The Company
JULIAN BIRD (Jean Meslier)
Julian comes from a theatre family. During medical training at Cambridge and later in London he directed and acted in several plays and reviews. After many years as a physician and psychiatrist he then trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He presents master classes in communication skill for professional groups on both sides of the Atlantic. Acting credits include the psychiatrist in ‘ Dazed and Abused’ which was a sell out hit at the 2004 Edinburgh Fringe and then in London and also at the DVF Studio in New York.
PRENTIS HANCOCK (Claude Buffier)
Glasgow-born Prentis is celebrating 40 years in the business. He had an early success in the title-role Me McKenna [BBC2] was followed by dozens of regular performances in TV series including, Spy Trap, SPACE:1999 and numerous Dr Who stories. Hundreds of film and television roles, from Colditz to Kapatoo, through Bergerac to The Bill, included Scottish Television's award-winning The Bubble Boy [Sue Glover] – a subsequent offer of a trilogy of ‘Taggart’ was lost to the previously signed highly successful children’s series Chocky for Thames TV.
ANGELA KOO (Delphine Solange)
Angela trained at the London Centre for Theatre Studies. With playwright John Farndon she set up the theatre company Animus and performed in Mad for Love (Riverside Studios), The Naked Guest (The Pleasance, Edinburgh Festival) and Numismata (The Bridewell). Other theatre includes Cloud Nine (Jermyn St), and She Stoops to Conquer, The Seagull and Habeus Corpus – all for The Actors Company. Film and television includes: A Very Social Secretary, Story of J.M. Barrie and Marlin Bay.
COLIN BREWER (Producer)
Colin worked as a ship’s doctor before specialising in psychiatry. Reading about Meslier as a medical student, he remained interested. Now retired, he is doing a history MA at Birkbeck. Like many doctors (and Voltaire) he finds the concept of benevolent deities unconvincing.
DAVID HALL (Writer)
Brought up in Belfast, David attended Methodist College Belfast. He studied philosophy at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, from where he graduated in 2005. It was while at university that he first began to write for the stage. His first play Cross Road Blues, a dark take on the legends surrounding blues singer Robert Johnson, was first performed at Cambridge’s historic ADC theatre in 2003. It was followed by The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady a year later, which takes its title from a work by the jazz composer Charles Mingus. Both plays were presented at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival fringe, receiving five-star reviews and sell-out audiences. Cross Road Blues is currently being developed for a large scale performance to debut in October 2006.
DAVID ROYLANCE (Director)
David Roylance moved to London to train as an actor in 1990 and trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Since leaving David started and ran his own company, The Ravens Twilight where he directed and produced Meir Z Ribalow’s Sundance and a devised project Ulcerville. He also produced a site specific project The Ossian Project which was directed by John Mitchell.
David has worked extensively as a director at both Guildhall School and Rose Bruford College as well as having long term contracts teaching with Kaleidoscope Theatre School, Uxbridge and Showshack Theatre School, Farnham.
He has also worked as the central director for Golden Egg Productions for the past 7 years directing pantomime on a yearly basis as well as devising and directing literacy-based projects for key stage 1 and 2 and touring productions of Shakespeare and Priestley. He has also worked in Germany for White Horse, English Speaking touring theatre and for the drama department of Erlangen University developing avant-garde theatre projects involving young people for the Arena Festival. He has also trained as a director with Yukio Ninagawa and the Ninagawa Company in Tokyo.
David has performed for the Edinburgh Fringe several times and has directed The Curse of Iain Banks for Alexander Lennox Productions and DQ Blues for Theatre Maketa, both at the Guilded Balloon.
Last year David wass Associate Director for the New Farnham Repertory Company and directed Racing Demon.
David also works as a personal development coach, teaching presence and voice and communication skills, through the companies White Water Strategies and Presentability.
Claudette Flint
Our sincere thanks must go to Claudette Flint, who has been an invaluable source of knowledge and ideas throughout the development of the play.
JULIAN BIRD (Jean Meslier)
Julian comes from a theatre family. During medical training at Cambridge and later in London he directed and acted in several plays and reviews. After many years as a physician and psychiatrist he then trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He presents master classes in communication skill for professional groups on both sides of the Atlantic. Acting credits include the psychiatrist in ‘ Dazed and Abused’ which was a sell out hit at the 2004 Edinburgh Fringe and then in London and also at the DVF Studio in New York.
PRENTIS HANCOCK (Claude Buffier)
Glasgow-born Prentis is celebrating 40 years in the business. He had an early success in the title-role Me McKenna [BBC2] was followed by dozens of regular performances in TV series including, Spy Trap, SPACE:1999 and numerous Dr Who stories. Hundreds of film and television roles, from Colditz to Kapatoo, through Bergerac to The Bill, included Scottish Television's award-winning The Bubble Boy [Sue Glover] – a subsequent offer of a trilogy of ‘Taggart’ was lost to the previously signed highly successful children’s series Chocky for Thames TV.
ANGELA KOO (Delphine Solange)
Angela trained at the London Centre for Theatre Studies. With playwright John Farndon she set up the theatre company Animus and performed in Mad for Love (Riverside Studios), The Naked Guest (The Pleasance, Edinburgh Festival) and Numismata (The Bridewell). Other theatre includes Cloud Nine (Jermyn St), and She Stoops to Conquer, The Seagull and Habeus Corpus – all for The Actors Company. Film and television includes: A Very Social Secretary, Story of J.M. Barrie and Marlin Bay.
COLIN BREWER (Producer)
Colin worked as a ship’s doctor before specialising in psychiatry. Reading about Meslier as a medical student, he remained interested. Now retired, he is doing a history MA at Birkbeck. Like many doctors (and Voltaire) he finds the concept of benevolent deities unconvincing.
DAVID HALL (Writer)
Brought up in Belfast, David attended Methodist College Belfast. He studied philosophy at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, from where he graduated in 2005. It was while at university that he first began to write for the stage. His first play Cross Road Blues, a dark take on the legends surrounding blues singer Robert Johnson, was first performed at Cambridge’s historic ADC theatre in 2003. It was followed by The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady a year later, which takes its title from a work by the jazz composer Charles Mingus. Both plays were presented at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival fringe, receiving five-star reviews and sell-out audiences. Cross Road Blues is currently being developed for a large scale performance to debut in October 2006.
DAVID ROYLANCE (Director)
David Roylance moved to London to train as an actor in 1990 and trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Since leaving David started and ran his own company, The Ravens Twilight where he directed and produced Meir Z Ribalow’s Sundance and a devised project Ulcerville. He also produced a site specific project The Ossian Project which was directed by John Mitchell.
David has worked extensively as a director at both Guildhall School and Rose Bruford College as well as having long term contracts teaching with Kaleidoscope Theatre School, Uxbridge and Showshack Theatre School, Farnham.
He has also worked as the central director for Golden Egg Productions for the past 7 years directing pantomime on a yearly basis as well as devising and directing literacy-based projects for key stage 1 and 2 and touring productions of Shakespeare and Priestley. He has also worked in Germany for White Horse, English Speaking touring theatre and for the drama department of Erlangen University developing avant-garde theatre projects involving young people for the Arena Festival. He has also trained as a director with Yukio Ninagawa and the Ninagawa Company in Tokyo.
David has performed for the Edinburgh Fringe several times and has directed The Curse of Iain Banks for Alexander Lennox Productions and DQ Blues for Theatre Maketa, both at the Guilded Balloon.
Last year David wass Associate Director for the New Farnham Repertory Company and directed Racing Demon.
David also works as a personal development coach, teaching presence and voice and communication skills, through the companies White Water Strategies and Presentability.
Claudette Flint
Our sincere thanks must go to Claudette Flint, who has been an invaluable source of knowledge and ideas throughout the development of the play.
Sweet at the Edinburgh College of Art (Venue 186)
8.30pm, 14th-27th August - Box Office 0870 241 0136
8.30pm, 14th-27th August - Box Office 0870 241 0136
| Text only / Print Version |