Huw Jones
Director: Lady Chatterley's Lover.
Assistant Director: Barefoot in the Park.

Huw is an experienced theatre professional who has directed over 200 productions, many with non-professionals.

Trained at Central School of Speech and Drama, he has taught drama in schools and colleges, been Portsmouth’s drama advisory teacher, and for 15 years was Director of Portsmouth Arts Centre.

Before moving to Kent, he ran his own company, Mansel Productions, undertaking a variety of projects in Hampshire and abroad, in Warsaw, Poland. Currently Head of Drama at Kent College, Canterbury.

Huw has recently joined the Players, becoming Assistant Director for Barefoot in the Park. He will be directing Lady Chatterley’s Lover in Spring 2012

Stephen Lamyman
Production and stage manager: Lady Chatterley's Lover.
Actor: Pint Sized Henry V, Barefoot in the Park.

Stephen has been with the Players for just over a year having joined initially as a social member. He has thoroughly enjoyed his acting experience in Pint Sized Henry V and is very much looking forward to a new challenge in Barefoot in the Park. He has felt very welcome from everyone he has met through the Canterbury Players and has enjoyed the Social and Work side of the group. Stephen, as ever will put as much energy and vigour into his performance as possible, and hopes that even without the 3 course dinner supplied with Pint Sized Henry V; people will still enjoy watching it.

The only review we could find of Stephen comes from Mr Shorrock; a Year 7 History teacher who states “Stephen is an excellent pupil who unfortunately distracts others, perhaps more time studying and less time talking would prove him well.” What this says about his acting credentials we are unsure, but serves to know the man none the less.

Derek Standing
President
Set Design & Construction

Some 42 years ago, Derek responded to an urgent advert from Canterbury Dramatic Society and although only 18 he got a job and even survived giving the cast a nightmare on his first set because he did not know that one has to add size glue to the powder paint.

Recent productions: RolePlay; The Birthday Party; The Accrington Pals; Play It Again Sam; Fallen Angels; Much Ado About Nothing; The Vortex; Night Must Fall; The Importance of Being Earnest; Barefoot In the Park; Lady Chatterley's Lover.

Tessa Taylor
Assistant director: Lady Chatterley's Lover.
Actor: Much Ado About Nothing; Day After The Fair; Dark of the Moon; Night Must Fall; The Importance of Being Earnest, Barefoot in the Park;

Tessa has been a Drama teacher in London and Surrey. She trained in Cheltenham from 1960-63, performed at the Everyman Theatre, and then directed school plays at the Thorndike in Leatherhead.

Moving to Canterbury in 1991, she began teaching at Chaucer Technology School, joined Playcraft and played (among other rôles) Maggie in ‘Hobson’s Choice’ and Natasha in ‘Three Sisters’. In 2007 she completed her training for the Church and left Chaucer: from the stage to the classroom to the pulpit!

For the Canterbury Players, she took part in "Much Ado About Nothing", "Day After The Fair" , "Dark of the Moon" and Night Must Fall.

Edward Shambrook
Actor: Lady Chatterley's Lover.

Edward has been interested in acting since an early age, having joined Rhodes Theatre School, a drama club near his hometown of Hornchurch, Essex, at just five years old. He left Rhodes Theatre School because they covered all three elements of theatre: singing, dancing and acting. Though he disliked the first two elements, his love for acting has stuck to this day.

After leaving Rhodes at ten years old, he quickly joined the ‘Helen O Grady’ drama club, also near his hometown, where he played the lead in two productions although, Edward admits, ‘I have no idea what they were called’. After leaving the Helen O’ Grady drama club at sixteen, Edward didn’t act for a long time as he concentrated getting through his A Levels. However, after reading many plays, he fell in love with theatre once again, although ‘in a more serious way than before’. When he got to the University of Kent so as to do a Law degree, he quickly auditioned for roles in productions put on by University’s very own T:24 Drama Society, narrowly missing out on a part. He first got involved with the Canterbury Players when he responded to an email T:24 sent to him about auditions for Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and was thrilled when he was cast as Mellors.

Edward says that theatre brings out the ambitious side of him. He hopes to one day to write and direct his own play and is considering pursuing a professional life in the arts.

Richard Vince
Actor: Dark of the Moon; Pint Sized Henry V; The Importance of Being Earnest; Lady Chatterley's Lover.

Richard thought he had achieved all his acting ambitions in his very first play, when he played a tree in a school production in Aladdin. Not one to take this early peak as a sign to get out while the going is good, he spent most of his school and university days appearing in and/or directing amateur productions on stage and film, as well as a brief stint as a supporting presenter on BBC Radio. During this time, he noticed a worrying trend where he started life being cast as naïve innocents and heroic roles before transitioning to almost exclusively villains, murderers and mad men. The pyschological and personality implications of this shift are ones he chooses to avoid….

After a few years ‘out of the game’, he has started to make use once again of those creaky acting muscles and his studies in drama at the University of Kent and joined the Canterbury Players. He was thrilled to have been made to feel so welcome, forming many enew friendships, and to be cast in his "Dark of the Moon" (as the villain!). He is currently throughly enjoying working with the cast and crew of "Pint Sized Henry V" and "Importance of Being Earnest", where he gets to enjoy on set costume changes, multiple roles/accents, a rugby match, trivial behaviour, romance, comedy and sudden revelations. Or, as he calls it, Tuesday evening.

Jill Akhurst
Director – Palace of Varieties; Bazaar and Rummage; Night Must Fall.
Director's Assistant The Accrington Pals
Singer of saucy songs; Actor Fallen Angels; Two; Arsenic And Old Lace; The Vortex; Dark of the Moon; Lady Chatterley's Lover.

I directed Night Must Fall twenty years ago in London, where it was a great success.  I had a good cast then, but I've got an even better cast now.  This is a superbly written play which, with good actors, cannot fail to keep the audience in a state of suspense right up until the last moment

Jill recently appeared at the Gulbenkian as Clara in The Vortex by Noel Coward and has sung the part of Lotte Lenya in “I’ve Looked in the Window at Diamonds” for the Really Promising Company.

One of her favourite roles was as Aunt Abby in Arsenic And Old Lace for the Canterbury Players in October 2009.

Jim Akhurst
Actor: The Accrington Pals; Palace of Varieties; Fallen Angels; Arsenic And Old Lace; The Vortex; Dark of the Moon;

Jim was recently cast as the playwright Bertolt Brecht in “I’ve Looked in the Window at Diamonds”, a musical show about the life of composer Kurt Weill.  Brecht wanted to “keep the audience guessing at what will happen next” and Dark of the Moon has a few surprises for the audience.

Over the past few years, Jim has played the roles of Fred in Noel Coward's Fallen Angels, Arthur Boggis in The Accrington Pals, Doctor Einstein in Arsenic And Old Lace and, most recently, Bruce Fairlight in The Vortex.

Hannah McCorry

After several years away from the stage, Hannah recently joined the Canterbury Players and helped out back-stage in 'Barefoot in the Park'. Having got a taste for it again, Hannah auditioned for 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' and is delighted to be playing the part of Connie.

Hannah has performed in a number of productions , including 'Animal Farm', 'Alice in Wonderland', 'Doctor Faustus', 'The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui' and appeared in 'Much Ado About Nothing' and 'Marat-Sade' for the Brighton and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. Hannah has also co-directed 'The Importance of Being Earnest' and produced 'As You Like It' for the Brighton Fringe Festival.

Hannah works for the NHS as an adult speech and language therapist.

Adam Summers
Actor: Much Ado About Nothing; Two; Day After The Fair; Canterbury Tales
Assistant Stage Manager: Arsenic And Old Lace
Assistant Stage Construction and Lighting Engineer: Bazaar & Rummage

Adam joined the Canterbury Players as a result of an email that asked him to come along to an audition for 'Much Ado About Nothing'. The rest as they say is history.

Adam has always loved drama and as a result, studied the subject at college. He has appeared in a number of productions, where he has played roles such as Hatch in 'The Sea', Algernon in 'The Importance of Being Earnest' and Napoleon in a musical version of George Orwell's 'Animal Farm’.

He is greatly looking forward to future productions with the Players.

Becky Lamyman
Actor: Dark of the Moon; Pint Sized Henry V;
Assistant Director/Stage Manager. The Importance of Being Earnest

Dark of the Moon will be Becky's first foray into grown up theatre, with her previous experience being focussed around school plays, including "Trolls", "The Wiz" and "Do We Ever See Grace?" where she played an 11 year old suicidal clown. This role clearly traumatised her and she gave theatrics a wide birth until her third year studying Classics and English at the University of Kent where she directed/produced and acted in the student Christmas panto.

Becky currently works at Christ Church Students' Union and joined the Players in the summer of 2010 helping out backstage at the production of "The Vortex".

She is thrilled at joining the cast of the "Dark of the Moon", and hopes to do the Players proud. 

Becky would like to take this opportunity to thank the Players for their warm welcome.

Louise Gibbins
Actor: Play It Again Sam; Gosforth’s Fete; The Accrington Pals; La Ronde; Much Ado About Nothing; Bazaar and Rummage; Two; Day After The Fair; Lady Chatterley's Lover.

Louise joined the Players in 2006 & has since been involved in several productions.

The first was Harold Pinter’s ‘The Birthday Party’ where she was the official teapot bearer between Acts II & III. Following the success of teapot placement, she was cast as Councillor Mrs Pearce in Alan Ayckborne’s ‘Gosforth’s Fete’. Louise proved herself to be a massive hit when Charlie Jubber (Gosforth) omitted to catch her as she fell off the podium backwards.

In Schnitzler's ‘La Ronde’, she played a prostitute which was lucky as Louise was concerned about being typecast! Louise also appeared in the production, "The Accrington Pals" by Peter Whelan. Here, she played Sarah, a hardworking but fun loving mother in her late twenties.

Louise is seeking film extra work, her public profiles on casting websites can be found HERE and HERE.

Jo Purvis
Committee Member
Assistant Director: Day After the Fair
Actor: Canterbury Tales; Dark of the Moon; Pint Sized Henry V; The Importance of Being Earnest; Lady Chatterley's Lover.
Occasional Stage Manager: The Vortex

Jo has always loved the theatre and spent most of her childhood playing various Dickensian waifs and strays.

As a natural bossy boots, she relished the opportunity to hone her organisational skills as Assistant Director for Day After the Fair.

She made her first stage performance for the Players in the Canterbury Tales, whilst also reprising her key role of official tea-maker.

She is greatly looking forward to wearing yet another fabulous hat for her role in Dark of the Moon.

Peter Fox
Actor: Arsenic And Old Lace; The Vortex; Lady Chatterley's Lover.

Peter joined the Canterbury Players in 2009, working as Assistant Stage Manager and Set Production Assistant roles. He took on his first acting role to play an inept cop in Arsenic And Old Lace. He fancied a more meatier role thereafter, taking on the part of Nicky in The Vortex.

Having taken a break from amdram to take his PGCE, Peter is looking forward to treading the boards once again as part of the ensemble for Lady C.

Peter is also pursuing his ambitions as a pianist, both writing and performing. He is currently studying for a Masters in Physics at the University of Kent. His favourite book is Catch 22 - "it's the best there is!"

Ruth Cameron.
Actor: Much Ado About Nothing; Bazaar and Rummage; Arsenic And Old Lace; The Vortex; Night Must Fall; Lady Chatterley's Lover.

Ruth was a singing, dancing, and acting child and won the best actor prize for Lady Macbeth at age 16. Despite gaining a provisional place at the Hampstead School of Drama, she did not follow an acting career. In the 1980s Ruth co- produced a school pantomime with the writer John Larr and took part in local sketches, but then did not return to drama until 2006 when she joined the Canterbury Players; Ruth has been involved in most productions since. This includes singing in Marie Lloyd songs in "Palace of Varieties", being an attendant in "Much Ado About Nothing" and performing the outrageous, yet poignant part of the blaspheming vulgarian Margaret Gittings in "Bazaar and Rummage" the 'innocent' murderess in “Arsenic And Old Lace” and the shocking socialite Florence in Noel Coward’s “The Vortex”.