Rough Girls 2021 Programme

By Tara Lynne O’Neill

Directed by Kimberley Sykes

The game is changing. Every step of the way.

FROM

JIMMY FAY, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

The Lyric is delighted to be presenting the world premiere of Tara Lynne O’Neill’s first play, Rough Girls. Tara Lynne’s play is a glorious recreation of a forgotten period of Belfast history, the formation of the first female football team here during a time of crisis (The Great War), through its celebration of holding everyone in esteem, whatever their background or religious beliefs, to its unfair and dishearting disbandment in the 1920s by the male-focused football organisation.

Tara Lynne’s play is about more than football. It’s also about theatre, the vibrancy, urgency and sheer enjoyment of being a spectator and on the field, playing, passing, and reliant on your fellow participants to get to the goal. These past 18 months of isolation and fear of the Coronavirus have left us all bereft of the wonders of live theatre, the pleasure in companionship and being part of a communal act. It was wonderful to open Dracula, our Drama Studio production, and watch a new generation of actors emerge onto our main stage. With Rough Girls the director Kimberley Sykes and designer Ciaran Bagnall have responded to the challenges of Tara Lynne’s play and transformed the Lyric Theatre into a large and expectant arena that allows the audience onto the pitch and to experience the Lyric in a way it never has before.

Hopefully, we are getting back to some new normal after this extended episode of shutdown.

As I write, I have no idea if we will be allowed to have full capacity audiences in our theatre this side of Christmas. We need to remain vigilant of what we have learnt throughout the pandemic, including how reliant we are on each other, how much we need to

experience some things collectively to have meaning and how we need to keep each other safe. It’s a lesson that Rough Girls the play teaches us; that vision and tenacity, respect and care, and connectivity with each other makes us. It also displays how fires lit in one generation can burn bright down the line. Look at the massive success of the Northern Ireland female football team. How it has risen from the ashes and, through persistence and extraordinary skill and talent, has energised us with new hope and belief for the future. History repeats, sometimes in a more hopeful way.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the entire Lyric staff and board for the courage and brilliance each of them displayed in these past difficult months. also want to say how grateful we all are to our many benefactors and supporters for their belief in this theatre, especially in the darkest months. It is life-affirming. I want to thank our audiences, thank you for buying a ticket, thank you for donating, thank you for your belief in the vibrant energy of this theatre. To keep a fully functioning professional producing theatre alive in our city is down to you, our audience, to the talent that exists here, to our Arts Council, to our entire community of benefactors, artists, and spectators. And a special mention to Electric Ireland and Garfield Weston for their support for this production of Rough Girls

I hope you enjoy the show. Take care,

Jimmy Fay Executive Producer.

“TARA LYNNE’S PLAY IS A GLORIOUS RECREATION OF A FORGOTTEN PERIOD OF BELFAST HISTORY, THE FORMATION OF THE FIRST FEMALE FOOTBALL TEAM HERE DURING A TIME OF CRISIS”

KIMBERLEY SYKES, PROGRAMME NOTE

FOOTBALL LIKE LIFE, LIKE THEATRE, CAN’T BE PLAYED ALONE.

IT’S NOT ABOUT ONE PLAYER, ONE PERFORMER; IT’S ABOUT A TEAM. THE LIGHTS. THE SOUND. MANAGER, DIRECTOR. THE GROUNDS, THE SET.

MAKERS OF BOOTS, WASHERS OF JERSEYS. THE BALL.

The beauty of theatre making is getting to look at something ordinary and, by that very gaze, turn it into something extraordinary.

The ball.

It’s an ordinary object. But look closer. It’s circular. It has no beginning and no end. It keeps going. It passes between people. It can move in all directions, not just in a straight line. If it hits an object it can move around it. It accumulates energy. It has direction, it negotiates, it can be gentle, it can be powerful. To me, the ball is a woman. The ball is extraordinary.

When Tara Lynne O’Neill put pen to paper, she started a ball rolling. From then until now, Rough Girls has negotiated obstacles, had many different players, grown in size and indeed, kept going.

When I was asked to be the play’s Captain, knew it was about more than football. The ball is the play. The women are always on the pitch, whether that be in the factory, the mill, home or away. The women of this play just keep going. Defending, attacking, saving, passing, moving forwards, moving backwards, shooting for the goal and then starting again. Their lives are a never-ending football match. The place is Belfast. That is their ground. The time is 1917-1921. These years are their goalposts. Always changing.

That energy of keeping going is the inspiration for this production. It’s about graft, craft and teamwork. It’s about seeing how the magic is made and recognising the people who make it. It’s about telling a

story in the most honest, joyful and thrilling way. It’s eleven stories intertwined into one and every player is vital. I feel honoured to be working with such an incredible team, onstage and off. This fantastic ensemble work together on stage to tell each other’s stories and believe me, they never stop. This is ultimately what lies at the heart of the play - togetherness - and the amazing things that can be achieved when we embrace that.

Like the first all-female football team in Northern Ireland, who in 1917 stepped on to the pitch and played a game of football, we need you, the audience. We’re here to give you a good night out, a team to support, a release, a laugh, a cry - an extraordinary story. We’re passing you the ball. Keep it going.

THE PROP.

THE SPECTATORS. YOU THE AUDIENCE.

IT CAN’T BE DONE ALONE. JUST LIKE AT A MATCH, YOU’RE ALL SEATED MORE THAN LIKELY NEXT TO A STRANGER. YOU ALL SHARE THIS SPACE WITH US, THE PLAYERS.

ALL LOOKING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. FORWARD.

WATCHING US PLAY OUT SCENES. LIVE.

WE MISSED YOU.

Kimberley Sykes Director

“THE PLACE IS BELFAST. THAT IS THEIR GROUND. THE TIME IS 1917-1921. THESE YEARS ARE THEIR GOALPOSTS. ALWAYS CHANGING”

ROUGH GIRLS - THE SOUNDS OF BELFAST

BY KATIE RICHARDSON

All of the musicians involved have added so much. It is so exciting to have live music in the production - it adds so much life to the piece and each individual brings a unique musical skillset and style, creating a soundscape that could not be achieved without them. As a team know we want to create an electric atmosphere in the theatre with all of the elements combined. Theatre is so collaborative - all the designers, the cast and the entire team are a source of inspiration. We are making the music in the room so as we move through the rehearsal process we have the opportunity to really try and understand the play and work with the rest of the team to collaboratively add colour to each moment.

The music in the show is partly inspired by the sounds of Belfast at the time, the dark creaking of factories and the bleakness of war punctuated with the comic relief of the music hall. But the main source of inspiration for the music are the women in the play as their strength, resilience, grit, hope - and sometimes lack of it - drives the soundscape.

The football becomes an escape for these women from the many challenges in their lives - much like music and the arts does for so many of us. There is a lot of singing in the piece. It is firmly in there as a means of expression and release - it isn’t there necessarily to sound pretty - although the sound of eleven women’s voices singing out fills me with so much joy and strength and drive. It is even more poignant when you consider that they lived in a time where they didn’t really have a voice - they still weren’t allowed to vote and certainly didn’t have much of a say in important matters or decisions. The divisions of class made it even more difficult for many of them to be taken seriously and have the freedoms that some of us are privileged to take for granted today.

As well as there being a lot of singing in the piece there is also a lot of percussion and we have been so lucky to work with the incredible Emma King as our percussion director. As an MD it is a treat to draw on the expertise and collaborate with such a highly skilled musician. She has been integral to so many of the big moments in the play and she has brought something so incredibly special to this production. We worked with a lot of junk percussion - for the factory scenes we focused on using metallic tones and textures and then for the matches we played with wooden scraps and sounds. It was really fun to make music from found objects and mix organic with electronic.

The arts help us to express ourselves and access and process difficult emotions. We have had such a difficult year without live music and theatre. It is vital to have them back - not just for the performers and teams involved but for the audiences and communities who experience them. There is so much pain and inequality going on in the world. In this time we need creativity more than ever.

The play means a lot to every single one of us working on it. I have always been passionate about working for more equality in the arts and music particularly - last year co-created an initiative called Safe in Sound to amplify underrepresented voices in music and have difficult conversations about harassment and abuse in the industry. In music there is still so much gender inequality with pay gaps, less radio play, fewer commissions, imbalance on festival and awards lineups and shockingly common experiences of harassment, bullying and abuse.

It is essential to encourage and empower a new generation of female and nonbinary composers and creators - as well as drawing light to the ones already making great work but maybe not getting the attention they deserve.

really hope there will come a time when it doesn’t feel so rare and special to see a stage full of so many women - I hope it becomes something we can experience often. But for now it is - it feels amazing to be on stage with them and rehearse with them and work with them and tell their stories.

Katie Richardson

Musical Director, musician, composer

“THE SOUND OF ELEVEN WOMEN’S VOICES SINGING OUT FILLS ME WITH SO MUCH JOY AND STRENGTH AND DRIVE. IT IS EVEN MORE POIGNANT

WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT THEY LIVED IN A TIME WHERE THEY DIDN’T REALLY HAVE A VOICE”

FOOTBALL REHEARSALS

With international footballers Jess Foy (Glentoran FC) and Danielle McDowell (Crusaders Strikers)

SARAH LYLE PUPPET DIRECTOR

The Power of Puppets

When we see puppets on TV, in real life, onstage we are instantly fascinated, curious and entertained. Puppets have a magical power that enable us to see past what’s really in front of us.

mean we all know there’s a person or two inside there, right?

We forget that they are even there or literally don’t see them.

How does this happen? Because we want to believe.

Designing Puppets: Where to Begin?

This is its own creative process and is somewhat more technical than people may initially think.

When creating a puppet for a play, I always begin with examining what’s in the text and desired intention. I mean, the script literally hands us everything we initially need to dream about what the puppets should and could be. My biggest advice with this is - dream big! The design will most likely be pulled back at a later stage when other production design factors come into play, so, allow yourself to ‘go there’.

Have fun with the make up of your puppets!

Rough Girls Puppet Design

True to my words, I began with the script. spent lots of time thinking about:

- Why the character is a puppet?

- The intention of this decision?

- The desired effect on the audience?

- The target audience?

Also, there were many wonderful discussions about these elements with Rough Girls Director Kimberley Sykes.

Then, dissected the costume design by the amazing, Kimie Nakano. Considering, what the base puppet needs to look like:

- What does the puppet need to wear?

- What props do they need to have?

And, how can the design best be hung upon these factors, regarding:

- Internal structure

- Puppeteer manipulation had a play with props and objects.

Once I had some answers, I let my mind go FREEEEE!

Design

Draw, play, sketch, measure, discuss, manipulate....

After a good play and draw, I had something on paper I could talk in detail about with other creatives. This enabled us collectively to embark on a gorgeous journey of creativity and discovery together.

The Build

Then was in a position to hand my thoughts and first draft designs over to the puppet maker. The team with the skills to make the page plans and prop play come to life. The wonderful Mike Smith.

“MY BIGGEST ADVICE WITH THIS ISDREAM BIG!”

CAST

Caroline received a BA Hons in Drama from Queen’s University. Her credits include:

2050 Under the Albert Clock (Lyric Theatre). Buttercup (Spanner in the Works) Soft Border Patrol (BBCNI) The Real Housewives of Norn Iron (GOH 2019) It’s A Wonderful Wee Christmas (Theatre at the Mill 2018)

Diablo (Lyric 2018) Maggie Yer Ma (GOH 2018) Maggie’s Feg Run (Mac 2018) The Nightshift Before Christmas (Theatre at the Mill 2017) Holy Holy Bus (Lyric 2017) Crazy (GBL Productions/ GOH) Entitled (Macha Productions/ MAC) Last Orders at The Rough Diamond (Theatre at the Mill) Diablo (Southern Tour 2016) The Holy Holy Bus (GOH 2016) Maggie’s Feg Run (GOH/Tour

2016) My Big Fat Belfast Christmas (Theatre at the Mill) Holy Holy Bus (Lyric 2015) Crazy (Mac 2015) Dirty Dancing in le Shebeen (Mac 2015/2016) Diablo (Canada/Southern Tour 2015) Holy Holy Bus (Brassneck) Diablo (Dublin Tour) 50 Shades of Red, White and Blue (GOH/TOUR 2014) The Glass Bell (Mac Belfast) Notorious (Spanner in the Works)

Dirty Dancing in le Shebeen (GOH) Eternally

Scrooged (Terra Nova) 50 Shades of Red, White and Blue (Mac and GOH, Waterfront Hall 2019) Diablo and Well Behaved Women

Rarely make History (Lyric Theatre Belfast, Edinburgh Fringe 2012 and Brighton Fringe 2013) Ulster Kama Sutra (Terra Nova Productions) Carol’s Christmas written by Nuala McKeever, The Christening (Rawlife Theatre Co), Popping Candy (Spanner in the Works Theatre Company) Hostel (Slide Away Productions/Kabosh), To Be boor Notto Bebo Life Goes on, Cuss The World (Spanner in the Works Theatre Company).

She is just back from Buxton Fringe with Spanner in the Works Theatre Company where they won Best Production 2021. Caroline is writing and starring in Theatre at the Mill’s Christmas Show Jingle All the Hairspray (A Christmas Hairytale) in Dec 2021.

Carol was born in Glengormley and currently lives in Bangor. Carol has worked in the creative industries for the past 40 years as an actor, director, filmmaker and more recently as a writer. Theatre credits include: Lovers, Macbeth, Pentecost & Can’t Forget About You (Lyric Theatre); Across the Threshold (Big Telly), Those You Pass on the Street, Belfast by Moonlight, Titans, 1 in 5, Two Roads West, Henry & Harriet (Kabosh) & The Sweetie Bottle (Brassneck). Carol’s one-woman play The Experience of Being, premiered in Belfast in May, 2019. She is currently writing a new one-woman play Flying, about the female Irish aviator, Lilian Bland.

Film/TV credits include Tyrone (Brassneck), Gone (A Future Screens Production) Lily (Commedia of Errors), Nowhere Special, Marcella, Mother’s Day, The Lodge (Disney) and The Truth Commissioner. Carol’s film directing includes the feature, Pumpgirl by Abbie Spallen, the short Gort an gCnámh (Best First Time Director, Celtic Film Festival, Foyle Film Festival). As a NESTA fellow (2003 - 2005), Carol directed/produced a number of shorts about cultural diversity, including Are You Seeing Me, The Farther, The Dearer, This Belfast Thing, Crack the Pavement, History Unfinished (Northern Ireland Regional Winner, BAFTA 60 SEC 2008).

Carol is writing a new one-woman play about the Irish aviator Lilian Bland who was the first woman to design, build and fly her own biplane in 1910 and she did it four streets from where she grew up.

Tara Lynne is an actress and writer based in Belfast.

Some theatre credits include: Shirley Valentine, Fly Me to the Moon, Lally The Scut, Planet Belfast, Everything Between Us, The Hypochondriac, Educating Rita, Of Mice and Men, Translations and Jane Eyre.

TV and film credits include: Derry Girls (Channel 4), Line of Duty 2, Farr, The Fall – Series 1 & 3 (BBC) Made in Belfast, Disco Pigs, The Most Fertile Man in Ireland, Wild About Harry, At Deaths Door (Fuji Award) Nothing Personal.

Many radio productions most notably on the award-winning Grenades (RTE).

Nicky Harley was born in Derry and currently lives in Belfast. She is a first class Drama graduate of University of Ulster and has further trained under practitioners including Philippe Gaulier, Patsy Rodenburg and Fiona Shaw.

Lyric Theatre Credits: In the Pause Between Now and Next (Lyric Theatre), Denouement (Lyric Theatre/Traverse Theatre)

Other Credits include: On the Street Where We Live (The MAC), Macbeth, The Faerie Thorn, Freak Show, The Worst Café in the World (Big Telly Theatre Co) Alice: A Virtual Theme Park (Creation Theatre) Big Kid, Little Kid (The Civic Theatre).

Film, TV and radio credits: Game of Thrones (HBO) Bloodlands (BBC) Day 351 (Purple Finch Productions) Brought to Light, The Dogs in the Street (BBC Radio 4).

In 2020, Nicky’s performance of Lady Macbeth in Big Telly Theatre company’s virtual adaptation, Macbeth, earned her the award for ‘Best Individual Performer’ at The Red Curtain Festival Theatre Awards.

Ruby trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She is ecstatic to be back at the Lyric with this female football tour-de-force!

Lyric Theatre credits: Translations (digital collaboration with Rage Theatre, Mumbai), Driving Home for Christmas, Alice the Musical, Lovers: Winners and Losers.

Other theatre includes: The Broads (Strand Arts), Dirty Talk (No Touching Theatre), Tragik Plastik, The Clearing – workshop (Tinderbox Theatre Company) And The Band Keeps Marching On (Sky Arts/ Barbican) Splish Splash (Oily Cart), The Ferryman (Sonia Friedman Productions/ Gielgud Theatre), She Moved Through The Fair (Tron Theatre), Girls and Dolls (Pintsized Productions), Babble Lifeboat (Replay Theatre Company) Lady Windermere's Fan (MAC/Bruiser Theatre Company)

Film, TV and Audio includes: Counsel (BBC), Stumbling (Doreen Productions), The Dissenter (Dumbworld Productions), On The Street Where We Live, NINOW100 (MAC), Did You Hear the One About the Irishman…? (Abbey Theatre).

Jo graduated from Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Theatre credits with the Lyric Theatre Belfast include 1984, The Ladykillers, Forget Turkey, Demented, Ardnaglass on the Air, The Colleen Bawn and Re-energise (co-production with Derry Playhouse). She was also part of the Lyric’s Playboy of the Western World which also toured to the Gaiety in Dublin.

Other credits include A Station Once Again for Brassneck, Rumplestiltskin for The Mac, The Chronicles of Long Kesh at the Opera House and Right Up Your Street for Big Telly Theatre.

Jo works regularly with BBC Radio and currently can be heard in Quick Comedies for BBC Ireland.

Screen credits include Line of Duty, Ups and Downs, Grace & Goliath and she is soon to be seen in the upcoming BBC Children’s drama Tiara Jones

CAROLINE CURRAN GERTIE

CAROL MOORE MRS C

TARA LYNNE O’NEILL SHE

NICKY HARLEY DUNCHER

RUBY CAMPBELL TILLY

JO DONNELLY MRS STOTT

CAST

Claire was born in Coleraine and currently lives in Leicester. She has a BA Hons in Theatre Studies from Royal Holloway University London.

Lyric Theatre Credits: The Factory Girls and Charlotte’s Web.

Other Theatre Credits: Head/case (The Swan RSC), Lags (Battersea Arts Centre)

Save Our School Dinners (Belgrade Theatre Coventry), Mind Games, Buttercup (Spanner in the Works, International, all Ireland and UK tour), Shh We Have A Plan (Cahoots NI International Tour UK, USA, China) Freedom Of The City (The Finborough London, An Grianan), A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Threepenny Opera (Bruiser Theatre Company), The Way Home (The Everyman, Liverpool) Beasts (Theatre 503 London) Gilgamesh (The Drum Theatre Royal Plymouth).

Television: Nurses Who Kill (Netflix), Everything You Know Is Wrong (Green Inc Productions).

Film: Wild About Harry (Scala Productions)

Conversations Matter (Flix Films)

Claire has just returned from The Buxton Fringe Festival, with Spanner in the Works theatre company, where she performed in their production of Buttercup, the play written and directed by Patricia Downey won Best Production and was nominated for Best Writer.

CREATIVES

MUSICIAN ASHLEY JONES

Ashley Jones is a musician, writer and performer, and recent graduate of Drama & Film Studies at Queen’s University Belfast. She is the main songwriter and frontperson of the band Strange New Places, who released their debut EP Uncomfortable in 2019 and have played in venues across the UK and Ireland, ranging from Brighton to Dublin to the Ulster Hall in Belfast. She is currently working on producting new theatrical and musical projects.

MUSICIAN CLARE HADWEN

Clare was a member of the Ulster Orchestra for over 12 years before embarking on life as a freelance violinist.

She regularly tours and performs with Camerata Ireland, RTE National Symphony Orchestra and RTE Concert Orchestra.

Eloïse Stevenson is an actor from Holywood, Co. Down, but grew up in Austria. She is a graduate of The Lir Academy in Dublin.

Lyric Theatre credits: The Playboy of the Western World (Oongah Murphy).

Other theatre credits: The Great Hunger (Abbey Theatre, Conall Morrison).

Lir Academy credits: The Wild Duck (Annabelle Comyn), Pericles (Conall Morrison), Dubliners (Annie Ryan), Serious Money (Oonagh Murphy), Temporal Powers (Conall Morrison), The Black Church (Louise Lowe), Electra (Ronan Phelan), Richard III (Hilary Wood).

Film/TV: Short Stay (short, Ruth Meehan), This Town Still Talks About You (short, Matthew McGiugan).

Catriona is from Derry but lives in Belfast and studied Acting at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Catriona has previously worked with the Lyric Creative Learning on Blackout and A Walk is Not a Walk (Eco Project). Other recent theatre credits include The Shedding of Skin (Kabosh), Dancing at the Disco at The End of The World (Replay Theatre Company) and The Frozen Princess (GBL Productions).

During lockdown Catriona worked with Big Telly Theatre Company on Dear World an interactive Zoom soap opera and was part of a Covid-19 television advert campaign for Genesis Advertising/TEO.

Suzie Seweify is originally Irish/Egyptian. She was born in Bahrain, raised in Abu Dhabi and is currently based in Dublin. She completed the two year full-time Actor Training Programme at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin.

Theatre credits include: Aladdin Panto (Gaiety Theatre), Yara (Smock Alley Theatre).

Radio credits include: Swans (BBC NI), The Love of Small Appliances (Near FM).

Suzie is also a writer. Her one woman show, Yara, was one of the 35 pieces chosen by the Abbey Theatre this year as part of the Engine Room Project to develop new work. She is currently one of the 14 artists chosen for the WEFT studio programme just recently launched by Dublin Fringe Festival.

Nuala trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

Lyric Theatre Credits: Rough Girls (Lyric Theatre)

Other Theatre Credits: The Snow Queen (UK Tour), Three's a Shroud (GBL Productions, Waterfront Studio), King Henry V (Union Theatre, London), Caucasian Chalk Circle and Cooking With Elvis (Bruiser Theatre Company)

Film Credits: The Power (Air Street Films/ Altitude Films), Rhonna and Donna (Creative England/Dan films/The BFI)

She is a violinist with the Belfast Ensemble, whose recent productions include NI’s only lockdown opera performance The Musician: A Horror Opera for Children, and Abomination: A DUP Opera, which won ‘best opera’ at the Irish Times Theatre Awards.

Clare is a founder member of Arco String Quartet, with whom she enjoys a varied schedule between the concert platform, gig stage and the recording studio.

Her recent film and TV work includes vocal coach for the upcoming Netflix film School for Good and Evil, recording the soundtrack for children’s short animation Sol (Aardman Animations), BBC1 drama Three Families, Channel 5’s The Deceived, and the upcoming Channel 5 detective series Dalgliesh

She has collaborated, recorded and performed alongside artists including Foy Vance, Duke Special, Beoga, Villagers, Darkling Air, And So I Watch You From Afar and Kevin Doherty (Four Men and a Dog).

Clare is delighted to be a part of the mighty force of women who make up the Rough Girls team!

CLAIRE COGAN MRS O’NEILL

ELOÏSE STEVENSON MOLLY

CATRIONA McFEELY MAGGIE ANN

SUZIE SEWEIFY MISS M

NUALA McGOWAN SPIT

CREATIVES

PLAYWRIGHT

TARA LYNNE O’NEILL

Rough Girls is Tara Lynne’s first play.

“A fascination with history and a love of the city call home is what drives me as writer. Northern Irish stories from our past that resonate with audiences today. To see women, take centre stage. Telling tales about the women of this island who have so often been written out of our great history books. Making the marginalised mainstream and shining a light on the women whose stories have so often been left in the dark.”

DIRECTOR

KIMBERLEY SYKES

Romeo and Juliet for Open Air Theatre, Beryl at Octagon Theatre, As You Like It at RSC & UK tour, The Whip and Dido Queen of Carthage at RSC (Nominated for best director at UK theatre awards), Working at Royal Academy of Music, The Hate Play Macbeth and Mark and the Marked with Box Clever Theatre, Whose Sari Now? at Theatre Royal Stratford East, In the Solitude of Cotton Fields at Tristan Bates, Lomki as part of the Story Project at Southwark Playhouse and Diary of a Thief at The King’s Head Theatre. She has also directed new writing at Theatre 503, Tamasha, The New Diorama and Southwark Playhouse.

Associate director credits include: Dream 16: A Play for the Nation at RSC, City of Angels at Donmar Warehouse and East is East at Trafalgar Studios. As assistant director she has worked at The National Theatre, Headlong, West End and Tricycle.

Kimberley trained at Rose Bruford College and the National Theatre Studio Directors course.

SET & LIGHTING DESIGNER

CIARAN BAGNALL

Ciaran was born in Newry and currently lives in Belfast. He trained as the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff where he was made Honourary fellow of the College in July 2018.

Lyric Theatre Credits: Set & Lighting Design for A Streetcar named Desire, Lovers, Beauty and the Beast, What the Reindeer Saw, RED, White Star of the North. Set Design for Double Cross Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching towards the Somme Lighting Design for The Weir, Three Sisters, St Joan, Pentecost, Philadephia, Here I come!, The Little Prince and Pump Girl

Recent Lighting and Set Designs include: Father, The Father (PrimeCut/MAC, Belfast); The Whip (RSC); Peter Pan (Hull Truck); A Christmas Carol (The Gate, Dublin); The Merchant of Venice (The Great Theatre, Shanghai); This Beautiful Village (The Abbey Theatre, Dublin); The Magic Flute

(INO, Wexford Opera House/Gaiety Dublin); Lady Magma (Atelier de Paris); The Last Yankee (Library Theatre, Bolton); UBU The King (Tinderbox, MAC, Belfast); Oliver Twist (Hull Truck); The Mai, (Decadent Theatre Company); The World Goes Round/ Luminaire Club (MAC, Belfast); The Man who fell to Pieces (Tinderbox, MAC, Belfast); Hard to be Soft (MAC, Belfast); The Great Gatsby (Gate Theatre, Dublin); The Train (Abbey Theatre, Dublin); Ashes, Educating Rita (Octagon Theatre, Bolton); Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe, London); Singin’ in the Rain (UK Tour); Othello (RSC, Stratford upon Avon); Snookered (Bush Theatre, London); The Killing of Sister George (Arts Theatre, London); A Slight Ache and Landscape (Lyttelton Theatre, National Theatre London).

MUSICAL DIRECTOR & COMPOSER

KATIE RICHARDSON

Katie is a musician, songwriter, producer and composer who currently makes her own music under the name Hex Hue. Over the years she has performed and written with many bands including Choice nominated ‘Pleasure Beach’ with whom she toured the UK and Ireland.

In 2020 Katie was selected as one of Prime Cut’s, ‘Reveal’ artists which champions and develops emerging theatre makers. She is currently developing new work with them. In Summer 2020 Katie curated the Creative Hub for TedX Stormont online working with artists and activists from around the country. Katie is a passionate creative facilitator who believes in promoting inclusion and encouraging growth, expression and change through the arts and creative industries. She is co-founder and chair of Safe in Sound which is a new initiative with the vision to create a safer, stronger and more connected creative sector founded on equality, diversity and respect.

Theatre credits include: Good Vibrations, New Speak, All Mod Cons, Beauty and the Beast (Lyric Theatre) Father the Father (Prime Cut), Brink (Maiden Voyage Dance), The Man Who Fell to Pieces, Ubu the King, Huzzies (Tinderbox Theatre Company), Hatch (The Mac)

Screen credits include: The Death of a Projectionist (Out of Orbit Films), Doggers (136 films), Doody (Caitlin and Aaron), Gravidus (Off the Rails Dance), A life from Time (Prime Cut).

PERCUSSION DIRECTOR

EMMA KING

Emma is originally from Co.Down and now based in Brighton. After completing her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2013, Emma joined the West End/ Broadway smash hit show STOMP in 2014 and toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and South America with the company.

Theatre credits include The National Theatre of Scotland's production of Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour 2016, the Steven Sater London Showcase 2017 and the 2018 Adelaide Festival with The Lost& Found Orchestra

Television appearances include Live at the London Palladium on ITV and The Late Late Show on RTÉ. In 2019 Emma performed with Joss Arnott Dance Company as the Percussionist and CoComposer for their production of PULSE touring the UK Dance and Music Festivals.

In October 2018 Emma performed in the World Premiere and Irish National Tour of a new Opera production by John O’Brien (The Everyman Theatre, Cork) inspired by Oscar Wilde’s timeless story, The Nightingale & The Rose. In September 2019 she performed the live soundtrack of JOUD Movie in Saudi Arabia with the London Contemporary Orchestra

In 2020/2021, as a member of Bangers and Crash Percussion Emma worked with Music Network Ireland, Irish National Opera and Cork Midsummer Festival.

Emma is proudly endorsed by Schlagwerk Percussion and would like to thank her friends and family for their continued support.

MOVEMENT DIRECTOR

DYLAN QUINN

Dylan Quinn and has been working as a Choreographer, Dance Artist, Movement Director, performer and facilitator for over 26 years. In 2009 he established Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre (DQDT) and has operated as Artistic Director for the last 11 years.

Dylan has created numerous company performances and commissioned works for a range of dance and theatre companies.

Dylan was Irish Times Theatre Award Nominee 2018 for his work on the production Red with Prime Cut and The Lyric. Dylan’s work has been presented nationally and internationally across Europe and the US.

Dylan has performed and undertaken a wide range of performance, community and education projects across the UK, Ireland and Internationally. He has developed a particular focus on creating work that explores the context around the border in Ireland, it’s impact and highlighting the experiences of these living in border communities. Dylan has undertaken a range on innovation projects involving performances on the border in live and film formats.

Dylan has been instrumental in initiating the We Deserve Better social engagement movement in Northern Ireland, highlighting the inadequacies of the political system. As a development of the Movement he has established the Conversations NI platform, engaging people from a range of backgrounds in conversations that are important to them and to their community.

COSTUME DESIGNER KIMIE NAKANO

Kimie Nakano studied literature at Musashino University in Tokyo, Theatre Costume at ENSATT in Paris and Theatre Design MA at Wimbledon College of Art in London. Costume design for Le Grand Théâtre de Genéve, Northern Ballet, Lithuanian National Opera and Royal Danish Ballet, Companhia National de Bailado, ENB, Introdans, Stuttgart Ballett, Norrdans, Sadler’s Wells,The Royal Ballet of Flanders, Rambert Dance Company, David Nixon, Didy Veldman, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui . Opera productions include: The Return of Ulysses by John Fulljames for ROH and Tristan und Isolde by Carmen Jakobi for Longborough Festival Opera. Theatre production including Fruen fra havet ,Kilden teater, for Beckett Festival at TNP.

For Akram Khan Company: Outwitting the Devil, XENOS, Vertical Road Dust for ENB , iTMOi, TOROBAKA, Gnosis, Kaash, The Rashomon Effect, technê for Sylvie Guillem Shadow of Memory Kwibuka 20 Rwanda. Exhibition iTMOi Prague Quadrennial World theatre design, V&A Film Macbeth directed by Kit Monkman.

Chemo Express (audio drama) and Fast and Loose (Accidental Theatre,) Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Annie Jr Wonderful Wild West Musicals (Theatre at the Mill), Buddy the Elf (New Lodge Arts), High School Musical Jr, Honk Jr, Fame Jr Hairspray, Curtain Up (Encore Arts, Courtyard Theatre), Hippos in the Shower (Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival) and The Girl on the Sofa (Prime Cut Productions).

Some of Sarah’s writing credits include Pip’s Riverboat Adventure, Jack and the Beanstalk, Puss in Boots: The Panto, Rapunzel: A Tangled Tale Chemo Express, Frozen Winter Wonderland, Buddy the Elf Pop Up Castle Gulliver.

CAMERA DIRECTOR SAM O’MAHONY

With over 20 years action experience under his belt, it was 5 years ago that Lemuel set up Northern Ireland’s first professional stunt company Black Art Stunts and, whilst still enjoying action in front of the camera, has also turned his skills to stunt, fight and action co-ordination where he takes words from a script and brings the action to life in his own unique way. He has recently worked on feature films such as Stranger With a Camera and TV series such as The School for Good and Evil and Dalgliesh Lemuel is known for creating raw, realistic action that tells the cast’s story with vivid imagery. He aspires to deliver captivating action sequences, work with new talent and delight viewers of award winning productions.

VOICE COACH BRENDAN GUNN

ASSISTANT

DIRECTOR & PUPPETRY DIRECTOR SARAH LYLE

Sarah was born in Belfast and trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, London, 2001-2004, as well as with The Jim Henson Company in puppeteering.

Sarah comes from a performance background specialising in puppeteering and musicals.

Sarah writes, directs, and produces theatre freelance, and is Artistic Director of Cre8 Theatre.

Sarah has worked in television; Charles Hurst Renault presenter, Power NI commercial, Moy Park commercial, Pajanimals (Jim Henson Company with Sixteen South), Sesame Tree (Sixteen South and Sesame Workshop), Sketchy with Diarmuid Corr (Green Inc.), The Dwelling (Stirling Television), Building Energy Rating commercial (RTE), No Vote No Voice commercial (BBC NI), Casualty and Down to Earth (BBC).

Some of Sarah’s directing credits include Pip’s Riverboat Adventure (Zoom Theatre, Ards and North Down Borough Council&Cre8 Theatre), Jack and the Beanstalk@the Drive In Cinema (Let’s Go Hydro Belfast&Cre8 Theatre), Jack and the Beanstalk – Live in your Living Room! (Zoom Theatre, Cre8 Theatre), Bubble Belfast Children’s Festival 2019, Pop Up Castle, Balmoral Show 2019, Jack and the Beanstalk, Puss in Boots: The Panto, Rapunzel: A Tangles Tale (Cre8 Theatre, Braid Arts Centre), Under the Hawthorn Tree (AD, Cahoots NI), 50 Shades of red White and Blue (audio drama, Red Brick Road Productions),

Sam O’Mahony is a film-maker recently arrived in Belfast. Alongside his work with the V&A museum capturing numerous live shows across Britain, he is an award-winning director of short films and music videos. He recently established 2nd Part Productions, who’s debut film starring Stephen Rea, will premiere in September. As an actor, Sam worked with the RSC, NT, Young Vic and Gate theatres amongst others as well as extensive tv and film appearances.

AUDIO SYSTEM DESIGNER IAN VENNARD

Ian Vennard has worked at the Lyric Theatre since May 2016 and is currently the Senior Technician.

His Lyric Theatre credits include: Alice the Musical (2018); Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleetstreet: The Musical (A Lyric Theatre and Northern Ireland Opera co-production - 2019); and Kiss Me, Kate (A Lyric Theatre and Northern Ireland Opera co-production - 2020)

Ian also has close ties with the Belfast Ensemble since their conception and credits include: Doppler Effect (2017); Fall of the House of Usher (2018); Young Pornographers (2019); Abomination – a DUP Opera (2019)

FIGHT DIRECTOR LEMUEL BLACK

Lemuel Black is a stunt co-ordinator and performer from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Since an early age Lemuel had a passion for fight and action choreography and has trained in many aspects of combat from Muay Thai to handling 17th century weapons. From crashing off bikes to fighting dragons, Lemuel’s diverse work has convinced audiences over many different mediums. As a stunt performer he has doubled actors such as Russell Brand and Neil Morrissey and fought his way in and out of trouble in TV series such as Vikings, Kin and feature films The Northman The Last Duel and Dungeons and Dragons

Brendan Gunn holds an MA and a PhD in linguistics. He began working as a Dialogue and Dialect Coach in 1986 after leaving the University of Ulster where he was a Lecturer in Linguistics. From the initial project which took him into the world of film, television and theatre - A Prayer for the Dying starring Mickey Rourke - Brendan has gone on to become one of the most in demand vocal coaches around, especially after his work on the Jim Sheridan film In the Name of the Father which earned Oscar nominations for Daniel Day-Lewis and Pete Postlethwaite in their lead roles.

Brendan has consistently worked with many of the world’s most well-known and talented actors, as evidenced by Brad Pitt’s request for his help on The Devil’s Own, Meet Joe Black and the Guy Ritchie cult hit Snatch. Similarly Edward Norton asked to work with Brendan to achieve his character voices for Kingdom of Heaven

The Illusionist and The Painted Veil

Brendan has also ended up in on-screen appearances speaking with dialects ranging from Irish to English, Australian to American and whatever else is required.

After over thirty years experience Brendan has dealt with a vast range of vocal styles and subjects from character dialect in film, television and theatre to accent reduction for non-native speakers of English and from television presenting to public speaking.

Recent projects include Shedding of the Skin for Kabosh Theatre Company and a range of films including The Northman and Dungeons and Dragons as well as television series including Rogue Warriors and The English