Park Bench Plays
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This series of pop–up performances has been produced by some of the UK’s biggest writing talents, comedians and emerging playwrights. Each play will be performed by two of the actors, and each venue will see four of the ten-minute plays being performed.
The Park Bench Plays is the brainchild of The REP’s Artistic Director, Sean Foley and has been made possible thanks to the generous support of The Sir Barry Jackson Trust.
Tour Venues
Tuesday 28: Newhampton Arts Centre Stage Tent at 7pm
Thursday 30 September: Gatis Community Centre, (Wolverhampton) at 1pm
Saturday 2 October: Aston Hall Gardens at 1pm AND Castle Bromwich Hall Garden at 4pm
Sunday 3 October: Moseley Park and Pool at 2:30pm AND Shakespeare Garden, Lightwoods Park, Bearwood at 6:30pm
Wednesday 6 October: Cotteridge Park at 3.30pm
Thursday 7 October: Dorothy Parkes Centre at 2pm
Friday 8 October: Welsh House Big Farm Local at 2pm
Saturday 9 October: Library Terrace at 12 noon AND Old Print Works at 4pm
The Park Bench Plays is a diverse collection of micro-plays which has something for everyone – from comic to serious, tragic to hysterical. What makes this so utterly unique is that the collection takes ordinary and everyday conversations and turns them into extraordinary and timeless pieces of mini-theatre – which people around the region can watch, while out and about doing their daily activities. The past 18 months have been particularly challenging for the arts sector, but The REP is very proud to have been able to support local artists”. Sean Foley
The Creators
Writer
Bryony Lavery
Bryony Lavery
Bryony Lavery is a playwright. Her previous work includes the award-winning play Frozen.
Writer
David Edgar
David Edgar
David Edgar is a playwright. His previous work includes the RSC’s Nicholas Nickleby.
Writer & Cast
Janice Connolly
Janice Connolly
Janice Connolly BEM is a founder member of Women & Theatre and has been Artistic Director for over 20 years. She has written, directed and performed in many projects for the company. Janice is a trained teacher and has worked both in mainstream education and as an education project worker for Barnardos. In 2017 Janice was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to Community Arts in the West Midlands.
She is also a successful performer in her own right and has featured in series such as Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights (Channel 4), Dead Man Weds (ITV), Thin Ice (BBC) So Awkward (CBBC), Man Like Mobeen (BBC) Doctors (BBC) as well as appearing twice in Coronation Street. Her theatre roles include Glitterball (Rifco Theatre Company), A Taste of Honey (New Vic Theatre, Stoke) and Tartuffe and Anita & Me (The Rep, Birmingham). Her alter-ego, Mrs. Barbara Nice is a well-loved comedy circuit headliner as well as a Birmingham Icon.
Writer
Lettie Precious & Jack Thorne
Lettie Precious & Jack Thorne
Lettie Precious is a playwright, poet, author and artist. Their previous work includes BBC Three’s The Break. Jack Thorne is a screenwriter and playwright. His previous work includes Harry potter And The Cursed Child.
Writer
Liam Steel
Liam Steel
Liam Steel is a director and choreographer. His previous work includes The Rep’s Peter Pan.
Writer
Maeve Clarke
Maeve Clarke
Maeve Clarke is a novelist and writer. Her previous work includes What Goes Round.
Writer
Robin French
Robin French
Robin French is a playwright, screenwriter and songwriter. His previous work includes BBC Three’s Cuckoo.
Writer
Tanika Gupta
Tanika Gupta
Theatre credits include: The Empress (RSC/Lyric Hammersmith);Out West and A Doll’s House (Lyric Hammersmith); Lions And Tigers (Wanamaker Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe); Hobson’s Choice (Manchester Royal Exchange), Red Dust Road (National Theatre Scotland, Edinburgh International Festival); A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (Hull Truck Theatre); Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe –Dramaturg); Anita and Me (Birmingham Rep); Love N Stuff (Theatre Royal Stratford East); The Empress (Royal Shakespeare Company); Wah! Wah! Girls – A British Bollywood Musical (Sadler’s Wells); Mindwalking (Bandbazi Theatre); Great Expectations (Watford Palace Theatre/English Touring Theatre); Meet The Mukherjees (Bolton Octagon Theatre); White Boy (National Youth Theatre/Soho Theatre); Sugar Mummies (Royal Court Theatre); Gladiator Games (Sheffield Crucible Theatre); Hobson’s Choice (Young Vic); Fragile Land (Hampstead Theatre); Inside Out (Clean Break); Sanctuary, Brecht’s The Good Woman Of Setzuan and The Waiting Room (National Theatre); Skeleton (Soho Theatre); A River Sutra (Indoza).
Headshot by Oscar May
Director
Madeleine Kludje
Madeleine Kludje
Madeleine Kludje is currently the Associate Director at The Birmingham Repertory Theatre and is an alumni of The Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme.
Director
Alice Chambers
Alice Chambers
Alice is a director and dramaturg in Birmingham; her work centres on new writing, radical imagination & deadpan humour.
The Cast
Cast
Alison Belbin
Alison Belbin
Alison graduated with a BA Hons in Drama & Theatre Arts from Birmingham University in 1983.
She has worked in theatre and non-theatre contexts as a performer, deviser/writer, director over the last 40 years. Companies include Birmingham Rep, Women & Theatre, Sante, Hearth, Foursight, Red Ladder, Moving Hands, Theatre Centre, Moby Duck, Pentabus, Big Brum, Bold Text, The Playhouse, Other Way Works, Tea and Tenacity, Something and Nothing and Cheltenham Everyman. As a workshop leader she has worked in schools, residential and community settings, mental health settings and probation.
TV experience includes Maggie in ‘Doctors’ (BBC), ‘The Cure’ (Channel 4) and ‘Switch’ (BBC). She has been in many radio plays and won a Norman Beaton Fellowship in 2016 leading to a 6 month contract with BBC’s Radio Drama Company where her credits included Mrs Morland in ‘Northanger Abbey’ and Dolly in ’Clare in the Community’. She plays Beverley Hanson in ‘The Archers’.
Cast
Cast
Cast
Liam Jeavons
Liam Jeavons
Liam Jeavons is an actor. His previous work includes Goodnight Sweetheart (BBC).
Cast
Saida Ahmed
Saida Ahmed
Saida Ahmed is an actor. her previous work includes Moulin Rouge (Secret Cinema).
Cast
Taja Luegaezor Christian
Taja Luegaezor Christian
Taja Luegaezor Christian is an actor. Her previous work includes The Family (Strictly Arts).
Cast
Tony McPherson
Tony McPherson
Tony McPherson is an actor. His previous work includes The Chase (World Media Rights).
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