dom was driving our Cecily to suicide as David in After the Dance. When there are no parts to audition for Dom has a go at directing, including Darker Shores, Loot and Coyote on a Fence.

Alan Maddrell played Joe Meek in Tower's production of Telstar in 2014. Previous shows include Dracula, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and Black Comedy (KDC); The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Gross Indecency, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and The Taming of the Shrew (SEDOS). He also co-wrote The War of the Waleses, co-directed The Provoked Wife and directed Ubu Rex for KDC.

Sean McMullan is making his second Tower appearance, following last year's The Producers. Having been overlooked for the "Oirish cops" scene, he is glad to be deploying the accent here. Previous roles include Sidney (Deathtrap), Scapino (Scapino), Charlie (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown), and various personages in Happy as a Sandbag. Sean also plays trumpet in the Morley Big Band.

Adrian Calvo-Valderrama is making his return to the Tower with Travesties. He last appeared as Alexander Kalabushkin in Dying For It in 2013. Prior roles include Dennis in The Voysey Inheritance, the hot-blooded Neville Landless in The Mystery of Edwin Drood!, a prison guard in Her Naked Skin and Polidori in Bloody Poetry. He has been performing with amateur and semi-professional productions since he was 10. He trained at the Cours Simon in Paris.

Travesties is the debut performance for Camilla Fox, one of the newest additions to the Tower Theatre Company. She is embarking on a career in acting and comedy. Other roles include Katherine in When Shakespeare's Ladies Meet, Ashbe Williams in Am I Blue, Alice in Closer, amongst other short film and commercial roles. She trained in Acting and Physical Theatre at St Mary's University London.

Robert Irvine first acted in America at the age of seven as Second Page in the Tower's production of As You Like It. He followed this with a number of memorable performances in various shows including Boy, Houseboy, Messenger, Guest at the Wedding and Also Appearing, but due to more recent poor casting decisions, this is the first time Rob has acted in 17 years. In the intervening years he has been doing Lighting, Stage Management and Directing.

	Bob Hough's fortune has declined since his first role with the Tower Theatre as God in Kleinzeit. Subsequently he has gone downhill: tortured half to death in Death and the Maiden; abandoned in Endgame; kicked and crushed to death respectively in Entertaining Mr Sloane and The Crucible; a heart attack in Baba Shakespeare; but as Blenkinsop in The Doctor's Dilemma he was dragged from death's door by a miracle serum. Will he survive to the end of the evening as the old shabby Carr?			Sacha Walker has appeared over the last year with the Tower as Pattie in Season's Greetings, mum Kath in The Kitchen Sink and the prison guard Shawna in Coyote on a Fence. Previously she appeared as Suffolk in 5/11, Margarita in Dying For It and Mrs Mary McLeavy in Loot. Roles for other companies include Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Madame Arcati in Blithe Spiritand Sian in Dinner. Outside of theatre Sacha works for the advocacy and campaigning organisation ONE.
	Lisa Castle has most recently appeared as Joan in After the Dance. Previous roles with the Tower Theatre include Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Nell Gwyn in Playhouse Creatures and Corrie in Barefoot in the Park. Elsewhere : Andi in Your Nation Loves You (Delirium); Nina in The Seagull (Frank Theatre); Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing and Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor (Rooftop Theatre).			Dom Ward joined the Tower by accident, having been press-ganged into a production of The Entertainer in 2001. Having briefly cornered the market in romantic juveniles including roles in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Hot Mikado, Dom went off to train at Mountview. Since then he's broadened his range, playing a range of undesirables from the Devil (Brimstone & Treacle) to Stanley (The Birthday Party). Most recently, Dom was driving our Cecily to suicide as David in After the Dance. When there are no parts to audition for Dom has a go at directing, including Darker Shores, Loot and Coyote on a Fence.
	Alan Maddrell played Joe Meek in Tower's production of Telstar in 2014. Previous shows include Dracula, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and Black Comedy (KDC); The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Gross Indecency, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and The Taming of the Shrew (SEDOS). He also co-wrote The War of the Waleses, co-directed The Provoked Wife and directed Ubu Rex for KDC.			Sean McMullan is making his second Tower appearance, following last year's The Producers. Having been overlooked for the "Oirish cops" scene, he is glad to be deploying the accent here. Previous roles include Sidney (Deathtrap), Scapino (Scapino), Charlie (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown), and various personages in Happy as a Sandbag. Sean also plays trumpet in the Morley Big Band.
	Adrian Calvo-Valderrama is making his return to the Tower with Travesties. He last appeared as Alexander Kalabushkin in Dying For It in 2013. Prior roles include Dennis in The Voysey Inheritance, the hot-blooded Neville Landless in The Mystery of Edwin Drood!, a prison guard in Her Naked Skin and Polidori in Bloody Poetry. He has been performing with amateur and semi-professional productions since he was 10. He trained at the Cours Simon in Paris.			Travesties is the debut performance for Camilla Fox, one of the newest additions to the Tower Theatre Company. She is embarking on a career in acting and comedy. Other roles include Katherine in When Shakespeare's Ladies Meet, Ashbe Williams in Am I Blue, Alice in Closer, amongst other short film and commercial roles. She trained in Acting and Physical Theatre at St Mary's University London.
	Robert Irvine first acted in America at the age of seven as Second Page in the Tower's production of As You Like It. He followed this with a number of memorable performances in various shows including Boy, Houseboy, Messenger, Guest at the Wedding and Also Appearing, but due to more recent poor casting decisions, this is the first time Rob has acted in 17 years. In the intervening years he has been doing Lighting, Stage Management and Directing.