Edward Bell
(Composer and Musical Director, The Way Through the Woods)
Edward Bell composes for the stage and the concert hall. As a composer he has worked with Cambridge University New Music Ensemble, the BBC Singers, the Composers Ensemble and Opera North.
Composition for theatre has long been a major interest. Edward’s musical Alice: A Fresher’s Tale enjoyed a sell-out run in 2008. The Way Through the Woods, a play with music described as “an ambitious show with big ideas and a flippant disregard for compromise”, was premiered at the ADC Theatre, Cambridge in January 2011.
Edward was educated at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and is currently a postgraduate student at the Royal College of Music, London.
Carrie Chambers
(Stage Manager, The Way Through the Woods)
Carrie oozed into the Light Entertainment Society nearly four years ago, when she was very young and naive and pliable. Over time she found that the light entertainment society began to ooze back into her, until she was not sure where one ended and the other began. Now she interdigitates with it like a sticklebrick, happy in the knowledge that she couldn’t leave it if she tried. When she is not interdigitating with light entertainers she is found adhering to vets, whom she follows around with unrewarded devotion. When she grows up she will have vet students adhering to her.
Gill Conquest
(Producer)
Gill is a one-woman organisation machine who specialises in herding cats, dispersing faff and motivational bouncing – all skills which make her an ideal producer for Two Shades. When she isn’t making stuff happen she works in Teh Internetz for a philosophy company. Go figure.
Emily Cresswell
(Press and Publicity)
Emily was born in a small, straight, white, lower-middle-class town somewhere between Birmingham and Dudley. It took her eighteen years to escape. At university in Sheffield, she read English Literature and occasionally remembered to hand in essays on time. She also began performing with USLES and wearing comparatively little, sometimes even on a stage. She is currently attempting to have a career in marketing.
Cara Donnelly
(Director, The Way Through the Woods)
Cara Donnelly is an experienced director, with six years of narrative study under her belt. Her previous shows include The Triple Point Revue, shown at the ADC theatre in Cambridge, and Comedy and Cake, shown in C-1 in 2008, as well as innumerable appearances – and a year as President – with the Cambridge University improv troupe ICE. She is excited to be working with Two Shades of Blue on this production of The Way Through The Woods, and promises to deliver an impressive – and harrowing – tale.
Jenni Goodchild
(Harley Quinn and Costumes, Batman!! Holy Spoof Musical Batstravaganza)
Jenni is small, loud with variably-coloured hair. She enjoys painting other people’s faces and cares more about comics than she does about her degree.
James Hansen
(Two-Face, Batman!! Holy Spoof Musical Batstravaganza)
Jamie was born some time ago in the small town of Hong Kong, before it became popular. He’s an Archaeology and Anthropology student at Cambridge because he couldn’t think of any other subjects to study that sounded interesting. Jamie’s been acting since the tender age of seven and as such has developed a massive ego and inflated sense of self worth. Some of his recent credits include Bouncers, The Duchess of Malfi, The Physicists and Paradise Lost. He’s extremely excited to be performing as Two-Face and we hope that you enjoy the show.
Laurie Marks
(Alfred, Batman!! Holy Spoof Musical Batstravaganza)
Laurie was born in Essex but overcame this handicap to get into Queens’ College, Cambridge, where he studied Classics. He currently works at Cambridge University Library. “Batman!!” will be his fortieth theatrical production since he left school in 2004 (but his first with Two Shades of Blue). The previous thirty-nine include nineteen Gilbert and Sullivan shows (two of which he directed), seven plays and pantomimes with the Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society and various other plays and musicals from Seneca to Terry Pratchett. This will be his third time playing a comedy manservant.
Jonny Mew
(Will and the King, The Way Through the Woods)
Jonny Mew is a science teacher. He likes films and popcorn, camping, trying new and obscure foods, burning things and occasionally plays the guitar. One day he will find a way to fix the world. Just you wait and see.
Kate Morris
(Mother, The Way Through the Woods)
In the real world Kate teaches maths but has been involved in light entertainment for the last five years. Kate started performing at an early age and is delighted to be returning to Edinburgh for her third year (though this is her first time with Two Shades). When not on stage or in the classroom Kate is usually to be found quizzing and this year made it to the semi final of the BBC’s Mastermind.
Tim Norwood
(Robin, Batman!! Holy Spoof Musical Batstravaganza)
I enjoy long walks in the park, and the word bungalow. Dusk is my favourite time of day. I have never been to Madrid.
Richard Owen
(Technical Director)
Richard was at Oxford for 4 years and did too much theatre. Not only has he meddled with lighting design and production management, he also managed to co-found TAFF, the society for Oxford University theatre Technicians and Designers. So far he’s been the Technical Director for all of TSoB’s jaunts to Edinburgh and has enjoyed every one! He has started to dabble with Directing, having directed both “The Matrix: The Pantomime” and “Back to the Future: The Pantomime” at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In his spare time, he tries to hold down a job vaguely related to engineering and enjoys writing about himself in the third person.
Jen Peake
(Mook, Batman!! Holy Spoof Musical Batstravaganza)
Acting, writing, singing, costume-making…is there anything this woman can’t do? Well, lots of things, but they don’t matter. What matters is that Jen has been a light entertainer for a little over two years, and plans to be for at least the next fifty. Working backstage as well as performing, Jen leads a secret double life as a mild-mannered supply teacher, and her hobbies include knitting and complaining about stupid people.
Beth Rowell
(Assistant Director, The Way Through the Woods)
Beth is a PhD student studying democracy and identity in Classical Athens. In her spare time she is involved with various dance and theatre projects; she also enjoys throwing Harry Potter-themed parties.
Janet Scott
(Victim and Dr Arkham, Batman!! Holy Spoof Musical Batstravaganza)
Batman is Janet’s third show with Two Shades of Blue at the fringe, having sidled her way in gradually to the world of light entertainment over the past five years. This time she hasn’t been cast as a henchman, quite possibly because she can’t do the requisite accent. When not attempting to be lightly entertaining, she is frequently to be found rowing, dancing, in a swimming pool, upside down in a variety of head-endangering ways, climbing mountains, or counting birds at ridiculous times of the morning. At least one of these is at least partially due to her degree. The rest she makes no excuse for.
Jonny Simms
(Writer, Batman!! Holy Spoof Musical Batstravaganza; Sleepy and Spirit, The Way Through the Woods)
Jonny is a maverick with nothing left to lose and if he doesn’t do this one by the book the chief is going to have his badge. In addition to crazy sort-of-dwarves, he is one of the creative… geniuses? genii? geniusi? one of the creative genies behind the writing of Batman (the Edinburgh show, not the comic book – that was Bob Cane) alongside his writing partner and part-time love interest Marcus.
Tim Skew
(The Joker, Batman!! Holy Spoof Musical Batstravaganza)
Tim Skew is returning to the Fringe with Three Shades of Blue after the stunning success of Indiana Jones and the Panotmime Horse, which has only gone to his head a little. The best Dame that USLES has produced, Tim is now a Master of Chemistry and expects to have a long career of wearing dresses and being insane on stage. Tim likes dancing, ghost gags and still looks damn fine in a suit.
Rose Stanley
(Assistant Stage Manager, Batman!! Holy Spoof Musical Batstravaganza)
Rose has been into Light Entertainment ever since she was little, where “light entertainment” means “making puns and forcing boys to dress in drag” (thanks, Al and Chris). She has co-written a number of pantomimes, usually as an alternative to revision. In her spare time, Rose likes reading, singing, making lists, wearing black, tidying things and handing people random objects.
Alex Stutt
(Batman, Batman!! Holy Spoof Musical Batstravaganza)
Alexander is a method actor who has been preparing his role by fighting crime on a vigilante basis. Don’t tell anyone because it’s meant to be a secret. Batman was the first major role he played at university and he is absolutely thrilled to be able to don the ol’cape and cowl once again for those folks in Edinburgh.
Adele Wang
(Witch, The Way Through the Woods)
Adele will be playing the witch. She is a first year Natural Scientist from Northern Ireland. She has been part of CULES for two terms, performing in the 2011 Lent panto, Happily Ever After, and in one of the shows of Easter Clements. Outside of Light Entertainment, she also enjoys performing tragidies and musicals, as well as playing the guitar. This will be her first time at Edinburgh Fringe and she is looking forward to seeing other plays and acting like a tourist!
Sam Young
(Dwarf and Spirit, The Way Through the Woods)
Sam likes baseball, movies, good clothes, fast cars, whisky, and you. Also, quoting line from terrible gangster films.