demi-paradise productions


	WHO'S WHO

Stephen Tomlin (Producer) Stephen was both producer & director of Richard II and Measure for Measure. Thereafter he has produced all subsequent shows, as well as directing the 2003 Deck The Hall ... and the premiere of Richard III - On Trial for Murder. Stephen also selects, edits and directs Ghostly Tales. His other work as a director/designer includes The Rivals, The Crucible and A Man For All Seasons for Brewery Theatre Co at The Brewery Arts Centre Kendal, and Our Country's Good for The University of Cumbria at Carlisle. A west country man by birth and upbringing Stephen has been in happy exile in Lancaster since 1976. Trained as a specialist speech and drama teacher at the Central School in London he has enjoyed a long and varied career as an actor in all media. A keen local pub quiz league player Stephen is still remembered by many as the 1991 BBC TV Mastermind champion.
Ian Blower (Associate Director) Ian is an actor and director of many years standing. A native of the West Midlands, he began his professional career at The Greenwich Theatre in 1969 and since then has worked in Theatre and television both in this country and abroad. His directorial credits include work for Theatre Centre London, Merseyside Young Peoples Theatre, Gwent Young Peoples Theatre and The Next Stage in Nottingham. For a number of years he produced a string of pantomime hits for The Duke's Playhouse Lancaster which earned the appellation from The Guardian “The Best in the North West”. Most recently he directed Khabaloush for Ms Diva at The Contact Theatre Manchester. For demi-paradise Ian previously directed Macbeth and All's Well That Ends Well, and co-directed Richard III.
Sue McCormick (Associate Director) After 25 years as a performer Sue is delighted to find herself juggling 3 careers as an actress, writer and director. In 2011 she played Sadie in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice at The Dukes Lancaster, directed Twelfth Night for Cottongrass Theatre at Thornbridge Hall and was commissioned by Mikron Theatre to write a play – Hell and High Water – for their 40th Anniversary National Tour. Her monologue Isabella – Measure for Measure Act 6 is being performed at The Dukes as part of the Season of Shakespeare and next year she is playing the lead in her new comedy with songs, No Fat Juliets at The Dukes and on tour. For demi-paradise, Sue co-directed Richard lll and Hamlet, played the Queen in Richard ll and devised, directed and performed in Blood Red Roses and several Deck the Halls. In 2010 she directed the tenth anniversary production of The Merchant of Venice and is directing Much Ado about Nothing this year.
Jude Glendinning (Musical Director) Having studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, Jude works as Musical Director, teacher, group leader, and occasional performer. She acted as MD for the Brewery Theatre Co for The Crucible and A Man For All Seasons, and at Lancaster Castle for Deck The Hall. Currently a full time member of the Singing department at the Arden, Manchester, she is also a vocal professor at Lancaster University. Jude conducts a world music singing group HumHoller'n'Sing and a classical choir. As part of the a cappella group Five In A Bar, she sings close harmony folk/jazz and as a classical or operatic soloist, she was the mother of Hansel and Gretel for Northstar Opera, and in November, the soprano in Haydn's Creation. Jude was demi-paradise's musical director for Macbeth, All's Well That Ends Well, Richard III, Hamlet, & The Merchant of Venice.
Helen Longworth (Associate Director) On graduating from RADA in 2001, Helen was awarded the Carleton Hobbs Radio Award, resulting in her becoming a member of the BBC Radio Drama Company. She has to date appeared in over 300 plays for BBC Radio Drama and also played the character of Hannah in The Archers. Helen has toured nationally with new works for Cumbria based Quondam Theatre Company and also appeared in The Comedy Project at the Soho Theatre. She played Rosalind in As You Like It & Maria in Twelfth Night with the 'Shakespeare At The Tower' outdoor theatre company at Hoghton Tower. TV appearances include Hollyoaks, Heartbeat, Emmerdale and Jane Hall's Big Bad Bus Ride. She also sings with the rock band, Heroes of She. For demi-paradise Helen played Lady Anne in Richard III and has thoroughly enjoyed compiling, directing (and performing in) Deck The Hall with Boughs of Holly on several occasions.
Victoria Brazier (Associate Director) Victoria played Helena in All's Well That Ends Well for demi-paradise and has been involved as a performer and/ or director in four Deck the Halls. Her acting credits include Viola in Twelfth Night for Cottongrass Theatre, The Rocking Horse Winner and The Prisoner of Zenda for North Country Theatre, French Fancies for Two Friends, Hobson's Choice at The Royal Exchange and four seasons of JB Shorts. She has appeared on television in Land Girls, Doctors, The Street, Vincent, Boy A and Coronation Street. Victoria has also been heard on several occasions on Radio Four, once even playing the Queen herself.
Sarah Thurstan (Associate Director) Sarah graduated from Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic and spent some years devising and performing in Theatre in Education and also working with an experimental theatre company in Holland, Belgium and France called ‘KISS’ (not the rock band). For the Dukes Theatre, Lancaster she has played Irene Ruddock in Alan Bennett’s Lady of Letters and appeared in Tom Thumb and other Giant Tales in 2005 in Williamson’s Park. Known for her portrayal of judges and magistrates in Emmerdale, Coronation Street and East Enders, Sarah’s other TV work includes The Chase, A & E, Silent Witness, Casualty, The Grand, Wycliffe, Prime Suspect, Hollyoaks, Where the Heart is, All Quiet on the Preston Front, Heartbeat and most recently Tracey Beaker Returns. Since 2000 Sarah has run her own company ‘Performance Link Limited’ taking theatre skills, especially presentation and leadership communication, into business, academia and the arts. Sarah’s work for demi-paradise started with Deck the Hall ... in 1999. She has also performed in Blood Red Roses, played the Countess Roussillon in All’s Well that Ends Well and Gertrude in Hamlet. Sarah compiled, directed, and performed in the 2005 Deck The Hall with Boughs of Holly.
C. P. Hallam (Associate Director) Chris has had a long association with new writing with pieces ranging from his help in developing It's Difficult to Say with Any Certainty for Coal Theatre Company at the Royal Exchange, Manchester, through to the monologue show Bruised; social pieces such as The Blue River dealing with the difficulties of asylum seekers, Pretty Witty Nell a one woman how about Nell Gwyn, to Quadruped looking at man's relationship with animals. He has taught at the University of Salford, Northern Actors Centre and Urban Stage in Manchester, where he directed Daisy Pulls it Off. Chris's work as an actor has included Bolton Octagon, West Yorkshire Playhouse, The Queen's Hornchurch and various middle scale touring companies. He previously acted at Lancaster Castle in All's Well That Ends Well, Richard III and Deck The Hall ... Chris co-directed the demi-paradise production of Hamlet. Chris is currently on the Theatre Directing course at Birkbeck College, University of London.