That Face Polly Stenham’s writing has the ability to jolt her audience into foreseeing so much more than what is witnessed within the moment. Last week, Royal Wootton Bassett based Quirky Bird Theatre performed Stenham’s ‘That Face’, (At Alma Theatre, Bristol) a play exploring the dysfunctional push-pull dance of a particular family dynamic, along with its brazen blurring of boundaries. Anna Friend’s incredibly sensitive artistic direction of this piece is invaluable in givin

. So this week we have been in total crack down on bringing everything together, all costume, media make up, props and set but one technical aid remains problematic. A weeing device maybe? What?! This sounds wrong? Well no, for those who know the play will know a particular moment happens in Henry's most desperate state within the play. Giving the illusion on stage is harder than you think as both myself and Anna was very conscious that we didn't want the weeing to look fake

I've produced and directed Theatre but thought I'd retired from stage acting, playing onscreen only & producing. Then I saw Quirky Bird's Tusk Tusk wow! I've seen lots of great Theatre but this awakened a longing to work in a cast again to be on that stage. So when I heard they were doing another Polly Stenham - That Face and there was a Dad role I thought yes! Then there was the casting, tables turned, uncomfortable, personal but I got it. I didn't bank on him being quite so

So for the last week or so I have making sure that the production is fully ready to go when we preview the show at New College this week and it occurs to me that without the joy of charity shops and Ebay I'm not sure where I'd be in terms of props and costume! You might think that this purely because of budget and there's some truth in this but the most pertinent element is one of authenticity. You see, these characters are well worn. For Martha, she exists in the past, her t

When working with a new kind of character specifically a challenging one it makes things so much easier when you’re surrounded with a supportive and fun cast, that’s exactly what I have within this ‘That Face family.’ From the moment, I got cast as Izzy I knew she would throw up challenges, I have never played a part like her before and with her being so far removed from myself I have had to find a completely new way of embodying her. Thinking about physicality and costume