About the Company

Arts Ireland and Riverside Studios present the World Premier of
Brendan at the Chelsea

15 Jan - 3 Feb 2008 - C r i s p -R o a d - H a m m e r s m i t h - W 6 - 9 R L

Cast

Adrian Dunbar - BRENDAN

"(Brendan is) played with considerable rumpled charm by Adrian Dunbar" Evening Standard

Adrian was born in Enniskillen in the North of Ireland in 1958. At 17 he was playing country music and working in a factory. At 18 he got involved with his local amateur drama group and joined a cabaret Elvis impersonator band. At 20 he left the band and auditioned for the Guildhall school and got in. In the theatre he has worked at the Royal Court, the National, the RSC, the Abbey, the Young Vic, the Almeida, the Bush, the Tricycle and the Lyric, Belfast. He recently starred in Marc Camoletti’s farce Boeing Boeing at the Comedy.On television he has fronted many one off dramas including Tough Love with Ray Winstone and the first episode of Cracker with Robbie Coltrane and Michael Winterbottom. Film includes; My Left Foot, Hear My Song, The Crying Game, Widow’s Peak, The Blue Boy, A World Apart, Richard III, The Near Room, The General, How Harry Became a Tree, Shooters and Jonjo Mickybo. He lives in North London and the North West of Ireland. He is married to actress Anna Nygh and they have two children, Ted and Madeleine. Adrian is also co-director of Brendan at the Chelsea. See below for directing credits

"Adrian Dunbar is an incredibly versatile actor who imbues the role of Brendan Behan with a true sense of the man" Irish World

Brid Brennan - BEATRICE

"A sustainedly excellent supporting turn from Brid Brennan as Behan's resilient wife. With the beautiful, sorrowful face of a martyr in an icon, Brennan's Beatrice suggests what a daily battle it was to support her husband while maintaining a vital core of self-esteem" Evening Standard

Most recent theatre: Intemperance, (Everyman, Liverpool); Doubt, (Abbey Theatre , Dublin); and Woman And Scarecrow (Royal Court). Other theatre includes: By The Bog Of Cats and Absolutely! (Perhaps) ( Wyndhams); Dancing At Lughnasa, (Abbey Theatre National Theatre and Phoenix Theatre, London, Plymouth Theatre, Broadway (Tony Award Best Featured Actress 1991-92)); Macbeth and La Lupa, (Royal Shakespeare Company);Pillars Of The Community, Rutherford And Son (Olivier Award Nominee);Machine Wreckers and Man Beast And Virtue (National Theatre); The Cosmonaut’s Last Message To The Woman He Once Loved In The Former Soviet Union, The Dark, The Little Foxes (Olivier Award nominee) And A Kind Of Alaska (Donmar); Bone And Bailegangaire (Royal Court); Juno And The Paycock (Gaiety, Dublin); Ten Rounds (Tricycle Theatre); Silver Birch House (Arcola); Edward II (Royal Exchange, Manchester); Playboy Of The Western World and The Shaugraun ( Druid Theatre, Galway); Smelling A Rat (Hampstead Theatre); Holy Days (Soho Poly). Film Includes: Sunday, Topsy Turvy, Felicia’s Journey, Dancing At Lughnasa (IFTA Award, Best Actress 1999), Trojan Eddie, St. Ex, Words Upon A Window Pane, She’s Been Away, Hidden City, Ursula And Glenys, Anne Devlin, Maeve, Excalibur. Television Includes: Trial And Retribution, Any Time Now, Cracker, Hedda Gabler, Tell Tale Hearts, Ghostwatch, The Birmingham Six, Itch, Four Days In July, The Daily Woman, Upline, The Billy Trilogy, Lorna, The Ballroom Of Romance. Radio Includes: 84 Charing Cross Road, His Dark Materials, Twinkle Toes, Yerma (BBC).

"Brid Brennan gives a spirited performance as Beatrice" The Times

Jonathan Tafler - GEORGE/REPORTER/MONSEWER/DOCTOR

Most recent theatre – national tour of a retelling of VERTIGO for Red Shift Theatre Company; also A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (Birmingham Rep and WYP), SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION (Sheffield Crucible); GOOD MORNING (Pleasance Edinburgh) and national tour of MERRY WIDOW (Carl Rosa Opera Co). For Royal Shakespeare Company: PATRIOT FOR ME, TIMON OF ATHENS, MERCHANT OF VENICE, TROILUS AND CRESIDA, RICHARD III, THE LOVE GIRL & THE INNOCENT. Also work for English Touring Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, York Theatre Royal, Nuffield Southampton, Contact Manchester, Oldham Coliseum, Worcester Swan and the Mill at Sonning. Television includes MURPHY’S LAW, NEW TRICKS, FOYLE’S WAR, TRAIL OF GUILT, WAKING THE DEAD, DREAM TEAM, DOCTORS, MAIGRET, CADFAEL, ANNO DOMINI, THE BILL, EAST ENDERS. Film includes: SONG OF SONGS, CARRY ON COLUMBUS, YENTL. Jonathan has twice been a member of the BBC Radio Drama Company and has appeared in several hundred radio plays.

Joel Dommett - DON/LAUREN/REPORTER/LESLIE/NURSE

Joel has recently finished filming on the new BBC sitcom Teenage Kicks with Ade Edmonson, and is proud to now be working with Adrian Dunbar on Brendan at the Chealsea. Joels previous theatre credits include ‘Stonewall’ at the Pleasance One and Drill hall, ‘Bashment’ at the Theatre royal Stratford, and Totally practically Naked, Gutted, and Below the Radar all at the Tristian Bates Theatre. His T.V credits include ‘Up Close and Personal’ (ITV) (series regular), ‘Signs of Life’ (BBC) (series regular), ‘Watch Over Me’ (BBC), ‘Casualty’ (BBC), ‘Golden Hour‘ (ITV), ‘Totally Frank’ (Channel 4), and ‘Inspector Lynley’ (BBC). Films include ‘Edge of Love’ directed by John Maybury, ‘Jam’ by Angelo Abaela, ‘Brick it’ by Farringdon Films. More information about Joel can be found online at www.myspace.com/joeldeee.

Eva Crompton - LIANNE/REPORTER/THERESA

Eva Crompton Previous theatre includes: HEAVEN EYES (Pop Up Theatre) NO GOING BACK (Tabard Theatre) ME AND MY MONSTERS (Pop Up Theatre) STORYDOG (Channel Theatre) THE VERDICT (Bigfoot Theatre) BROKEN (All Good Theatre) CHASER (Proteus Theatre) THIS IS SOAP (C Theatre) CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?,GRIMM FAIRY TALES, SWEATY FROLICKS, INSIDE OUTHOUSE (Contact Young Peoples Theatre) HINDLE WAKES (Oldham Coliseum). Previous Television and Film includes: DROP DEAD GORGEOUS (BBC3) MISUSE (NSPCC) THE COST OF LIVING (HP Productions) FOLIE A DEUX (Dragoneye) TOILET (LFS)

Directed by

Adrian Dunbar & Rosalind Scanlon

Adrian Dunbar has directed Gary Oldman in Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter and most recently directed Brian Friel’s Philadelphia Here I Come!
On film he has directed The Maid of Belfast (an abstract poem based on the cultural life of the city) and Monkey’s Blood (another Belfast-based story on how the innocence of children can release the truth and ultimately heal an older person). He has written many screenplays and was BAFTA nominated for writing Hear My Song with Peter Chelsom. Currently he has two film projects in preparation; the first, written by Colm Mc Cann, is a coming of age story set against the hunger strikes of 1981; the second is Connolly, the story of the socialist from Edinburgh who led the Irish Revolution of 1916. See above for Adrian's acting credits

Rosalind Scanlon has an Honours degree in Drama and she trained in The Method and in Playback Theatre. She wrote and directed One Long Day (Man In The Moon Theatre) Avon A Callin (Old Red Lion), Skeffington Reminiscences of An Irish Suffragette, (UK Tour /Dublin Theatre Festival.) She was a resident theatre director at The Watermans Arts Centre (from 1984 -1988). Her play Simples Of The Moon about the life of Lucia Joyce was produced at The Chichester Festival Theatre and The Lyric Theatre Hammersmith; Rosalind is Artistic Director of Irish Repertory Theatre UK. She wrote and directed her own plays Up on Maidens Hill, Under My Two Bare Feet and the hit shows Molly Malone The Musical and Dance Hall Days which were all produced at The Riverside Studios. She also directed J. B. Keane’s ‘Sive’ and ‘Sharon Grave’ and Patricia Burke Brogans Eclipsed at Riverside. Her other productions have included Brian Friel’s Lovers, J.M. Synge’s Riders To the Sea, Shadow of the Glen and The Tinkers Wedding (for both stage and radio.)

Written by

Janet Behan

In her acting career, Janet has appeared in musicals Godspell, Hair, and The Beggar’s Opera; and played the lead in some of Bryony Lavery’s earliest plays Bag and The Family Album. On telly Janet has been seen in Newshounds, Playing the Field, Eastenders, London’s Burning, Love Soup, Canterbury Tales.

She has worked at the National Theatre, in Wild Oats and The Marat Sade. She has appeared in pantomime at Coventry and in seasons at Chichester, Derby, Colchester and the Arts and Lyric Theatres in Belfast. It was while she was working at the Lyric that she met her husband, Bafta winning T.V. director Dermot Boyd. They have two sons Finnian and Rory and have lived in Hackney for the past twenty years.

Janet has been writing for as long as she can remember, but Brendan at the Chelsea is the first thing she’s finished.

Production Manager

Colm Daly

Colm has over thirty years experience in the theatre. Amongst others, he has worked in many guises from stage-hand to Production Manager at: The Gaiety, Dublin; The Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh: Sydney Opera House. Colm has also built and designed over 40 productions in Europe and the UK. He is a founder member of the Gate Theatre, Notting Hill and The Old Red Lion Theatre Club, Islington. Our sort of theatre is the best sort of theatre in the world.

Costume Design

Anna Calligaro

Theatre includes: Lucky Dog (Royal Court), Voices of Morebath (RNT), The Odd Couple, Leveland, True West, Best Western (Assembly Rooms), All the Right People Come Here (Wimbledon Theatre), Gormenghast, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Misanthrope, The Learned Ladies, The Love of the Nightingale, Serenade Louie, The Lady from Dubuque, The Crime of the Old Village Taking Steps, Deathtrap, Kafka’s Dick, One Flea Spare, The Tempest, Attempts on Her Life, Pyramus and Thisbe, Blue Window, An Enchanted April, Chekhov in Shorts, The Princess of the Black Pavilion, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, An Ideal Husband, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Opera: Amadeus, Barbican, Dick Whittington and his Cat, Cosi Fan Tutte (Bloomsbury Theatre). Film credits: Krezi the Little Goat, The Offering, Rabbit on the Moon. Anna trained at Motley Theatre Design Course.

Stage Management

Jenny O'Connell - Stage Manager

Jenny trained in Stage Management at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and has since enjoyed working on a wide range of projects, everything from theatre productions of all styles and sizes to festivals, concerts, site-specific performances and one-off events. She is now enjoying being a part of such an exciting venture as Brendan at The Chelsea.

Maree Spalding- Assistant Stage Manager

Maree started her stage management career in Perth, Western Australia where she was involved in all aspects of production. Her enjoyment for theatre, opera, music and live events has brought her to London.

Publicity Design

Matt Jamie - Website Design & Programme Layout

Matt is a photographer and designer (and an actor a lot of the time). He specialises in portraits of actors and photographing theatre productions (commissions include Ambassador Theatre Group, What's On Stage, TheatreMAD, and top London Fringe theatres). A small collection of Matt's photography work is available to view online at www.mattjamie.co.uk/photography. Matt's design work is usually theatre-related, with posters, fliers, programmes and websites designed for various productions and theatre companies (including Edinburgh Assembly Rooms, York Theatre Royal, The Pleasance (London), The New End, The Etcetera and The Union Theatre) - see www.mattjdesign.co.uk for more info.

Catalysto - Poster Image design

Dublin-based graphic design company: Corporate designs, brand development, digital solutions. See www.catalysto.com

with greatful thanks to the following:

Norah Casey, John McColgan and Paula Burke at Riverdream, Rosalind Cressy for Fresh Glory, Richard Corrigan, Stuart Miller, Howard Weisburg, Celia Behan, Brian Patterson, Valerie Minifie, Nina Finburgh, Henrietta Warner, The Board and Management of The Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith, Garrett Stokes, Dara Stokes, Claire Gallagher and all at Catalysto, Sharon Kean, Richard Wadhams and Janet at Hogbens Dunphy, Nisha Teemul, Kay at the Chancellors, Jo McGuire, Dermot Boyd, Jane Frisby Casting, Matt Jamie, Matty Bradley, Charlie Leslie Cameron, Paula Furlong, Ruth Behan, Conor Bradley, Marc Berlin, Cahill Printers, all at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith Workshop, Barbra Egervary, Heather Ruck and all at the Riverside Studios