Faculty
Patrons
Creative Patrons
George Stiles (Music) and Anthony Drewe (Lyrics)
This year, award-winning songwriters George Stiles and Anthony Drewe celebrated 25 years of writing together.
During this time their musicals include the internationally acclaimed hit Honk! which won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 2000, and has since been seen by over 6 million people around the world; Mary Poppins, currently playing on Broadway and touring the UK, for which they wrote the new songs; Just So, which won the first ever Vivian Ellis Prize, and has subsequently been produced by Cameron Mackintosh; Tutankhamun and Peter Pan, winner of two major awards at the 1996 International Musical Of The Year, which began it's life in the UK in 2001 as a concert at the Royal Festival Hall for the BBC, starring John Thaw and Sheila Hancock. They have also written numerous cabaret songs which have been performed in TV, radio and theatre shows.
Stiles and Drewe are currently working on three new shows; A Private Function, based on the film by Alan Bennett, Soapdish and Soho Cinders. An all-star concert celebrating their 25 years together was staged earlier this year at Her Majesty's Theatre, London, entitled A Spoonful Of Stiles And Drewe, the CD of which has just been released.
With lyricist Paul Leigh, George has also written the scores for Moll Flanders, Tom Jones and The Three Musketeers. He composed the music for Sam Mendes' productions of Twelfth Night, Uncle Vanya and Habeas Corpus at The Donmar Warehouse, and was Dame Edna Everage's musical director for a year.
With composer Tony Hatch, Anthony wrote lyrics for The Card and, with Singaporean composer Dick Lee, the lyrics for A Twist of Fate. His work as a director includes Snoopy (Watermill Theatre), Honk! (South Africa, Chicago, Tokyo and Singapore), Just So (North Shore Music Theatre, Massachussetts, and Chichester Festival Theatre) and The Thing About Men (King's Head). As a performer recent work includes Rogues to Riches (Watermill Theatre), The Three Musketeers (Danish tour) and A Twist of Fate (Singapore).
Stiles and Drewe are founding Board members of Mercury Musical Developments, a charitable organisation that promotes new musical theatre writing in the UK.
Performer Patron
Diane Langton
Diane trained at the Corona Academy and started her professional career as a dancer, touring with ballet companies throughout Europe, followed by appearances on That Was The Week That Was and the London Palladium.
In 1968 Diane won the part of Jeanie in Hair. She later worked with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, and twice appeared at the Royal Court Theatre in Tooth of Crime and Tee Zee. Her many West End Musicals inc: Jesus Christ Superstar, Two Gentlemen of Verona , Petra in A Little Night Music (directed by Hal Prince); Fastrada in Pippin (directed by Bob Fosse), Diana in A Chorus Line (directed by Michael Bennett) Angel in The Rink , Heather in I'm Getting My Act Together , Molly Molloy in Windy City , Silvia in Stepping Out ; Side by Side by Sondheim; How Lucky CanYou Get; Songbook ; Vi in Nell Dunn's Steaming ; Grizabella in Cats (New London); Mama Morton in Chicago (Adelphi); Carlotta in Follies (Royal Festival Hall) and the Birdlady in Mary Poppins (Prince Edward)
Other theatre credits inc: The Courtesan in The Comedy of Errors (National and Worldwide tours for the RSC); Pearl Lamont in Johnny On A Spot and Miss Lucie in Sweet Bird of Youth; Guys and Dolls (all National Theatre). She also developed a biographical musical What I Did For Love (RNT Studio), which as showcased to great acclaim.
On TV Diane achieved national recognition for her part as Kathy Roberts in two hit series of The Rag Trade , and more recently as Nana McQueen in Hollyoaks ; Bev , Cindy Beale's mother in Eastenders (BBC); Ruby Rowan , Nick Berry's mother in Heartbeat and Junie , Del's girlfriend in Only Fools and Horses. Her many other TV appearances inc: Alas Smith and Jones; Bergerac; Minder; Streets Apart; Boon; Starburst; Carry On Laughing; How To Be A Little Sod; Tonight at 8:30pm; The Bill; Doctors; Holby City; The Best of the Royal Variety Show and her own TV special Let There Be Langton.
Diane's recording credits inc : I Can Talk To You (EMI); Climbin (PYE) and many cast recordings. The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber ; Bianca in a new recording of Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate (TER). She was invited by Marvin Hamlisch in 1978 to appear with him in concert at The Royal Albert Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In the same year Diane was given the honour of being invited to appear in the first of two Royal Variety Performances in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen Mother, the second being in 1982. She has had much success with her one-woman show with appearances at The Green Room and Pizza On The Park.
Performer Patron
Lara Pulver
Lara has just completed filming the new female lead in the BBC Primetime show ROBIN HOOD. The show airs from April 2009.
Lara received a 2008 Laurence Olivier Award Nomination for Best Actress in a Musical and a Theatregoers Choice Award Nomination for her portrayal of Lucille Frank in Parade at The Donmar Warehouse. Critics praised the production, saying:
'Completing the cast is Lara Pulver, who follows her quite stunning performance in Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years at the Menier Chocolate Factory last year with another outstanding portrayal as Lucille Frank. She has now surely established herself as one of the finest musical theatre performers in the UK.'
Broadwayworld.com
Lara's theatre work includes: Sarah Goldman in The UK Premiere of Beau Jest at The Hackney Empire; Lucille Frank in Parade at The Donmar Warehouse directed by Rob Ashford; Into The Woods at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Cathy in the UK Premiere of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years at The Menier Chocolate Factory; Ellen in Miss Saigon for Cameron Mackintosh Ltd; Henrietta in The Royal National Theatre's production of Honk! directed by Julia McKenzie; Dinah Lord in High Society directed by Ian Talbot; Bebe in A Chorus Line at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre directed by Nikolai Foster; Maisie in the 50th Anniversary production of The Boy Friend at the Theatre Royal Windsor and UK tour; Chicago original UK tour; Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street UK tour; Grease at the Victoria Palace Theatre, West End; Dorothy in The Wizard of OZ at the Oldham Coliseum Theatre and Primrose Larkin in The Darling Buds of May UK tour.
As a teenager, Lara worked extensively with the National Youth Music Theatre appearing in numerous productions including Pendragon at The Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith and The City Center Theater, New York.
Concert work includes: Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th Birthday Celebration at The Royal Albert Hall; Jason Robert Brown in Concert at The Royal Festival Hall; An Evening with Lauren Kennedy at The Menier Chocolate Factory; Gypsy & S'Wonderful with The Welsh National Orchestra at St David's Hall.
Board of Advisors
Jack Gunn, Choreographer/Director/Teacher/Performer
Honorary Member IDTA (International Dance Teachers Association)
Former Accreditor with NCDTE (National Council Dance Training and Education)
Resident/Dance Captain/Director for many years in West End, including Dance Captain of original British Company of A Chorus Line.
Choreographer Director of major National Tours and International Productions
Choreographed 20 musicals for The London Studio Centre
For many years regular member of Judges Panel for “The All England Dance Competition”
Debbie O'Brien, Casting Director
West End productions include: The Harder They Come (Playhouse), Grease (Piccadilly and Victoria Palace), Showboat (Royal Albert Hall), Dancing in the Streets (Playhouse), The Rat Pack Live from Las Vegas (Savoy), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Palladium), Saturday Night Fever (Apollo Victoria), The Snowman (Peacock), Fame (Aldwych), Peter Pan and The Pirates of Penzance (Savoy), Mum’s the Word (Albery), Daisy Pulls It Off (Lyric), The King and I (Palladium), Napoleon (Shaftesbury), Madame Melville (Vaudeville), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Playhouse), La Cava (Piccadilly). Smokey Joe's Café (Prince of Wales), The Rocky Horror Show (Queen’s, Piccadilly, Duke of Yorks, Victoria Palace), Soul Train (Victoria Palace), Rent (Shaftesbury), Always (Victoria Palace), Steaming (Piccadilly), Ain't Misbehavin' (Apollo), Disgracefully Yours (Comedy).
UK tours include: Thriller Live, Defending the Caveman, Dancing in the Streets, The Rat Pack Live From Las Vegas, Mahabharata, Bratz Passion for Fashion, Sweet Soul Music, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Starlight Express, Anything Goes, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, What a Feeling, Dirty Dusting, Mack and Mabel, Fame, Mum’s the Word, The King and I, The Misanthrope, The Threepenny Opera, A Chorus Line, A Tribute to the Blues Brothers, Smokey Joe's Cafe, The Rocky Horror Show, Soul Train, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Othello, Trafford Tanzi. Wild Animus (UK/European Tour/Site Specific/Multi Media Project)
Overseas productions include: Vagina Monologues, At Peace, Talking to Terrorists, Rent, The Rat Pack Live from Las Vegas, Fame, Magical Rhythms of Ireland, Starlight Express, An Immaculate Misconception, Footloose, A Tribute to the Blues Brothers, Steaming, The Rocky Horror Show, Private Lives, Fire of Dance, Musical Starlight, Yehenara, I Have Before Me A Remarkable Document.
Regional productions include : Cinderella (Southampton), Little Shop of Horrors (Ipswich), Oklahoma! (Kilworth House), Laurel and Hardy (Ipswich), Jack and the Beanstalk (Stafford and Wakefield), Beauty and the Beast (Ipswich), Blues in the Night (Ipswich), The Pirates of Penzance (Kilworth House), White Christmas (Edinburgh, Cardiff, Plymouth and Southampton), Cinderella (Wakefield), The Snowman (Salford, Birmingham and Edinburgh), Side by Side by Sondheim (Stevenage), Santa Claus, the Musical (Birmingham, Liverpool and Southampton), Only You Can Save Mankind and 100% Sex Therapy (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Around the World in 80 Days, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, They're Playing Our Song, Stepping Out, Mephistopheles Smith, An Inspector Calls, Romeo and Juliet.
Other productions include : The Harder They Come (Barbican), Amadeus (Wilton’s Music Hall), Poison and Ain't Misbehavin', both at the Tricycle Theatre; Dick Whittington at Sadler’s Wells; the workshops of Grim, Artie, Gwen and Lance, Time’s Up, In the Red, Only You Can Save Mankind, Nelson, Mahabharata and Little Women; The Mikado. Specialist casting on Eugene Onegin (English National Opera) and La Boheme (Royal Albert Hall).
Recorded media: Waybulloo (RDF/BBC), Grandpa In My Pocket (Adastra/Cbeebies), What’s Your News? (TT Animation/Nickolodeon), Grease is the Word (Talkback Thames), Upbeat, Mobile, Sky, Success! and Challenges (Pearson Education), How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? (BBC), Amahl and the Night Visitors (BBC); Planet Cook (BBC/Platinum Films), Energy (Max Media/Pearson).
Stuart Piper
Stuart is an Agent & Producer. He is Director of Cole Kitchenn Personal Management Ltd and represents their select list of actors and creatives, with TV agent Paul Martin, and assistants Jo Fell & Lucy Marriott. Their leading screen talent includes Jennifer Ellison, Emmerdale & Hotel Babylon star Amy Nuttall, Coronation Street's Vicky Binns & Sophiya Haque, former STEPS member Ian H Watkins (currently filming on the new series of Skins), The Royle Family & Emmerdale regular Peter Martin, Hollyoaks' Stephen Uppal and Ciara Janson, Holby City & Brookside star Mark Moraghan and Susan George who's expansive film career has spanned five decades. Our Comedy talent includes Dead Ringers and Headcases regular Jess Robinson, star of Channel 4's BAFTA Award Winning Star Stories Alex Woodhall, Smack The Pony and Green Wing co-writer and star Oriane Messina, one of Britain's most instantly recognisable comediennes Helen Lederer. Among our leading musical theatre clients are Tony, Olivier & Whatsonstage Award winning talent including Caroline O'Connor, Kim Criswell, Paul Baker, Frances Ruffelle, Graham Bickley, Jimmy Johnston, Leila Benn Harris, Rosemary Ashe, Robyn North, Ria Jones & Siobhan McCarthy.
As a producer, Stuart's productions include Nicholas Hoult in New Boy, Phill Jupitus in Lifecoach (both Trafalgar Studios), Howard Goodall's Days of Hope (Kings Head), Snoopy The Musical (New Players Theatre/Jermyn St) and the annual Whatsonstage Awards. With Cole Kitchenn he general managed Death of a Salesman (Lyric) with Brian Dennehy and Clare Higgins, The Countess (Criterion) with Nick Moran and the Tony & Pulitzer Prize winning I Am My Own Wife (Duke of Yorks).
For more info visit www.colekitchenn.com
Chris Grady
Chris Grady is a freelance arts management and project developer specialising in working with emerging artistic practitioners, writers, composers and producers in Musical Theatre. He chairs the producers network MTM:UK (Musical Theatre Matters). He is artistic programmer for the new festival of musicals within the Edinburgh Festival Fringe entitled Musical Theatre @ George Square, as well as being a consultant for IT&M Publishing and Production looking at the development of their international licensing division, a judge on the annual New York Festival of new Musicals created by NAMT, and developing a range of writer collaboration/mentoring programmes for the UK and Korean markets.
He continues to run courses on arts marketing, fundraising, event management and festival management variously at Rose Bruford and for the Federation of Scottish Theatre. Based in Suffolk, Chris is also, slowly, developing the Quest Foundation with his wife actress/director Kath Burlinson, for the support of creative artists in association with Kath's Authentic Artist mentoring programme.
For more information visit