Sally Brown
Director: The Importance of Being Earnest.
Actor: Two; Arsenic And Old Lace; The Vortex; Dark of the Moon;
Stage Manager: The Canterbury Tales

Sally first acting role was as Narrator in the Nativity play Babushka. She was offered the lead, but refused on the account that she would have to wear a dress. Dresses were for girls.

She has stuck to her principles and has played roles such as Puss in Boots (shorts & fur), Frauline Kost in Cabaret (dressing gown) and Edward in Henry VI (fetching trouser suit with deadly weapon accessorises). Only since joining the Players in 2009 has she been cast as a female character requiring a dress.

Sally studied drama at Aberystwyth university, and her career as a Performing Arts Teacher eventually moved her down to Kent a couple of years ago. Trying to ‘make it’ as an author, she is currently studying for a MA in Creative Writing and teaching English in Canterbury.

Sally recently directed 'The Importance of Being Earnest' which was enjoyed greatly by cast, crew and audience alike.

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.

Susanna Gerken
Costumes.
Assistant Director / Stage Manager: The Importance of Being Earnest

Susanna first trained as a teacher and then studied languages and drama in Italy. She lived abroad for many years and has performed in different amateur groups.

Since coming to live in Canterbury she has joined the Players and designed the costumes for "The Birthday Party"; La Ronde"; "Play It Again Sam" and "Fallen Angels".

Susanna is a very welcome addition to the Players.

Paul Curd
Actor: The Importance of Being Earnest

Paul Curd is an inveterate writer. However, he has always had a yearning to tread the boards. And yet there came a time in his life when he awakened and said to himself, quite reasonably, ‘I will never play Lane!’ He often, very often, refers to it as the most shattering experience of his youth. But now, at long last, the opportunity has finally presented itself. This is his belated theatrical debut.

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.

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.

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.

Howard Carter
Actor: The Importance of Being Earnest

Howard was born in West Cumbria. His stage career began as a six year old in Pantomime with Frankie Howerd, followed by pantomime seasons at the London Palladium, Summer Seasons with Ken Dodd and appearances in many children’s television and films.

As an adult, Howard has directed and appeared in countless plays, and musical theatre productions throughout the country, and has lived in Manchester, Leeds, and London.

Previous credits as Director include for Ashton Operatic Society, Manchester;
Carousel, Me and My Girl, Hello Dolly, The Pirates of Penzance (Papp), Oliver, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s It’s a Grand Night for Singing, The King and I, and Oklahoma.
For Guide Bridge Theatre, Manchester: The Anniversary, Design for Living
For Stage 2 Manchester: All Things Bright and Beautiful, All in Good Time, Men of the World
For The East Cheshire Musical Theatre: Group: 42nd Street.
For Peterborough Operatic Society: Oklahoma.

Ellie Gee
Actor: Much Ado About Nothing; Two; Canterbury Tales; The Importance of Being Earnest

Ellie is excited to be seen on stage with Canterbury Players for the first time as Hero, in ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ having previously hidden back stage in ‘Blue Remembered Hills’ and ‘Fallen Angels’.

Before moving to Canterbury for University however she appeared in both ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ as Helena and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ as the Prince at Wokingham Theatre.

As a trainee primary school teacher Ellie enjoys telling people what to do and hopes one day to convert her experience with five year olds into directing actors.

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.

Nigel Banks
Actor: Much Ado About Nothing; Two; Canterbury Tales; The Importance of Being Earnest

Nigel comes from a theatrical family & is an experienced actor, director & teacher. He spent over 15 years in Cumbria appearing in over 50 productions at The Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal playing everything from God in the Medieval morality play ‘Everyman’, to The Devil in a large scale community show called ‘The Bogeyman’. Other favourite roles include Lysander in ‘A Midsummer’s Night Dream’, Jerry in ‘Zoo Story’ & Canon Throbbing in ‘Habeas Corpus’. In 1985 he directed his first full length show, ironically, ‘Bazaar & Rummage’ by Sue Townsend which is to be performed by the Players in 2009. Other directorial credits include O’Casey’s ‘Shadow of a Gunman’, Arthur Miller’s ‘The American Clock’, Middleton & Rowley’s ‘The Changeling’, Brian Friel’s ‘The Loves of Cass McGuire’ & Jim Cartwright’s ‘Two’.

The Pinnacle of his Cumbrian theatrical career was adapting, directing & acting in a production of ‘Hamlet’ which toured to India in 1994. Doing two performances in the same evening in 34C heat, wearing RSC hired costumes certainly qualified for the “Acting under Difficulty” heading - & that was before the Delhi Belly started taking its toll amongst the cast!

Nigel moved to Kent in 1996 & joined Playcraft. His first role with them was Mr Smith in Ionesco’s ‘The Bald Prima Donna’ directed by Stewart Ross. He then played the title role in ‘Macbeth’ appearing opposite Sarah Gooch & ‘An Inspector Calls’. His final show for Playcraft was ‘Waiting for Godot’ by Samuel Beckett in 2000 in which he played Lucky.

The experience of acting in a small cast production of a challenging piece of drama alongside Alan Pope & Brian Ross led indirectly to the formation of Ashcan Theatre Company with which Nigel has been closely associated ever since. He has played the roles of Michael in ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ by Frank McGuinness, Geraldo in ‘Death & the Maiden’ by Ariel Dorfman, George in ‘Duck Variations’ by David Maet & most recently in March 2008, Yvan in ‘Art’ by Yasmin Reza. He also directed Pinter’s ‘Old Times’ for the Company & ‘On An Average Day’ by John Kolvenjach.

He is delighted to be making a return to the Gulbenkian stage in ‘Much Ado About Nothing.’.

Tony Johnson
Actor: RolePlay; Much Ado About Nothing; Arsenic And Old Lace; The Vortex; Dark of the Moon; The Importance of Being Earnest, Barefoot in the Park.

Over the past forty years, Tony has appeared in more than 50 Plays, often in leading roles and twice winning Best Actor awards.
Since joining Canterbury Players in 1990, he has appeared in many of our Productions and  made his Shakespeare debut with us, as Malvolio in "Twelfth Night" and later as Leanato in Much Ado About Nothing.

Since then, he has played the homicidal maniac Jonathan in Arsenic And Old Lace, the elderly 'maiden gentleman' in Noel Coward's The Vortex, the hog-farmer Mr Allen in Dark of the Moon and more recently, the judge in the opening scene of Night Must Fall.

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".

Mark Charles Smith
Actor: For Canterbury Players Gosforth's Fete; La Ronde; Fallen Angels; The Accrington Pals; Much Ado About Nothing; Arsenic And Old Lace; Dark of the Moon, Night Must Fall; The Importance of Being Earnest, Barefoot in the Park.
Sound Engineer for Blue Remembered Hills.
For Chilham Players: Seasons Greetings
For Kent Shakespeare Company: Twelfth Night.
A monologue orator for The Penis Monologues for the theatre company, Unfinished Business

Mark has appeared in a number of Canterbury Players productions, as well as end of year short films at universities in Canterbury and Hastings, as a film extra for various productions filmed in Kent including "The Other Boleyn Girl", "Wild Child", the 2011 production of "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", as a player in a Chris Tarrant TV programme, as a major player in a KETV production called 'The Sea Shall Have Them' and recently took part in a pilot for a new sitcom aimed at getting onto the UK terrestrial channels.

Mark is looking for more TV and film work to get him out of the office once in a while.

My Facebook page.
Links to recent videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY9qcWjPomk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwE-cdMAu88

Charlotte Riding
Actor: Dark of the Moon; The Importance of Being Earnest

I have always enjoyed acting took part in school plays but really got into acting when I started studying at Canterbury College, where I left with a BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts (Drama).

Dark of the Moon is my first show with Canterbury Players and I have loved every minute of it!!! Hopefully they will let me back to do more productions.

I would just like to thank all the players for being so welcoming. You're all great!!!!

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.