Company Biographies

Iain Christie Writer

Bingo Star is the first full length play that Iain has had produced. He prepared for it by working as Head of Marketing at Liverpool’s Royal Court for almost twenty years. He took part in the theatre’s Stage Write Playwright Development Programme in 2021, which led directly to this opportunity. He co-wrote Nige’s Guide To The Capital Of Culture at Unity Theatre in 2007. He has also written another stage play, Overmorrow, and a number of shopping lists.

Emma Bird Director

Emma has directed critically acclaimed productions at Brighton, Manchester and Liverpool Fringe Festivals. Notable recent productions are New Dawn Fades: A Play about Joy Division and Manchester by Brian Gorman, (Dancehouse Theatre, Manchester 2018); King of the World by Brian Coyle (Liverpool & Manchester Fringe Festivals, 2018); Two by Jim Cartwright (Manchester Fringe Festival 2018); Bleeding with Mother by Sarah Cassidy (53Two, Manchester 2017); We Apologise for the Inconvenience by Mark Griffiths, (3MT, Manchester, 2017); A Passion for Rationals (Sara Harris, Brighton Fringe Festival 2014); Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo; Hey Bunny Get Loose and Stocking Fillers (Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio)..

Emma began her acting career in 1990. Featuring in a lead role alongside Pete Postlethwaite, in BBC screenplay, Needle. Written by Jimmy McGovern and directed by Gillies MacKinnon. She was series regular Maxine Price in Casualty (1992). Short films and features followed through her work with director Sandra Goldbacher in Seventeen (with Rachel Weisz, 1996), Piccadilly Circus by Night and The Governess (with Minnie Driver, 1997).

Notable theatre work includes The Good Hope alongside Frances de la Tour at The Royal National Theatre and UK tour, (2002); David Mamet’s Oleanna (Norwich Playhouse) and The Woods (The Finborough Theatre); Educating Rita (Norwich Playhouse) and Terms of Abuse (Hampstead Theatre).

Emma founded Liverpool Comedy Improv in 2015 teaching mprovisation to all. www.liverpoolcomedyimprov.co.uk

Howard Gray Musical Director

For the Royal Court, Howard has been the Musical Director for Homebaked,Lennon, Our Day Out, You’ll Never Walk Alone,

Eight Miles High, Sons Of The Desert, Council Depot Blues, Reds And Blues, Brick Up The Mersey Tunnels, The Scouse Nativity, Maggie May, The Scouse Cinderella and Scouse Pacific amongst many others. He has also directed two Royal Court Christmas shows Pharaoh ’Cross The Mersey and Scouse Of The Antarctic and subsequently tours of One Night In Istanbul and Celtic The Musical He has been associate artist at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton and was musical director for Blonde Bombshells Of 1943, a co-production with Hampstead Theatre, which won the Manchester Evening News Best Production for 2006. The show has subsequently toured nationally and internationally.

Other work at the Octagon includes: Looking For Buddy, Little Voice, Once Upon A Time In Wigan, Oh What A Lovely War, The Song Of Singapore, Danny, Champion Of The World, and I Just Stopped By To See The Man.

At the Coliseum Theatre in Oldham: Bread And Roses, The Ladykillers, Our Gracie, Close The Coalhouse Door, Martha, Josie And The Chinese Elvis, Dick Barton Special Agent, Union Street, Women On The Verge Of HRT, Private Lives, Feed, The Road To Nab End, Sweet Charity, and Brassed Off. Also a hatful of rock’n’roll muiscals and pantomimes.

At the New Vic in Stoke: A Taste Of Honey, The Admirable Crichton, and Spring And Port Wine amongst many others.

Other work includes any number of pantos at the Liverpool Everyman and Harrogate Theatre.

Howard has worked on two of Dave Kirby’s films, Fifteen Minutes That Shook The World and Reds And Blues.

Plus productions at Opera North, the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Royal Exchange, Theatre Clywd, Coventry Belgrade, Worcester Swan, York Theatre Royal, Lancaster Dukes, Live Theatre Newcastle and Stephen Joseph Scarborough.

Howard is the creative director of Alterean Media.

Olivia Du Monceau Designer

Olivia du Monceau is a North West based Set and Costume designer. Alongside theatre she has created designs for exhibitions, events and art installations. Recent theatre collaborations include New Vic Theatre, HOME Mcr, Nottingham Playhouse, Southwark Playhouse, and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Liverpool Culture Company. This is her 8th design for the Liverpool Royal Court with previous shows including Father O’Flaherty, Lonesome West, A Miracle on Great Homer Street, Yellow Breck Road, My Fairfield Lady, Scouse Snow White and Royal Court Selection Box, Scouse Sleeping Beauty and Homebaked. Example of her work can be found at www. oliviadumonceau.com

Douglas Kuhrt

Lighting Designer

Douglas has recently lit: Unfortunate (We Are Fat Rascal); Robin Hood and the Babes in The Wood (Oldham Coliseum); Strange Tale (Imaginarium, Shakespeare North); Masquerade (Epstien) Robin Hood (Liverpool Everyman); Peter Pan (Eden Court, Inverness); Greeks (Unicorn)

Other credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, Puss in Boots (CBeebies); The Pitmen Painters (The Duchess Theatre, National Theatre and Broadway); Cinderella (Eden Court, Inverness); A Christmas Carol (Liverpool Playhouse); The Importance of Being Earnest (Lawrence Batley Theatre); Stiletto Beach (Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch); Two Pence to Cross The Mersey, Lennons Banjo (Epstein); They Don’t Pay, We Won’t Pay (Northern Broadsides); I Told My Mum I Was Going On An R.E. Trip (20 Stories High); The Broke N Beat Collective (Theatre Rites/20 Stories High); 19 x Rock N Roll pantos (Liverpool Everyman); 7 x Pantos (Oldham Coliseum); Last Of The Duty Free, Black Coffee (Bill Kenwright Ltd); Black, Whole (20 Stories High); The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice (Hull Truck Theatre); Pinocchio (Polka Theatre); Road Movie (Starving Artists), Educating Rita (Citizens Theatre, Glasgow); Geoff Dead: Disco for Sale (Live Theatre, Newcastle); Depth Charge (Gecko Theatre);The Deranged Marriage (Rifco); Tom, Dick and Harry (Duke of York’s Theatre, London); Zipp! (Duchess Theatre, London); Fascinating Aida (Theatre Royal Haymarket); Home and Beauty (Lyric Theatre, London); Dreaming (Queen’s Theatre Shaftesbury Avenue, London) and Naked Justice (West Yorkshire Playhouse).

Kate Harvey

Sound Designer

A list of sound credits include:

Corporate/Outdoor : Labour, Conservative, NUT, TUC and many more conferences. Various exhibitions. Symphony in the Park (Hoghton Tower) Liverpool Theatre Festival (Bill Elms Productions).

TV: Stan James World Match Dartsplay (Sky Sports), Strictly Ballroom (ITV), Danny La Rue (BBC), Spirit of Shankly (Granada DVD).

Cruises : P&O World Cruises, Island Cruises, Celebrity.

Arena : Hot Ice (Stageworks Worldwide Productions); You’ll Never Walk Alone (Alterean Media and Liverpool FC).

Music: The Christians, Chesney Hawkes, Sinita, Slade, Bad Manners, Toyah, Limahl, Cream UK Tour, Petula Clarke, Bobby Crush, East 17, Liberty X, Jane McDonald, Coldplay.

Comedy: Jason Mansford, Peter Kay, Roy Walker, Norman Wisdom, Jim Bowen, Brian Conley, Brendan O’Carroll, Paddy McGuiness.

Live Theatre: Aladdin and Sleeping Beauty (King Georges Hall, Blackburn); Mystique (Stageworks); Original TV Comedians (Blackpool Opera House); Paul Zerdin (Paradise Room Blackpool); Flags (Manchester Exchange); Mam I’m ’Ere (Life in Theatre); Eight Miles High, Council Depot Blues, Bouncers, Night Collar, Our Day Out, Shirley Valentine, Reds and Blues, Lennon, Noises Off, Canoeing for Beginners, Lost Soul, Golden Oldies, The Royal, Scouse

Nativity, Girls Don’t Play Guitars (Royal Court Liverpool); Twopence To Cross The Mersey and By The Waters of Liverpool (Pulse Records); Shout! (Max Emmerson Productions); Out of Order and It Runs In The Family (Ray Cooney Comedy Company); Bang Bang (A production for John Cleese at Mercury Theatre, Colchester); Omnibus (Unity Theatre); Judy & Liza National Tour (Produced by Royal Court Liverpool); A Midsummer Nights Dream (Filter Theatre Company/Lyric Hammersmith); Grimm Tales (Dukes Theatre Lancaster).

Jamie Jenkin

Video Designer

Jamie is the in-house graphic and video designer at Liverpool’s Royal Court. Starting as marketing assistant at the theatre in 2005, he has designed artwork for over 100 shows.

Video Designs for Theatre include:

Willy Russell’s Our Day Out - The Musical, A Fistul Of Collars, Lennon, Ladies Day, Hitchhikers Guide to Fazakerley, Ladies Night, Canoeing for Beginners, The Scouse Nativity, Father O’Flaherty Saves Our Souls, A Miracle On Great Homer Street, Home, Going Halves, The Royal, The Scouse Cinderella, My Fairfield Lady, Royal Court Selection Box, Macca & Beth, The Scouse Sleeping Beauty, The Menlove Avenue Murder Mystery, The Scousetrap, The Scouse

Jack & The Beanstalk and Girls Don’t Play Guitars (Liverpool’s Royal Court); Masquerade, Knee Deep In Promises, Hey Bunny Get Loose and Stocking Fillers (Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio); Cured (Liverpool’s Royal Court in association with DaDaFest & Unlimited); The Dream Team and VR Family (Liverpool’s Royal Court Youth Theatre); Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Liverpool Shakespeare Festival); Scouse: A Comedy Of Terrors (Dome Liverpool); Judy & Liza (National Tour); YNWA (Alterean Productions, international tour); The Big I Am (Liverpool Everyman); Celtic The Musical (Alterean Productions, Pavilion Theatre Glasgow and SEC Glasgow); Something About George (Something About Productions, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and national tour); The Salford Docker (Salford Community Theatre, Lighthouse Salford); Our Country’s Good (Hope St Theatre); and Peter Pan (Storyhouse Chester). Jamie was also Sound Designer on Hey Bunny Get Loose, Offered Up and Stocking Fillers (Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio) and Our Country’s Good (Hope St Theatre).

Natasha Gooden

Choreographer

A part of the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony as a professional dancer, X Factor with JLS & One Direction, Mish B ‘Home Run’ Music Video, Ministry Of Sound advert; The House The Garage Built (UK tour) as a dancer with Diversity, performed on Strictly Come Dancing, Got To Dance Sky1 finalists with girl crew Boadicea.

West End/Theatre shows include: Some Like it Hip Hop (UK Tour - Zoonation Kate Prince Company); Into The Hoods Remixed (UK Tour - Zoonation Kate Prince Company); Varmints (Sadlers Wells Theatre); Message In A Bottle (European tour - Zoonation Kate Prince Company); BWG (Touring UK, New York, Germany & Taiwan - Boy Blue Entertainment Company, Kenrick H2o Sandy); Eve’s Story (Royal Court Theatre Liverpool); NeverLand (Tuckshopdancetheatre - Lauren Tucker).

Marie Jones

Wardrobe Supervisor

Marie studied fashion and then moved on to theatre costume interpretation at Mabel Fletcher College. Marie’s work as a freelance costumier has included costumes for Oldham Coliseum, The Royal Exchange, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Jimmy McGovern’s film Liam, Beyond Friendship for Mersey Television and the many pantomime dames who have appeared on the Everyman stage.

She has worked extensively at the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and has recently been employed as full time Wardrobe Supervisor at the Royal Court. Most recently Marie’s work at the Everyman and Playhouse has included: Much Ado About Nothing, The Electric Hills, The Flint Street Nativity, The Tempest, Unprotected, Billy Liar, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe, Urban Legend, Fly, Breezeblock Park, The Entertainer, Still Life And The Astonished Heart, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Anniversary, Dr Faustus, The May Queen, Cruel Sea and All My Sons.

Marie’s other credits include: Brick Up The Mersey Tunnels, Lost Soul, Good Golly Miss Molly, Stags and Hens - The Remix, On The Ledge, Misery, Eight Miles High, Council Depot Blues, Night Collar, Dirty Dusting, Shirley Valentine, Our Day Out - The Musical, The Salon, Funny Money, Merry Ding Dong, A Fistul Of Collars, Lucky Numbers, Lennon, Scouse Pacific, You’ll Never Walk Alone, Little Scouse on the Prairie, Reds And Blues - The Musical, Ladies Day, Bouncers, Scouse Of The Antarctic, Pharaoh ‘Cross The Mersey and Down The Dock Road for Royal Court Liverpool, Brouhaha International Street Festival, Working Class Hero on the recent Imagine DVD, Costume Supervisor for many shows at LIPA, The Splash Project at MYPT and Twopence To Cross The Mersey at the Liverpool Empire.

Brown • Director Bob Eaton

9 June to 8 July 2023 Tickets from £15