I’m a freelance musician and writer based in Oxford, UK. Please use the menu to find out about my work, and drop me a line if you’d like to know more—follow the link to the Contact page.
WHAT’S ON IN 2023:
‘Fantastically clever …’ ‘snappy, inherently human’ … ‘Sharp and witty’ …
Some of the lovely reviewer comments about VERITY and DEXTER, two musicals about one disastrous wedding, which played at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe and can be seen in the video version on Scenesaver. Aunts and cousins, social media, the mysterious Moira Day and a herd of Moroccan donkeys—all created a quirky world on the Annexe stage of theSpace at Symposium Hall. Plans are now underway for another staging of both shows …
OTHER NEWS:
MRS PACK is a musical about a real woman who turned the Stuart royal court upside-down. Three Chairs and a Hat took the show to the Edinburgh Fringe for its première run in August 2022, and after great audience feedback and a 4-star review, we’re planning the London debut for 2024. We were delighted that a video of the Fringe production was a nominee in the Montreal Women Film Festival — you can see the film on Scenesaver or our YouTube channel.
Inspired by a certain Shakespearean character, LADY M is the life coach you ignore at your peril. The animated version of my musical is available as a complete video or three short episodes on our YouTube channel and on international digital theatre platform Scenesaver.
Awards:
Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival 2021
International Cosmopolitan Film Festival of Tokyo, 2022
Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift
Stockholm Short Festival
Canada Shorts Film Festival
Berlin International Art Film Festival 2022
Palm Springs Shorts 2022
SHAKESPEARE (SHE/HER)
‘an insightful piece of theatre’ … ‘powerful’ … ‘moving’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Broadway Baby
‘fresh, innovative … a fast-paced production that is sure keep viewers on their toes’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Theatre Weekly
This major digital project, bringing together 35 monologues, sonnets and songs by Shakespeare’s women, and placing them in 21st-century settings, is screened on international theatre platform Scenesaver. Featuring a superb cast and directed and filmed by Wayne T Brown for Three Chairs and a Hat, Shakespeare (she/her) featured at the Brighton and Edinburgh Online Fringe Festivals, and linked with Scenesaver and charities Crisis and The Samaritans, to highlight some of the issues raised in the videos. In 2022 the project was showcased at the Equality Shakespeare Festival, a digital initiative hosted by The Shakespeare Institute and University College London to foster equality across race, class and gender.
‘Shakespeare (She/Her) is a timely, accessible and valuable educational tool which should be viewed not just by students but by everyone who cares about gender equality. It places centre-stage women’s voices and viewpoints in ways which are by turns witty, arresting, poignant and powerful. To watch it is to have expectations about Shakespeare altered and prejudices challenged. Watch it, therefore, and be prepared to see Shakespeare’s women in a completely new light.’—Dr Chris Laoutaris, The Shakespeare Institute
HAUNTED
First seen at the online Edinburgh Fringe, Haunted was awarded an Honorable Mention for Best Mobile Short, Independent Shorts Awards, Los Angeles 2021; and was a semi-finalist for Indie Short Fest, LA 2021. Haunted is also available to view on Scenesaver.
ONE, TWO, THREE, AND … - It's a huge relief to get back into rehearsal rooms, theatre spaces—and even the howling gales and downpours of the outdoor performance.
OUTREACH PROJECTS - The dance goes on, as our Oxford Dance for Parkinson's sessions go online to discover characters, themes and music based on literature and ballet repertoire.
VERITY - Verity is back! Ditched at her wedding, nagged by her mum, hates her job ... and it's only Monday. This short musical earned a 4-star review at the Edinburgh Fringe and was voted BEST MUSICAL in the Scenesaver Birthday Honours Awards. And she's not done yet ...Wedding Song performed by Frankie Alexandra
READ ALL ABOUT IT! - 'Taut writing' … 'Great atmosphere … loved it!'—some of the lovely feedback for my novel VERA VENTI (and I promise it wasn't from me). Available as ebook and paperback: click the cover to get your order in!
MAKING MUSICALS - Songs, movement, dialogue and drawings—all part of the fun at my workshops at Didcot's Cornerstone Arts Centre, and the Creation Theatre holiday sessions
OPERA ON TOUR - The Opera Anywhere team brings Mozart, Puccini, modern opera and Gilbert & Sullivan to new audiences in theatres, schools, cafés and cowsheds across the country
