Posts by Annabelle Lawrence
Opera cabaret presented by Bronwen Harding
Bringing her amazing opera set to The Studio…
Bronwen Harding
Bronwen made her operatic title role debut as ‘Carmen’ in London with Secret Opera and also premièred as ‘Madre Germont’ in the company’s all female production of Verdi’s La traviata – “The Trousered Traviata” – with performances in London and Brighton. Recent opera roles include ‘Orlofsky’ in J.Strauss’ Die Fledermaus (Opera Integra), ‘Lola’ in Cavalleria Rusticana‘ (Opera Passione), ‘Suzuki’ in Madama Butterfly (Hellenic Opera Co, Greece) and ‘Amore’ & ‘Valetto’ in L‘incoronazione di Poppea (Skull of Yorick Productions) and ‘Dorabella’ in Cosi fan tutti (Ensemble OrQuesta).
In 2017, Bronwen founded Rogue Opera to bring intimate opera productions to new spaces and audiences. The company’s first show, Bizet’s Carmen, premiered in May 2018 and will tour in Autumn/Winter. Bronwen is also a regular recitalist and performs for private and corporate events across the UK.
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Charlotte Rowling represents Play In A Week on the Main Stage
We’re welcoming soloist…
Charlotte Rowling
Charlotte is an alumna of the Orpheus Centre, established by Sir Richard Stilgoe twenty years ago in Godstone, Surrey. She has been singing, under the guidance of a professional tutor and mentor, for nearly twenty years and has sung at St John’s, Smith Square, Cadogan Hall and the Royal Opera House. She sings regularly in outreach performances for the Orpheus Centre, demonstrating, in the best way she can, what the Centre can offer young people who face more than their fair share of challenges in life.
She is an enthusiastic member of an arts group called Freewheelers where she contributes to music, singing and drama workshops, and recently performed in their production of Amandla, telling the story of Nelson Mandela. Charlotte has recorded several CDs and is learning the violin. She has established her own stained-glass project and, to let off steam, is now a member of Meridian Archery Club. Never a dull moment!
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists…
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Duo Simon & Nika on Bob’s Busker Spot
Adding a duo to our busker line-up…
Simon & Nika
Nika and Simon have been performing together since the beginning of 2018as an acoustic duo and as part of a bigger band. They play many different styles from Blues to Gospel to Rock. At the Surrey Showcase event they will perform some Jazz standards; a particular favourite!
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists…
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Graham Russ will be on Bob’s Busker Spot
Adding some guitar ballads to Bob’s Busker Spot…
Graham Russ
Graham is a Surrey based singer-songwriter penning ballads, thinkers & anthems for the head and the heart.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists…
Buy tickets here! TICKETS
Up on our Bob’s Busker Spot – James Gourlay
Joining the buskers…
James Gourlay
Born and raised in Guildford, I am a 21 year old multi instrumentalist. Whilst still a novice at live performances, I have been playing instruments for the past 11 years ranging from Guitar, Piano and Drums. I take influences from bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Green Day. My claim to fame came back in 2013 at George Abbot School when my band won the battle of the band competition during charity week!
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists…
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In The Studio – Marc Brightside
On The Studio stage…
Marc Brightside
Marc Brightside is an author of poetry and realist fiction for adults, hailing from South London. Marc first discovered poetry under the tuition of Julian Stannard and has since been been published in various outlets across the UK, both online and in print. His poem ‘Eleven Years of May’ was a top ten finalist in the National Poetry Competition and his debut collection, Keep it in the Family, was released by Dempsey & Windle Publishing in 2017.
Marc is currently working on a second poetry collection and his first full-length novel, and can be found performing in-and-around Central London. Fans of barbed, bitter, cynical musings on life may find something to enjoy in these poems.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists…
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Trisha Broomfield, poet, joins Surrey Showcase
Welcoming our first female poet to The Studio stage…
Trisha Broomfield
Trisha pulls inspiration from childhood memories whether real or imagined. Her poems combine light humour with a twist of perception and the occasional dash of darkness.
Her second collection, Husbands for Breakfast has recently been published by Dempsey and Windle.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists…
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Poet, Ray Pool in The Studio
Hailing from Farnham and joining The Studio stage…
Ray Pool
Ray is a published poet from Farnham, regularly reading at open mic poetry events in London and in the Home Counties and tends to favour characterisations using regional accents for poems of an ironic nature whilst also being fond of more serious material too. Ray currently has two pamphlets to his credit, and Dempsey & Windle have published two collections by Ray who has at various times in a varied life been a musician working on the BBC and on cruise ships, a skilled furniture restorer, a bird – watcher, an opportunistic photographer, and a keen railway enthusiast. He is a collector of quaint words, dialects, regional accents, other people’s conversations, tin whistles, and other shiny things, which may go some way to explain the eclectic nature of his poems. His stories, dryly and sometimes absurdly humorous, are always entertaining and sometimes moving.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists…
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Spoken word from Ian McLachlan
Adding to our spoken word performers in The Studio…
Ian McLachlan
Ian McLachlan is a regular performer on London’s spoken word scene. His poems have been published in numerous magazines and journals including Envoi, Magma, Poetry Salzburg Review, and The Rialto. His spoof illustrated poetry pamphlet Confronting the Danger of Art, which he co-produced with Phil Cooper, is available from Sidekick Books. He tweets and instagrams @ianjmclachlan
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists…
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Review – Love Me Slender (by Polly)
Love Me Slender
By Vanessa Books
10-14 July 2018
Directed by Andrew Hamel-Cooke
Please note: this review is an abridged version to allow for brevity only.
“The piece, for a female only cast and written by a woman, is built around a slimming club which meets regularly in the back room or vestry of a church. We are introduced to the group, three of whom are longstanding “achievers” and three “newbies”, one at a time. This was a clever device which gave us a clear view of each character. The group was led by the iron-fisted, ruthless, brutal and entirely self-serving Siobhan.
Siobhan, played by Moyra Brookes, made a powerful first entry. She had a huge voice which seemed to sit around the falsetto range much of the time, was well projected and clearly articulated. The performance was well sustained and fluent, but perhaps a bit more variety in vocal power and pace would have made for a more impressive characterisation. Her tour de force was the penultimate scene where the power haircut, the figure-hugging dress, and harsh make-up were abandoned. We met here, an almost contrite figure who, to some degree, acknowledged the
harm she had done to those whom she purported to want to help. This was a HUGE role and Moyra is to be congratulated on her performance.
The first new member we met was Claudette (Cheryl Chamberlain). She wanted to be slim so that she could have another stab at finding a partner. She wanted, above all else, for her fatherless daughter to find her acceptable enough to spend some time with. This was a sound performance, well timed and communicated. She had a very expressive face and used her space well.
Next on the scene was Rosie (Laura Spalding). Rosie was Siobhan’s faithful helper. She was treated appallingly and was made to feel foolish about being in love with Laurence. In a cruel attempt to put Rosie off, Laurence was made out to be an “undesirable”. We later discovered that
Siobhan herself had been creating false information about him. This was a well placed and convincing performance and she caught our sympathy especially when she described that Laurence had brushed some ice-cream from her face. There was tremendous tenderness about this moment. Losing those last extra pounds, alas, had not brought her the joy of marriage she so desperately wanted.
Another of Siobhan’s helpers was Kelly, (Emily Ingold). She probably had fewer lines to speak than any others, but her body language and almost shuffling movement around the stage caught one’s attention, curiosity, and sympathy. There was something very wrong with her, but the group leader, who prided herself of understanding and having the best interests of her “girls” at heart, failed to spot or begin to understand, the problem. Kelly becomes the unexpected focus of the darkest moment of the play. Her next appearance was of a slightly more “together” person. She achieved the effect very well with few lines and not that much stage time.
Lucinda (Sarah Gage) was an already willowy, new class member with ambition…..ambition that she felt she could achieve by losing enough to slip through the gap left by two desks placed deliberately by her boss to be the measure of a girls’ most desirable behind! Her very high heels
and her draping of herself around the stage conveyed her extreme awareness, as she saw it, of the power of her body over the weakness of her gross but powerful boss. Her extreme shoes underlined her extreme femininity. Although her speech was clear and lines delivered without
hesitation, she might have created an even better impression by using a little more vocal variation and facial expression, but a good performance which presented a clear characterisation.
Celia (Susan Monteregge) was definitely the ‘hockey-sticks” character. She was bold, confident and had a very clear delivery. She made the most of her character from the very first moment. She seemed an unlikely character to go to a Slim for Life class, but we discovered later that the
reason was not so that she could go hiking with a friend. There was another quite unexpected reason.
Jean (Nikky Kirkup) was Siobhan”s great success. She was at target! What greater achievement could there be? Far from being free of the Slimming Club, she was persuaded to keep going and finding the money. Despite achieving all five of Siobhan’s tenets of successful slimming, she still lacks the confidence to be her own person. Finally, it was the suffocating worry about money matters and the decision, to be honest with her husband despite Siobhan’s advice, which finally saved her from disaster.
The fourth scene, immediately after the interval, was a very impressive if long scene. The mood changed from the frenetic, hectoring of the previous three scenes. It was a kind of denouement and was basically a huge monologue by Siobhan. The attention of the other actors as she spoke was hugely impressive, a real tribute to the speaker and the listeners.
This was a very difficult piece. The playwright seemed to want to say everything about everything, in one go. The underlying themes were myriad, including an unhealthy bitterness about men, greed, honesty and everything in between but the sensitive direction by Andrew Hamel-Cooke gave them all a voice. It was a huge undertaking for the author, actors, and director. It was very well done and a courageous production.
As always, the set, lighting, sound and costuming were highly professional and the wonderful team made for a very polished presentation.”
Polly.
Youthful talents, Daisy & Zaya on the main stage
Not new to the Nomads stage, the youthful talents of…
Daisy and Zaya
Daisy (aged 12) has been dancing since the tender age of 2 after being allowed to join in her big sister’s ballet class. Since then Daisy has continued with her ballet including pointe work but also studies modern, contemporary, tap and street dance and also drama and musical theatre. Daisy loves performing and its her biggest goal in life is to perform in musicals and dance professionally. She does dance competitions, has performed in many shows and displays with her dance school and also with her school in various choirs and solo singing performances. Daisy has appeared in several shows with the Nomad Theatre and was thrilled to appear as part of the senior chorus in 2017 with Enchanted Entertainment’s panto at Dorking Halls. She is hoping to be successful again this year but in the meantime has been lucky enough to be chosen to be in a British Theatre Academy production of Annie.
Zaya is 14 and loves the performing arts. She has been dancing since she was 3 and has performed in lots of dance festivals and shows. When she was 10 she sang at the Surrey’s Got Talent competition and came first in the junior school section. She is studying GCSE Dance and Drama and is involved with many concerts at school, including a 4 day school choir tour of New York where they performed in Central Park and other locations.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists…
Buy tickets here! TICKETS
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- Zaya
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- Daisy
Singer songwriter – D’Artagnan on the busker stage
Joining the line up for Bob’s Busker spot…
D’Artagnan Arbuah
Local singer/songwriter D’Artagnan will be performing a set of his own materials including his new single – Crush Hour – which is currently getting a lot of airplay across the country.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists…
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“Con-text” by Daniel Shepherd – main stage event
Nomad member Daniel Shepherd presents a short play “Con-text” at Surrey Showcase…
Con-text
Daniel Shepherd is a budding playwright from Effingham (“a town renowned for being unremarkable” Daniel writes!). This will be Daniel’s second show performed and he is incredibly excited to put it in front of an audience.
The play, Con-text, is an exploration of the duality of dating in a modern world: that of a digital and real world interaction. There will be 3 lives, 3 lies and only one conclusion.
A familiar face on The Nomads stage, you may have seen some of Daniel’s performances – as King Rat in Dick Whittington, Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night and Simon in Hayfever to name but a few!
The cast
- Roland Eve as Pete
- Sarah Roberts as Kelly
- Tilly Winford as Deanne
- Alannah as Deanne’s digital persona
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists…
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Food & Drink at Surrey Showcase
We’re excited to announce our food & drink partners for Surrey Showcase on 18th August 2018… all will be on site!
Goose Deli
Based on Bishopsmead Parade, our nearest eatery is The Goose… who offer the finest coffee, locally-made bakes and wholesome home-made food every day of the week. On Saturday 18th August they will be open 9am-2pm, then 4:30-8pm.
For Surrey Showcase, they will be providing a range of savoury lunchtime snacks available at our bar such as:
- Barchettas (cheese & tomato Italian sandwiches)
- Pork pies
- Mini arancinies (Italian filled rice balls)
- Scotch Eggs
- Potato Chaps (veggie or lamb filling)
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- Potato chaps
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- Barchettas
Bubble & Twist
B&T is “the drinks service with a twist”… we’ve all heard of Elderflower cordial, but what if you could change up your sodas and cocktails a little more? Dean has created “Twisted Syrups” in yummy flavours you can enjoy, all in bio-degradable cups with paper straws – he’ll also be bringing us a bespoke cocktail especially for Surrey Showcase!
Flavours may include:
- Raspberry & basil
- Pea & mint
- Thai spiced
- Rhubarb & custard
- Cream soda
- Turkish delight
Yasmin Indian Restaurant
Rated #2 of 11 places to eat in East Horsley on TripAdvisor, the Yasmin is based on Bishopsmead Parade and regularly hosts the cast and crew from The Nomad Theatre!
For Surrey Showcase, Harry and the team will be on-site with a delicious lamb or veggie biryani for lunch, as well as offering a great deal for dinner if you fancy a curry in the evening… here’s the offer:
- Adults £19.95 / Kids under 7 £9.95
- Available 6pm – 10:30pm only
- Glass of house wine / Pint of Cobra / Soft drink
- Pre-starter – poppadoms with chutneys and pickles
- Starter – choice of meat or veggie starters
- Main course – choice of meat or veggie mains
- Two side dishes, rice and naan bread
- Usually priced at over £30 per head (adults)
Mews Gin
A small batch artisan gin distiller, right on our doorstep? We simply had to have Mews Gin Company on site for Surrey Showcase! The family owned business use vapour distillation to make their gin which produces a light subtle taste – it’s then infused with a unique combination of 11 different botanicals.
They will be offering single G&T’s as well as a larger option gin balloon.
Decided you can’t miss out? Book tickets now at www.ticketsource.co.uk/nomadtheatre
Back to Surrey Showcase
Bob King Room
… plus, our bar will be open all day and evening offering a great range of soft and alcoholic drinks including beers, ales, ciders, wines, prosecco and spirits as well as snacks including chocolate, crisps, cakes, ice cream and sweets.
We now take contactless and chip & pin card payments! Or straight forward cash of course…
Quicksilver celebrate the ongoing power of movement
A group of dancers in their 50’s and upwards join the Main Stage lineup…
Quicksilver
QUICKSILVER is a Surrey-based company of ten older dancers, in their 50s and upwards, which includes dance teachers and performers with a rich blend of dance and theatre experience. Founded in 2014 by Sonia Talman and led by choreographer Angela Hardcastle, they celebrate the ongoing power of movement to inspire the spirit, strengthen the body and sharpen the mind- at any age.
“With their energy and artistry, Quicksilver prove that dancing in later life can be beautiful, dynamic and fun!” Celia Imrie, Patron.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists… and of course, apply if you wish to take part.
Buy tickets here! TICKETS
In The Studio – multi-instrumentalist & vocalist Adam Coburn
Multi talented and joining The Studio lineup…
Adam Coburn
Adam is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist originally hailing from Oxfordshire, but now living in Guildford.
Influences range from folk, Rhythm and Blues, Rock, Hip hop, abstract experimental electronica and classical roots. (You’ll also spot him in Guildford Jazz Choir on the Main Stage!)
Finding bands has always a struggle and so he decided to go it alone and experiment with looping. This lead to the current project: covering and re-imagining tracks that make his head swim, with a little bit of Ukulele thrown in to break things up.
You’ll find a mix of styles in Adam’s set, as he aims to provide something for everyone.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists… and of course, apply if you wish to take part.
Buy tickets here! TICKETS
Frank Summers on Bob’s Busker Spot
Joining the line up for Bob’s Busker Spot…
Frank Summers
Singer-songwriter Frank Summers plays jazz standards, American country classics and rock’ n’ roll around Surrey and London. His own songs draw on his love of blues, and of the popular music of the 40s and 50s. Frank’s influences include Billie Holiday, and Elvis Presley.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists… and of course, apply if you wish to take part.
Buy tickets here! TICKETS
Action Theatre Club to perform at Surrey Showcase
Lots of youthful energy on the main stage from…
Action Theatre Club
A stage school offering singing, dancing and acting classes in Surrey for children, Action Theatre Club wants to give children their moment in the spotlight – which fits perfectly with our aims for Surrey Showcase!
The Action Theatre Club was established over 8 years ago when Principle, Lizzie Crawford, found that there was a need for a new style of Stage School – one which offered the highest standard of dance, drama and singing lessons yet at affordable prices and with flexibility on the disciplines taken. Since then the Club has grown and now offers over 30 classes a week to around 200 students.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists… and of course, apply if you wish to take part.
Buy tickets here! TICKETS
Singer, Clare Worrell to peform in the studio
Joining the lineup in the studio…
Clare Worrell
Clare began her performing career as a contortionist and acrobatic strength-balancer.
She is now a singer, and performs mainly at Performing Arts Festivals in Surrey, singing anything from traditional folk songs, to classical pieces, early music, songs from musicals/films etc.
She particularly loves to go into another world when she sings, and sees music and voice as a kind of healing aid for mind, body and spirit. After a period of prolonged ill health, Clare now feels ready to expand on her musical adventure and is “so looking forward to the Surrey Showcase, as it is something new and refreshing for her”.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists… and of course, apply if you wish to take part.
Buy tickets here! TICKETS
Singer songwriter, Graham Powell joins the Busker lineup
Joining the line up for Bob’s Busker Spot…
Graham Powell
Born in London, Graham’s interest in music began when his family relocated to Wales where he studied and played violin in the school orchestra. Graham has been studying guitar, and singing and composing on and off ever since!
One half of duo Pohlman & Powell, and setting up Shed and Cabin Records Ltd in May 2017, the two musicians write, record, publish and produce original music as well as performing live. They currently have an album entered in this year’s Mercury Prize competition – ‘Letting Go – A Year In The Life Of A Broken Heart” which Graham will be bringing to the Surrey Showcase in August this year.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements of new artists… and of course, apply if you wish to take part.
Buy tickets here! TICKETS
