Louise Gold is an English puppeteer, actress and singer. Her long career has included puppetry on television and roles in musical theatre in the West End, as well as other television, film and voice roles.
Sir Peter Reginald Frederick Hall CBE was an English theatre, opera and film director. His obituary in The Times declared him "the most important figure in British theatre for half a century" and on his death, a Royal National Theatre statement declared that Hall's "influence on the artistic life of Britain in the 20th century was unparalleled". In 2018, the Laurence Olivier Awards, recognising achievements in London theatre, changed the award for Best Director to the Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director.
Louise Marion Jameson is an English actress with a variety of television and theatre credits. Her roles on television have included playing Leela in Doctor Who (1977–1978), Anne Reynolds in The Omega Factor (1979), Blanche Simmons in Tenko (1981–1982), Susan Young in Bergerac (1985–1990), Rosa di Marco in EastEnders (1998–2000) and Mary Goskirk in Emmerdale (2022–present).
Samantha Jane Bond is an English actress. She played Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan era, and appeared in Downton Abbey as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamund Painswick, sister of Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham. On television, she played "Auntie Angela" in the sitcom Outnumbered and the villain Mrs Wormwood in the CBBC Doctor Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures. She also originated the role of "Miz Liz" Probert in the Rumpole of the Bailey series. She is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London.
Niamh Cusack is an Irish actress. Born to a family with deep roots in the performing arts, she has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre, and many others. Her most notable television role was as Dr. Kate Rowan in the UK series Heartbeat (1992–1995). Other TV and film credits include Always and Everyone (1999–2002), The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends (1992–1995), The Closer You Get (2000), Agatha Christie's Marple, Midsomer Murders (2008), A Touch of Frost (2010), In Love with Alma Cogan (2011), Testament of Youth (2014), Departure (2015), ChickLit, The Ghoul, The Virtues (2019), Death in Paradise (2021), and The Tower (2023). She has been nominated at IFTA for her performance in Too Good to be True (2003).
Katharine Schlesinger is a British actress. In 1987, she starred as Catherine Morland in the BBC Television adaptation of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and Anne Frank in the BBC's The Diary of Anne Frank. She is the niece of the film director John Schlesinger and the great-niece of Dame Peggy Ashcroft.
Janie Dee is a British actress. She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play, and in New York the Obie and Theatre World Award for Best Newcomer, for her performance as Jacie Triplethree in Alan Ayckbourn's Comic Potential.
Samantha Spiro is an English actress and singer. She is best known for portraying Barbara Windsor in the stage play Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick and the television films Cor, Blimey! and Babs, DI Vivien Friend in M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team, Melessa Tarly in the HBO series Game of Thrones, and Maureen Groff in Sex Education. She has won two Laurence Olivier Awards.
Rowan David Oakes is a British actor and environmentalist. He is best known for his roles in the series The Pillars of the Earth, The Borgias, The White Queen, Victoria, Vikings: Valhalla, and for his discursive Natural History podcast, Trees A Crowd.
Kate Fleetwood is an English actress. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, at Chichester Festival Theatre and the West End and Broadway and an Olivier Award nomination in 2012 for her performance as Julie in London Road at the National Theatre. Her film and television credits include Vanity Fair (2004), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010), Macbeth (2010), Philomena (2013), London Road (2015), Harlots (2017–2019), and The Wheel of Time (2021).
Shakespeare in the Park is a term for outdoor festivals featuring productions of William Shakespeare's plays. The term originated with the New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City's Central Park, originally created by Joseph Papp. This concept has been adapted by many theatre companies, and over time, this name has expanded to encompass outdoor theatre productions of the playwright's works performed all over the world.
James Charles Dacre is a British theatre, opera and film director and producer. He was artistic director of Royal & Derngate Theatres in Northampton from 2013-2023 and prior to that held Associate Director roles at The New Vic Theatre, Theatre503 and The National Youth Theatre.
Natalie Abrahami is a British theatre, film and opera director. She was associate director and Genesis Fellow at the Young Vic in London 2013-16 and associate artist at Hull Truck Theatre. From 2007–12 she was joint artistic director of the Gate Theatre with Carrie Cracknell.
Timothy Sheader is a British theatre director. Sheader read Law with French at the University of Birmingham before moving into a career in theatre. He has been Artistic Director at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre from 2007 to 2024. He became Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse in 2024.
Zinnie Harris FRSE is a British playwright, screenwriter and director currently living in Edinburgh. She has been commissioned and produced by the Royal Court Theatre, Royal National Theatre, the National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her plays have been translated and performed in many countries across Europe and the globe.
Flute Theatre is a touring theatre company which performs the works of William Shakespeare to international interactive audiences mainly composed of people who could not ordinarily access the performing arts such as children with autism and their families. The company was founded by Emma Richards and the actress Kelly Hunter MBE, the latter also being the Artistic Director and a performer in the company.
& Juliet is a 2019 coming-of-age jukebox musical featuring the music of Swedish pop songwriter Max Martin, with a book by David West Read. The story focuses on a "what if" scenario, where Juliet decided not to kill herself at the end of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Emma Pallant is a British theatre and television actress. She is known for classical work at Shakespeare's Globe, The Royal Shakespeare Company, and Regent's Park theatres, with notable roles including Jaques, Beatrice, and Imogen (Cymbeline). Pallant is also known for her appearances in various UK television dramas, including Casualty, Father Brown and Holby City.
Ella Marchment is a British opera director, artistic director, and an associate professor. She is a co-founder of the campaign charity SWAP'ra, Supporting Women and Parents in Opera, and the artistic director of Opera Festival of Chicago, and Opera in the Rock, Arkansas. She previously founded the opera company Helios Collective. She has directed the International Opera Awards since 2017.
