Creatives

Director: Joyce Branagh

Directing credits include: Cinderella, Aladdin, Jack and the Beanstalk, Flying Under Bridges, The Memory of Water, Queen’s English, Blue/Orange, (Watford Palace Theatre); Travels With My Aunt, (Oldham Coliseum); Saturday Night & Sunday Morning, (Harrogate Theatre Royal); Master Harold and the Boys (Southwark Playhouse); Twelfth Night (Holland Park and tour), Hamlet (Dublin Tivoli and Cork Opera House); Master Harold and the Boys, The Tale of the Anklet, Kebab Shags, Black/White, Joined at the Hip, Twelfth Night (Bristol Old Vic); Have-A-Go Hero (QEH Bristol), Summer Again, This Cookie May Contain Nuts, Twelfth Night, Macbeth (Orange Tree); Woyzech, Handbags (Dublin Fringe Festival); Macbeth, Fred and Ginger (Baron’s Court); The Tender Mercies (The Studio); Lettice and Lovage (Southill Park); Gillette Man and I Don’t Sweat Much for a Fat Lass (Bird’s Nest). Writing credits include: Jack and the Beanstalk,(Watford Palace Theatre); and The Tale of the Anklet (Studio, Bristol Old Vic) Writing credits include: Jack and the Beanstalk,(Watford Palace Theatre); and The Tale of the Anklet (Studio, Bristol Old Vic)

Designer: Keith Orton

Keith trained at Central School of Speech and Drama and graduated in 1992, then freelanced as a set and costume designer for a number of years, primarily in the Manchester area. This includes two years as Resident Designer at Oldham Coliseum Theatre. During this period he designed national tours of Little Shop of Horrors and Joesphine as well as main house and studio productions that included the world premiere of Sylvia’s Wedding.

 

He returned to Central in 1997 to become a design tutor, working with students on two undergraduate course. His role there has combined teaching set an costume design with designing numerous public productions these include studio productions of Angels in America, Six Degrees of Separation, A Clockwork Orange and Marat Sade.In the Embassy Theatre productions of Macbeth, Present Laughter, The Secret Raptue, Sweeney Todd and Tin Drum. He has also designed site-specific production of Pirate Quest, Beware the Jabberwocky, Myth Breakers, Beowulf, The Rat Catcher of Hamlin and the Odyssey at the Minack Theatre in Cornwall.

 

His design for Cosmonauts Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union  was selected as a finalist in the World Stage Design Exhibition held in Toronto, Canada in Spring 2005. In 2004 he wrote the text book Model Making for the Stage- A Practical Guide which has become and essential text for students studying theatre design. After Cinderella and Aladdin this is his third time back at Watford designing pantomime with Joyce Branagh. He  has developed such a keen interest in pantomime that it has become the focus of his academic research. His dream for the future is to become the first Doctor of Pantomime and bring some sparkle to Academia

Lighting Designer: John Harris

John Harris (Lighting Designer) was chief electrician at the Shaftesbury Theatre until 1995. He became Andy Philip's assistant, with whom he worked on many productions in the provinces and the West End.
As a designer theatre credits include: "Son of Man", RSC; "Uncle Vanya", Albery Theatre; "Michael Feinstein", Comedy Theatre; "Women on The Verge of HRT", UK Tour; "Small Change" and "Moving Susan", Basingstoke Haymarket; 'Henry V", "Macbeth" and "Midsummer Nights Dream" at Arundel Castle; "Captains Tiger", "Flying West", "Saints Day", "The Engaged", "The Road to the Sea" and "The House of Bernarda Alba" at The Orange Tree; "The Curious Quest for the Sandman's Sand", "Skool & Crossbones", "Shake Ripple & Roll", The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre; "Pandemonium! (a Greek Myth-adventure)", The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and Edinburgh Festival 2001; "City of Angels" and "Slice of Saturday Night" for the Royal Academy of Music; "Big Night Out at the Little Palace Theatre" for Watford Palace Theatre.
He has lit many pantomimes and children's shows, including "Dick Whittington", Wycombe Swan; "The Snow Queen", "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Bugsy Malone", The Yvonne Arnaud Guildford.
He has also relit many shows on tour including "Hayfever", "Calamity Jane", "Martin Guerre", "Dame Edna", "Kill a Mockingbird", "Month in the Country", "Uncle Vanya" and "Mansfield Park".
As a vari-lite programmer and crew chief he has worked around the world including Saudi Arabia, the Caribbean, Paris, Rome, Vienna, Athens and Dubai; as well as in the UK on the "Brit Awards", Earls Court; the "MTV Awards", Dublin; "Joy to the World", Albert Hall; "Passion Play", Donmar Warehouse and Comedy Theatre; "Hotstuff", Leicester Haymarket; "Godspell", for David Pugh; "The Buckingham Palace Jubliee Celebrations" for Unusal Events; "Torvill and Dean" at Nottingham's Ice Stadium; "Showtime at The Stadium" for BBC Wales & LSD at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and the closing performance of
"Cats"(london) for Cameron Mackintosh.
Recently John was associate lighting designer for “Auntie and Me” at the Albery Theatre and The Gaiety Theatre(Dublin). Lighting designer for “My Sainted Aunt” at the New End Theatre, “Wolf Boys” at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, “Much Ado About Nothing” at the Arundel Festival.

Music by: John Rigby

A graduate in orchestral and choral conducting from the University of Huddersfield and the Royal Northern College of Music, John’s West End credits as musical director/conductor include MARGUERITE (Theatre Royal, Haymarket), CARMEN JONES (Royal Festival Hall), THE DROWSY CHAPERONE (Novello), THE PRODUCERS (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), SINATRA AT THE PALLADIUM (Palladium), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (Her Majesty’s), BEAUTIFUL AND DAMNED (Lyric), THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE (Savoy), PETER PAN (Savoy), THE KING AND I (Palladium), LES MISERABLES(Palace), NAPOLEON(Shaftesbury), THE LAST EMPRESS(Apollo, Hammersmith), BY JEEVES(Lyric), JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT(Apollo, Hammersmith), THE KING AND I (UK Tour) as well as the German productions of STARLIGHT EXPRESS(Bochum) and MISS SAIGON (Stuttgart). As musical supervisor his credits include Terry Pratchett’s ONLY YOU CAN SAVE MANKIND (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), THE KING AND I (UK Tour) and THE PRODUCERS (UK Tour).

 John is also a regular conductor on the concert platform and regularly performs throughout the UK at all the major concert venues. He has worked with many of the country’s top orchestras including the PHILHARMONIA, LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, ROYAL LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA,  MANCHESTER CONCERT ORCHESTRA, THE ORCHESTRA OF WELSH NATIONAL OPERA, SCOTTISH CONCERT ORCHESTRA AND THE BBC PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA.

 

As a composer/arranger/orchestrator he has produced music for the CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS FOR THE CITY OF BRADFORD (performed in the presence of Her Majesty, The Queen) and THE RISE AND FALL OF LITTLE VOICE(Theatre Royal, Bury-St-Edmonds and Northcott Theatre, Exeter), PETER PAN (Savoy), THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE (Savoy) and THE KING AND I (UK TOUR and Denmark) as well as for a variety of soloists and orchestras.

Choreographer: Nikki Woollaston

Nikki trained under Jackie Mitchell and Donald McLennan at The London Studio Centre and is Assistant to Head of Jazz at Millennium Dance 2000.

 

Nikki was the Associate and Resident Choreographer for the new musical production of Sinatra at the London Palladium, directed by David Leveaux and Assistant Choreographer for ENO’s 2005 and 2007 production of On The Town directed by Jude Kelly, and Musical Stager for their production of Kismet.

 

Nikki’s choreography credits include Cinderella and Aladdin at Watford Palace Theatre and The King and I (UK Tour). Further credits include Assistant Choreographer for Anything Goes directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Stephen Mear (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and National Theatre); Nymph Errant (Minerva Theatre, Chichester); The Vivien Ellis Awards (Her Majesty’s Theatre, London); Assistant Choreographer for Gershwin Concert choreographed by Stephen Mear (London Palladium). Nikki was Resident Choreographer for Oliver directed by Sam Mendes and choreographed by Matthew Bourne (London Palladium), and she was also Associate Artistic Coordinator on Cats (New London Theatre).

 

Nikki also worked as part of the choreographic team on the Commonwealth Games, Manchester 2002 for both the opening and closing ceremonies.

Casting Director: Kay Magson CDG

Theatre credits include: The Solid Gold Cadillac (Garrick); Dangerous Corner (West Yorkshire Playhouse/West End); Round The Horne… Revisited,  Dracula (National tour); Singin’ in the Rain (West Yorkshire Playhouse, NT/ National tour); Aspects of Love, The Witches of Eastwick, All the Fun of the Fair, London Assurance (National Tours) Assassins, Shadowmouth, Amadeus (Sheffield),  Follies, The Glass , The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Way of the World (Northampton Theatres); King Cotton (Lowry/Liverpool Empire), A Model Girl (Greenwich); The Country Wife, Alfie, Queen’s English, Blue Orange,  Aladdin and Jack and the Beanstalk (Watford Palace); The Little Prince (Hampstead Theatre) Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Still Life/ The Astonished Heart, The Odd Couple, Dr Faustus, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Chimps, Season’s Greetings, The Tempest, The Lady of Leisure, Billy Liar, The Flint Street Nativity, Endgame, Mother Goose and Noises Off (Liverpool Playhouse); Tom’s Midnight Garden, Faith Healer, Private Lives, Great Expectations and The Glee Club (Manchester Library), Charley’s Aunt (Oxford Playhouse); Simply Cinderella (Curve, Leicester),  Private Lives, Master Class, Macbeth, The Importance of Being Earnest,  Merrily We Roll Along, Moonlanding, Stepping Out, The Devil’s League  and As You Like It (Derby), Saved (Bolton Octagon) ;A Model Girl (Greenwich); Old King Cole (Unicorn); Brassed Off (Liverpool Playhouse/Birmingham Rep); East is East (York/Bolton), and 17 years of productions for the West Yorkshire Playhouse as resident Casting Director, as well as many freelance shows including Privates on Parade, Don’t You Leave Me Here, Animal Farm, Peter Pan, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Salonika .


Kay is a member of the Casting Director’s Guild of Great Britain.

Assistant Director: Holly McBride