Sarah Gooch
Actor: Much Ado About Nothing; The Birthday Party; La Ronde; The Accrington Pals; Bazaar and Rummage; The Importance of Being Earnest; Pint Sized Henry V
Performance Director Blue Remembered Hills; Two; Day After The Fair; Canterbury Tales; Pint Sized Henry V
Stage Manager - RolePlay
Vice Chair, Social Secretary & Actor

Sarah has been involved in theatre since the age of thirteen and has been a member of Canterbury Players for the past ten years. Recent acting roles with Canterbury Players include Meg in “The Birthday Party”, the actress in "La Ronde", Viola in “Twelfth Night” and May in "The Accrington Pals".

Lisa Nightingale
Committee Member
Assistant Director: Pint Sized Henry V
Stage Manager: Dark of the Moon
Actor: Two; Canterbury Tales; The Importance of Being Earnest
Lisa has been acting since a very young age. She studied at the Laine Theatre Arts school in Epsom Surrey and then gained a degree in Drama at Rose Bruford College of speech and drama. Theatre work includes;

Fanny in Far From the Madding Crowd., A tour of the south of France in which she played the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet. Polly in The Gut Girls at the ICA in London. Luce in The Comedy of Errors for the Nuffield Theatre Southampton. Mary in Low Level Panic.

Lisa helped found the 'IN A SPACE' theatre company in 1996 where she helped write and direct various plays; she is most proud of 'JANIS' a play of the life of Janis Joplin, which was performed in Brighton.

Lisa spent many years teaching drama at the Italia Conti school based in London. Lisa has recently joined the Canterbury players.

Geoff Dale
Actor: Much Ado About Nothing; Two; Pint Sized Henry V; Pint Sized Henry V .

Geoff began his acting career at the tender age of 5 as the Angel Gabriel, and it could be said that it has been all downhill since then!

He has worked with the Kent Youth Theatre, National Youth Theatre, and with local groups including Dover Operatic, Kent Countryside Productions, Grassroots and the Arden Theatre to name but a few.

He was most recently a very bloody Banquo, thoroughly enjoying working with the prosthetics makeup artist, and is looking forward to his first Players production, Much Ado About Nothing.

Phil Gittins
Actor: The Glass Menagerie; Desire Under the Elms; The Birthday Party; Much Ado About Nothing; Arsenic And Old Lace; Canterbury Tales; Pint Sized Henry V

It is with sadness we mourn the loss of Phil, a dear friend and fellow Thespian, who passed away in December 2011.

From early school performances in “Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat” and “The Jungle Book” to a Sixth Form review in which he played Ben, one of the “Flower Pot” men, Phil long held a passion for acting, performing and filmmaking.

He came to Canterbury in 1994, to study Radio, Film & Television at Christchurch University College and following several college films and local productions he joined the Players in 2002 for the role of Tom in “The Glass Menagerie”.

A teacher of English, Media and Film studies, Phil enjoyed cinema / filmmaking, writing and watching football in his spare time.

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.

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.

Sarah Gooch
Actor: Much Ado About Nothing; The Birthday Party; La Ronde; The Accrington Pals; Bazaar and Rummage; The Importance of Being Earnest; Pint Sized Henry V
Performance Director Blue Remembered Hills; Two; Day After The Fair; Canterbury Tales; Pint Sized Henry V
Stage Manager - RolePlay
Vice Chair, Social Secretary & Actor

Sarah has been involved in theatre since the age of thirteen and has been a member of Canterbury Players for the past ten years. Recent acting roles with Canterbury Players include Meg in “The Birthday Party”, the actress in "La Ronde", Viola in “Twelfth Night” and May in "The Accrington Pals".

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.

Sebastian Spaul
Actor: Dark of the Moon; Pint Sized Henry V

I studied acting, singing and dancing at Kent Youth Theatre - a professional acting school in Canterbury for about two years - receiving a number of auditions for television including 'Johny and The Bomb' and 'In The Break'. I aslo studied Theatre studies through GCSE and have just finished two years of A level Theatre Studies and Film Studies. In particular I enjoy comedy acting from Tommy Cooper's hat sketch to Little Britain.

Other than Drama I have a great love for Martial Arts and have been doing Bujinkai Karate since I was about 6. I also play drums, classical and electric guitar and am learning to speak Spanish as there is quite a lot of Spanish in my family!

Dark of the Moon is my first production with the Canterbury Players but I hope to continue performing with them.

Daniel Steinbach
Actor: Dark of the Moon; The Importance of Being Earnest; Pint Sized Henry V
Stage Manager: Canterbury Tales

Daniel is originally from Trier in Germany, and has been living in the UK for over four years. He works at the Cathedral as a glazier and conservator of stained glass. He has a passion for music, art and his German (aka ‘proper’) bread.

He has acted back home as a teenager, in roles such as Professor Dr. Hiccup in The Dream Eater by Michael Ende.

He joined the Players earlier this year as Stage Manager for The Canterbury Tales, and is looking forward to his first acting role with the group in The Dark of the Moon.

Richard Vince
Actor: Dark of the Moon; Pint Sized Henry V; The Importance of Being Earnest; Lady Chatterley's Lover; Bouncers.
Lighting engineer: Barefoot In the Park

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, including the lead in Gregory's Girl, and directing Apemen, an original work, 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 psychological and personality implications of this shift are ones he chooses to avoid….

Following his studies in drama at the University of Kent, he joined the Canterbury Players in 2010. He was made to feel very welcome, has formed many new friendships, and was fortunate to be cast in his first play,  "Dark of the Moon" (as the villain!). Since then, he has played rugby playing lords (Pint Sized Henry V), beer swilling thieves (also Pint Sized Henry V), Earnest in Town and Jack in the country (Importance of Being Earnest), and crushed toes in a wheelchair Lady Chatterley's Lover. In a moment of questionable judgement, the Players even let him play with electricity as the lighting designer and operator on Barefoot In the Park. He is currently thoroughly enjoying the rehearsals for Bouncers, although whether the world is ready for him rapping, using a Brummie accent in places, and playing a woman in others, is something only the audience will be able to judge.