Sleepless Theatre Company

Production Team

Director: Helena Jackson - see 'About' section here

Co-Producers:

Charlotte Vickers is a second year English student at Pembroke College. She is currently the associate producer/production advisor onThe Fairy Queen (Oxford Playhouse, TT16), and in her first year produced Never Mind Where Your Daughter Lies (Keble O'Reilly, TT15). During her time at Oxford she has directed Playhouse Creatures (BT Studio, MT15), assistant directed The Master and Margarita (St John’s Gardens, MT15) and assistant directed RENT (Oxford Playhouse, HT16).  In her first year she also assistant directed Jekyll and Hyde (Pichette Auditorium, Pembroke, TT15) and directed her college cuppers production (BT, MT14). Before coming to university she directed a production of The Hound of the Baskervilles at the Edinburgh Fringe (August 2014) and assistant directed the Lichfield Garrick Youth Theatre’s production of The Phantom of the Opera (Lichfield Garrick, March 2014). 

Annie Williams is a first year English Literature student at the University of Manchester. She most recently worked backstage on Lion Man (Hope Mill Theatre), a production which won Best Production, amongst other awards, at the 2016 Manchester In Fringe Theatre Awards. Annie is currently directing her original short film Frames through the University of Manchester Filmmaking Society, having worked on short film Hostage through the same group in 2015. She has previously played the roles of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Rosencrantz in Hamlet and The Player in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. The Master and Margarita will be her first time co-producing a play.

Dramaturg: Alexander Hartley is a second-year English and German student at The Queen’s College, Oxford. In January, he directed the sell-out The Fastest Clock in the Universe at the Burton Taylor Studio. His play ‘Leave the man alone’ was longlisted in the National Theatre’s ‘New Views’ play-writing competition; his ‘Sappho in Palestine’ was staged in Oxford in 2014, and his latest play, ‘Me and Mike’, will be put on in Oxford next term. He is outgoing editor of The ISIS, the UK’s oldest student magazine, and is a published poet and winner of the Simon Powell Prize. For his translations of German poetry, he was awarded the Grayling Prize. He is currently also working on a new stage adaptation of Chekhov’s ‘The Three Sisters’.

Designer: Zoe Brennan has assistant designed on eight productions. This includes The Life After (Bristol Old Vic Theatre Royal), Talon, The Tinderbox, Wodwo, The Light Burns Blue, St Joan of the Stockyard (BOV Studio) and Eloise and the curse of the Golden Whisk (The Bikeshed Theatre, Exeter). She has also design collaborated with the Wardrobe Ensemble on Starseekers (The Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol) and contributed artwork for their zine. She was selected to take part on a design development weekend at the National Theatre and has assisted on the Mayfest 2016 cover image shoot. She also contributes to film and feminism blog, Screen Queen (https://screenqueens.wordpress.com) and contributed text and artwork for their published zine.

Composer: Matt Pope (see below)

Production Assistant: Anna Livesey is a second year English student at St Catherine’s College. In her first year she performed as a farcical Lady Macbeth in her College Drama Cuppers entry, and was an ASM for an Outdoor Production of Medea in Christ Church Gardens. She has continued to work backstage as an ASM for Pentecost (Playhouse, MT15) and Rendezvous in Queen’s College auditorium. She is currently Production Managing The Fairy Queen (Playhouse, TT16). Anna is also a regular reviewer for Oxford’s theatre-reviewing platform Oxford Opening Night.

Press and PR: Since graduating, Alex Wood has worked in central London as a marketing executive at LoopMe, a mobile video advertising platform. Executive by day and press contact by night, he works as a contributor for Theatre Bubble, the national reviews website. Last year he marketed the award-winning National Tour of Around the World in 80 Days, including a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015. Before this he coordinated the marketing campaigns for over a dozen student performances at a variety of venues, including West Side Story, The History Boys, and the first gender blind adaptation of The Pillowman, all at the Oxford Playhouse. He has written a number of his own plays, including Stricken, read at the Burton Taylor Studio.

Cast

Gwenno Jones has just completed her 2nd year studying Chemistry at Oxford University. During her time at Oxford she has performed in ‘RENT’ and ‘Singin’ in the rain’ at the Oxford Playhouse, ‘Playhouse Creatures’ and ‘A Sense of Falling’ at the BT studio, ‘A Doll’s House’ at the Keble O’reilly Theatre, ‘Into the woods’ and ‘Master and Margarita’ in various college gardens.

Jonny trained at Guildford School of Acting and is now in his first year at Oxford studying Modern Languages. His recent appearances on stage include: Dunsinane, Much Ado About Nothing (Mask Theatre, 2014) Twelfth Night, King Lear (Mask Theatre and RSC Open Stages, 2014 and 2015), Doctor Faustus (GSA, 2015), Jeremy Kyle Does Shakespeare (Mask Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2015), and the HighTide Festival’s New Writing Showcase (Aldeburgh Festival, 2015). Since arriving at Oxford, Jonny has appeared in The Will of Lady Summers,The Changing of the Guard, Ballyturk and Fiabe Italiane.

Georgia Figgis is a second year undergraduate studying English at Worcester College. Since coming to Oxford, she has acted in a number of productions, including Bliss (Ashmolean Museum, MT13), The Grandfathers Worcester Cuppers (BT, MT13), for which she won Best Director and was nominated for Best Actress, The Hypochondriac (O’Reilly, MT13), In Her Eyes (BT, HT14), A Night To Remember (St. John’s Auditorium, HT14), Romeo and Juliet (Michael Pilch Studio, TT14), Henry V (Worcester College gardens, MT14), As I Said (Ashmolean Museum, HT15), King Lear (O’Reilly, HT15), Passion (O’Reilly, TT15), Yesterday (BT, TT15), the short film Sally, and Singin’ In The Rain (Oxford Playhouse, MT15). She has also been producer for A Servant of Two Masters (Worcester College, HT14), assistant producer and marketing manager for Noises Off (Oxford Playhouse, HT15), and marketing manager for Creditors (BT, TT15). Most recently, she directed RENT (Oxford Playhouse, HT16), and will co-direct Twelfth Night with Sir Jonathan Bate (Worcester College gardens, TT16). Before Oxford, she has acted professionally in productions including Sand Between the Toes (The Polish Theatre, Hammersmith) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium), and has toured to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with PULSE Theatre Company’s production of The Ash Girl.

Rosa Garland is an English Language & Literature student in her first year at Jesus College. She has been involved in various local productions in the North East over the last several years, taking on diverse roles such as the Maniac in Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Feste in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Lady Montague in Romeo and Juliet, multi-role playing in Jim Cartwright’s Road, and, more recently, multi-role playing in a rehearsed reading of Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls as part of Oxford University’s Turl Street Arts Festival, and Lady Bracknell in the Magdalen College garden production of The Importance of Being Ernest in Trinity term 2016. She has also been involved in several musicals, playing Eponine in Les Miserables with Day8 Productions, and chorus roles in Oliver, Miss Saigon and We Will Rock You, as well as devising an experimental feminist piece performed in 2015 at Whitley Bay High School, incorporating musical and physical elements into an exploration of the young female experience in today’s society.

Beth Evans is a first year historian at St Anne’s College, Oxford University. She is currently part of the OUDS Standing Committee and has taken part in several theatrical productions during her time at Oxford thus far. She co-wrote and directed Wires (BT Studio) as part of Cuppers, acted in Valuables (Simpkins Lee Theatre), was the hair and makeup artist for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (O’Reilly), and played the role of Naz in Mercury Fur (Michael Pilch Studio). She will play the role of Duke in the upcoming production of Fairy Queen (Oxford Playhouse) and will assistant direct Fahrenheit 451 (Michael Pilch Studio). Previous acting qualifications include: LAMDA Gold Medal Monologue and Duologue (Distinction).

Tyler Holland trained at LAMDA graduating in 2015. He is now currently studying at Manchester University. Recent credits include: Chip Tolentino; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (University of Manchester Musical Theatre Society). Jon; The Garden (University of Manchester Drama Society) Tyler; 'TYLER' (Self credited short film- University of Manchester) Credits whilst training include: Konstantin in 'The Seagull', Claudio in 'Much Ado About Nothing', Peter in 'Goodnight Children, Everywhere' and John in 'Polar Bears'. Tyler is jubilant to be working with Sleepless Theatre Productions and making his debut at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival in The Master and Margarita.

Iona Purvis is a Music and Drama student in her first year of study at the University of Manchester. She has participated in a variety of theatre productions both professional and amateur, recently taking on a chorus role in the premier of Kevin Malone’s contemporary Opera ‘Mysterious 44’ and performing for NYMT in their production of the ‘Dance Connection’. She has a great love for community theatre, being involved in many of her local productions including playing ‘Miranda’ in ‘Return to The Forbidden Planet’ in which she was nominated for a national award. She also has a passion for classical singing being a member of the Nation Youth Choir of Great Britain for many years and recently performing for ‘Christmas Carols on ITV’.

James Blake-Butler worked as both an actor and musical director while studying at college, performing the role of Posthumous in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, and acting as Musical Director for an adaptation of the ballet Coppélia. After further education, James joined FreeRange Productions as Creative Director where he performed a number of roles including Dr Crippen in The Three Faces of Dr Crippen, Freakshow in Montmorency, and Not Gay Ray in Bea. He went on to join Wholehog Theatre in the stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke, performing the role of Kohroku, and Okkotto (puppeteer) in both London and Tokyo. Following this, he went on to play George in George’s Marvellous Medicine with Hotel Teatro, as well as working as Musical Director for productions of The Red Balloon, and Twelfth Night at the Birmingham REP. While at university he has taken the role of Deltoid/Ensemble in A Clockwork Orange. James is currently studying music at the University of Manchester, with a focus on classical guitar and composition. 

Matt Pope was a good enough child actor for preparatory school and could rely on taking a lead role in the school play year on year for his final two years. His teacher Miss Smith stupidly wrote in the review for her production of ‘Tutankhamun – The Musical’ of Matt’s haunting solo, and Matt received the best applause and most whoops for his portrayal of Veruca Salt in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, back in Summer 2006. After moving school because he passed the 11+ Matt took a hiatus from acting to be normal at his grammar school. He might never have acted again but for his friend’s auditioning for ‘Les Miserables’, so Matt did it too because it would be ‘jokes’ and ‘easy’. Assuming he was destined to play Marius, Matt was crestfallen when all he could land was Courfreyrac who ‘took the watch’, failed at his position, was one of the first to fall in the fight for the barricade, and died with his back to the enemy. Since being a music student at The University of Manchester Matt has been the only student in Manchester University history to perform as an Opera chorus member three years in a row: 2014 – The Marriage of Figaro, 2015 – Acis and Galatea, 2016 – Castor and Pollux. Matt is grateful to all those people who have vision so that he does not have to bother with it. Matt is excited to perform in a show as literary and cool as The Master and Margarita, and was one of the first of the cast to read the book, and the last to send in his bio.