Take a look at the lovely programme for our presentation of Charlotte Brontë’s Shirley at Farfield Mill in Sedbergh, Cumbria!
It’s the first time ever that the novel has been adapted for performance – so we really are making history! See the full cast and crew for this unprecedented production in order of appearance below:
Seán Fitton
Michael Barraclough / Reverend Helstone / Mr Sympson
An award winning child actor, Seán returned to the theatre later in life after a short thirty year break. Shirley is his second project with Dangerous To Know and he is very pleased and proud to be back with the team. He particularly enjoys learning about the historical context and feminist politics of DTK’s shows, and the challenge of playing multiple roles convincingly.
In addition to professional acting work, Seán is also a mature student at Salford University – studying for a BA in Theatre and Performance Practice – an author and an occasional musician.
Jo Gerard
Mrs Barraclough / Hortense / Mrs Pryor
Jo lives in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. She trained at the Arden School of Theatre, Manchester.
Her theatre credits include work with Northern Broadsides, Dark Horse Theatre and Manchester 24/7 festival. She has appeared on screen in Emmerdale, The Royal Today and Victoria Wood’s That Day We Sang, and also has a couple of commercials under her belt.
A Jazz vocalist, music teacher and lover of yoga, Jo was involved in the original rehearsed reading of Caroline Lamb’s adaptation of Shirley last year and is delighted to be performing it at Farfield Mill this year.
Mark Roberts
Robert Moore
Mark trained at the Arts Educational School of Acting in London. He is native to the Peak District in Derbyshire and is now based in Manchester. As an Actor and Theatre Maker he regularly works on new writing and rehearsed readings.
He is an associate artist with the Babbling Vagabonds Theatre Company.
Recent stage credits include Freddy Frith in Derby Live & Babbling Vagabonds’ Captain Sprout and the Christmas Pirates, Detective Caminada for Pagelight Productions’ A Very Victorian Scandal, Sam Philips in Rock and Roll Productions’ Memphis Son, Martin in Blind Faith’s Fool for Love, Mr Hardcastle & Luther Gascoigne in The Library Theatre Company’s Playing Up North, Jacob Grimm in the Babbling Vagabonds’ The Brothers Grimm, Will Derby in Cotton Grass Theatre’s Thin Air and Bottom, Oberon & Demetrius in Sheffield Crucible’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Behind the Curtain. Recent film roles have included DCI Anthony Roberts for Green Pen Productions’ Bad Blood and Sheep Dawg in Lesta-Botheration’s 8Acre.
He is pleased to be working with Dangerous To Know for the first time on what has been a fascinating production to be in.
Elka Lee Green
Caroline Helstone
Elka graduated from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts North in 2014. Some of her favourite credits include the devised verbatim piece Vent (the Royal Exchange’s Co:Lab festival), the role of Chelsea in two tours of the hard-hitting play Chelsea’s Choice (Alter Ego Creative Solutions) a speaking role in the opera Intermezzo (Garsington Opera) and Danny the Champion of the World (Brentwood Theatre). She has also appeared in short films with Dustfarm, Little Joy Productions and Quickfoot Media. It’s a Dangerous To Know double bill for Elka this month as she will be playing Ellen Turner in their next exciting commission, Theft of a Girl, a live monologue blended with stop motion film for Lyme Park’s “Live at Lyme” event.
Sam Redway
Joe Scott / Louis Moore
Sam Redway is an award-winning Manchester-based actor, theatre-maker and co-Artistic Director of Knaïve Theatre. He trained at RADA on the MA Theatre Lab (2014). He has toured nationally and internationally as Osama Bin Laden in Knaïve Theatre’s multi-international award-winning Bin Laden: The One Man Show. His directing includes Mike Bartlett’s Contractions, A Dead Tree Gives No Shelter (ACE Funded) and OSA. His writing includes co-writing Bin Laden: The One Man Show; a Modern Mystery Play, The Fall; and a libretto for Size Zero Opera, Women Conduct.
He has performed and devised with many companies nationally and internationally, including: Theatre Ad Infititum, Familia De La Noche, Dangerous to Know, Manchester Camerata, Smoking Apples, Hiccup Theatre and Engine House Productions.
Caroline Lamb
Shirley
Caroline graduated from the Lincoln School of Performing Arts in 2012 and works as a writer, producer and actor. Her performance credits include Gwendolen in the Houldsworth Rep’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Emily Brontë in Dangerous To Know’s The Dissolution of Percy and Jane in Haddon Hall’s Jane Eyre. Writing credits include Dangerous To Know’s The Dissolution of Percy, Theft of a Girl and Shirley.
Caroline is thrilled to be returning to her home town with Shirley!
Joe Colgan
Stage Manager
Joseph Colgan is a North West based freelance Company Stage Manager. Alongside working on TV and film projects, he has provided technical support for corporate entertainment events, festivals, theatre and education. In addition to this CSM’ing for national touring productions at venues across the UK and Ireland, recent engagements include OMTC Festival 2017 and filming on City and The City for BBC/Mammoth Films and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Feelgood Theatre Company.
Helen Parry
Director
Helen is a freelance theatre director who originally trained as an actor. She has an extensive body of work ranging from classical plays to new writing with several site-specific projects along the way. She will be teaching at ALRA this term and then is off to Copenhagen in January to direct Caryl Churchill’s A Number for That Theatre Company. Her continued collaboration with Caroline Lamb’s company, Dangerous to Know, excites and inspires!
Dangerous To Know 