Performed in front of a live audience, with live foley (sound effects), this new radio play by Chris Buxey is a dark comedy about principles, money and the importance of family.
Stuart is the author of the beloved Young Adult literature heroine, Frankie Fightwell. While writing the next book in the series, Stuart realises that there might be more than just the usual vampire sharks and giant Nazi man-spiders preventing Frankie from making it to the end of her latest adventure!
We enjoyed the last live audio play so much we decided to do it all again. We had a larger live foley team for Chris Buxey’s delightfully camp, nazi spider romp. And safe to say it was a real treat for the audience and creative team. Oh, and it won Stagedoor’s Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2018 New Writing Award.
CAST
Tom Slatter – Dominic/Viktor Abigail Morgan – Frankie/Rachel John Rayment – Stuart
CREATIVES
Ellie Pitkin – Director/Producer Andrew Crane – Sound/Foley Designer Vikki Weston – Producer Megan Barbour – Foley Team/Intern Charlotte Bishop – Foley Team/Intern Alec Mills – Foley Team Betty Smith – Foley Team/Intern
11th-14th April 2012 The Actors’ Church, Covent Garden
Gormenghast: Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake Adapted by Vikki Weston, Prudence Chamberlain, Poppy Corbett, Max Olesker, and Richard Stratton, for Blackshaw Theatre Company
Our first production. They say go big or go home, and with this as our debut show we went really, really big. It was a massive undertaking. Developing the script from Mervyn Peake’s original book, working with a cast of twenty, and creating an elaborate set that worked around the venue’s existing features. It was a great challenge, we had an enormous amount of fun and made some great friends in the process, many of whom we went on to work with again.
“Director Ellie Pitkin has undoubtedly achieved a feat of excellence in her homage to Peake’s novel. This was a brave and wonderful new world” – London Festival Fringe
CAST
Barquentine – John Rayment Lady Cora – Angela Ferns Lady Clarice – Clare Harlow Lady Fuchsia Groan – Ceridwen Smith Flay – Lee Ravitz Countess Gertrude Groan – Terry Diab Dr. Alfred Prunesquallor – Alexander Pankhurst Irma Prunesquallor – Lucy McCabe Rottcodd – Peter Picton Lord Sepulchrave Groan – John Harwood Nannie Slagg – Sarah Shelton Sourdust – William Seaward Steerpike – Francis Woolf Swelter – Liam Fleming Titus Groan – Esme Tennant Pellet/Spurter/Soldier – Luke Manning Book Bearer/Wrattler – Paul G Raymond Soldier/Springer – Paddy Freeland Ritual Servant/Twins’ Maid/Chipper – Miranda Marvin Ritual Servant/Kitchen Boy – Greg Harradine
“Highly recommended…to be seen by all Mervyn Peake Fans.” – Sebastian Peake
CREATIVES
Writers – Prudence Chamberlain, Poppy Corbett, Max Olesker, Richard Stratton Script Editor – Vikki Weston Director/Producer – Ellie Pitkin Set & Costume Design – Zahra Mansouri Composer – Greg Harradine Sound Design – David Turnbull Lighting Designer – Josh Yard Stage Manager – Lizzie Cooper Publicity Manager – George Islay Calderwood Publicity Asst. – Bruce Asher Asst. Director – James Barry Marketing Manager – Matt Boothman Education Coordinator – Charlie Limm Filmmaker– James Burt Costume Assistant – Flettie Bertram Costume Assistant – Andrea Pierides Lighting Asst. – Tom Woods Sound Asst. – Andrew Crane Make-up & Hair – Laura Jones Photography – Nivine Keating (Morrighan Images)
Production Assistants: Nick Tatchell Sophie Talbot Laura Nixon Miranda Blazeby Cole Campbell Rosie Fullwood Chloe Courtney Tom Walters Helen Johnson Chris Starkey
Thrilled that ‘The Final Adventure of Frankie Fightwell’ by Chris Buxey, what we performed at the Putney Arts Theatre has only gone and won Stagedoor’s Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2018 New Writing Award!
You can put the award-winning piece of radio drama in your ears when it launches on 20th June – broadcast on Wandsworth Radio at midnight, and then available to stream or download.
Performed at the Putney Arts Theatre, 11th & 12th May 2018 as part of the Wandworth Arts Fringe. Part of WAF in Your Front Room, this project was supported by Wandsworth Arts Fringe through the Wandsworth Grant Fund.
Tom Slatter – Dominic/Viktor
Abigail Morgan – Frankie/Rachel
John Rayment – Stuart
Ellie Pitkin – Director/Producer
Andrew Crane – Sound/Foley Designer
MEGAN BARBOUR – Foley Team/Intern
CHARLOTTE BISHOP – Foley Team/Intern
ALEC MILLS – Foley Team
BETTY SMITH – Foley Team/Intern
Vikki Weston – Producer
JESSICA BAILES, VIOLAINE BRUNELIN,
Charlotte Discombe & Richard Stratton – Associate Producer
CHRIS BUXEY – Writer Chris is a writer who lives in the south of England with his wife and two children. His first stage play, The Haunting of Exham Priory, toured theatres across the country in the autumn of 2016. When not writing stage plays, Chris can be found writing web comics and short stories online at chrisbuxey.com.
JOHN RAYMENT – Stuart
This is John’s third outing with Blackshaw, having previously appeared as ‘Barquentine’ in Gormenghast: Titus Groan (2012), and in the original reading of The Final Adventure of Frankie Fightwell in 2017’s Showcase Shortlist.
Other recent credits include:
‘Trotter’, Journey’s End (2016 UK tour/2017, Ypres, Belgium); ‘Mr. Monopoly’, Monopoly Live, Dubai (2015 & 2017); ‘Sarge’, Choppercoppers, The Brockley Jack (2017); ‘Marcus’ & ‘Patrick’, The Past Is A Tattooed Sailor, The Old Red Lion (2016); ‘Porteous’, Classified, The Space/Hounslow Arts Centre (2015 & 2016); ‘Roy’, Bedtime Story, Theatre Royal Stratford East (2016); ‘Mayor Red Thomas’, Secret Cinema presents Back to the Future (2014); ‘Albany’, Lear, The Union Theatre (2014); ‘Mayor Meanswell’, Lazy Town Live, Abu Dhabi.
ABIGAIL MORGAN – Frankie Fightwell/Rachel Abigail is a graduate of Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts (2013). Since leaving she has played ‘Cassie’ in Gone Viral at St.James Theatre (2014), ‘Iris’ in To Be A Wife at The Hen and Chickens (2014), ‘Ellie’ in The Laundrette at the Vaults Festival (2018), and ‘Catherine Morland’ in Northanger Abbey (2017-18), which was at the Pleasance Theatre last year and will continue to tour later this year. She also completed her first feature film, One Night More, last year which is set to tour film festivals this summer.
Abigail is also an established voiceover artist. She is a regular voice for MTV, KISS FM and Capital FM. Abigail played ‘Billie’ in Billie and the Ghost on the Disney Channel, and has also recently finished her first animation.
TOM SLATTER – Dominic/Viktor Tom’s credits include RSC, Suffolk Summer Theatre; Stonecrabs Theatre Co, Ovation Productions, Savio(u)r, Sell A Door Theatre Co, London Grey and Green Theatre Co, London Comedy Writers, Blackshaw Theatre, Tik-Sho-Ret Theatre Co, Foolish People and Sturdy Beggars. Screen Credits include Slate4Films, Embankment Films, Netflix/Hat-Trick, National Geographic, Discovery Channel and NEWSNIGHT on BBC. Radio credits include Wireless Theatre Company and Roundhouse Radio.
ELLIE PITKIN – Director and Producer Ellie is the Managing & Artistic Director of Blackshaw Theatre Company, which she founded in May 2010. Directing credits include Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker (London & Edinburgh, 2009) and Arcadia by Tom Stoppard (London, 2006). With Blackshaw, Ellie has directed Some Treachery: A Miss McSkimming Mystery (Putney Arts Theatre, 2017); Black Shuck by Duncan Hands (Old Red Lion Theatre, 2016); Staying Alive by Kat Roberts (The Pleasance, 2015); Alice in Wonderland by Richard Stratton (Selkirk Upstairs, Battersea Library & The British Home, 2014 & 2015); Character by Florence Vincent (Selkirk Upstairs & Tristan Bates Theatre, 2014 & 2015); Fetch by Duncan Gates (Selkirk Upstairs, 2014); Audience with the Ghost Finder by M. J. Starling (Selkirk Upstairs & Etcetera Theatre, 2013); Gormenghast: Titus Groan (Apr 2012 – The Actors’ Church, Covent Garden).
A graduate in Theatre Studies from Royal Holloway University (2008), Ellie also comperes Blackshaw’s regular New Writing Nights and produces/presents Blackshaw’s podcast, The Blackshaw Arts Hour.
ANDREW CRANE – Foley Wizard Andrew is a graduate in Drama and Theatre Studies from Royal Holloway University (2012), and has worked as a sound designer and technician for Blackshaw Theatre since 2012. Sound Design credits include Moth Man by Nicole Locke (2018), Cailleach Óg by Gerry Moynihan (2017), Black Shuck by Duncan Hands (2016), Call it Even by Naila Vázquez Tantinyà (2016), Staying Alive by Kat Roberts (2015), Alice in Wonderland by Richard Stratton (2014 & 2015), Character by Florence Vincent (2014), and Fetch by Duncan Gates (2014).For Blackshaw’s Arts Hour on Wandsworth Radio, Andrew has produced live foley and post-production editing for Some Treachery: A Miss McSkimming Mystery by Richard Stratton (2017), and designed/edited several radio plays including Audience with the Ghost Finder by M.J. Starling (2015), and a serialised adaptation of Great Expectations by Marcus Bazley.
Moth Man – interview with the writer, Nicole Locke
We announce the Moth Man cast
Theatre Reviews – The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter (The Harold Pinter Theatre til 14th April) & The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth (Gielgud til 19th May)
We announce the Final Adventure of Frankie Fightwell cast
We’ve been working really hard on lots of funding applications to reboot our adaptation of ‘Gormenghast: Titus Groan’ – while we wait with our fingers crossed, here’s some lovely photos from the readthrough we had in Feb.
Blackshaw Theatre 