A Christmas Carol (Christmas 2023)

Taunton Brewhouse presents
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
A new adaptation from Pleasure Dome Theatre Company

Book and Lyrics by Helena Payne & Charlotte Ellen
Music by Kimon Pallikaropoulos
Directed by Scott Le Crass
Set and Costume Design by Lizzie Watts
Lighting Design by Jodie Underwood

CAST BIOGRAPHIES

DAVID AHMAD

Theatre credits include:

Matthew Hopkins in The Crucible and Polonius in Hamlet (National Theatre); Amir in The Kite Runner (Playhouse Theatre, West End); G in Pop Music (Hull Truck); Miles Hendon in The Prince & The Pauper and Jago in Jago’s Box (New Vic); Harold Etches in The Card (Claybody Theatre); Mr. Bold in The Bolds (Unicorn Theatre); Dr. Watson in The Game’s Afoot and Thomas in Ernest & The Pale Moon (Les Enfants Terribles); Lord Capulet/Friar Laurence in Romeo & Juliet (Orange Tree); Perseus in Eyecatcher (Sheffield Crucible); David in Potted Potter (Little Shubert Theater, New York/Melbourne International Comedy Festival) and Potted Pirates (Pleasance); Davis in Sleeping Beauty (Colchester Mercury); Mr. Shu Fu in The Good Soul of Szechuan and Klaus Heinrich in Fear & Misery in The Third Reich (Watford Palace); George in George’s Marvellous Medicine and Peter in Tom’s Midnight Garden (Birmingham Stage Company); Benvolio in Romeo & Juliet (Akademie der Künste, Berlin)

Screen credits include:

The Phantom of The Open (Baby Cow); Ghosts (BBC); Kat and The Band (Boudica Films); Doctors (BBC); Apple Tree Yard (Kudos) and The Frank Skinner Show (Avalon).

LYDIA BARTON LOVETT

Lydia Barton Lovett trained at Rose Bruford College. Credits with Pleasure Dome Theatre Company: Treasure Island, Louisa. Other Theatre includes: Runesical (Gigglemug Theatre), What Do You See? (The PappyShow), Romeo & Juliet (Quarter Too Ensemble), The Importance of Being Earnest (Michael Friend ProducTons). Composer/Musical Director credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello, The Importance of Being Earnest (Changeling Theatre), Masks and Faces (Finborough Theatre).

IAN HARRIS

Ian trained at Arts Educational Drama School, the Questors Theatre, and Ecole Phillipe Gaulier. Over the past 25 years he has performed in theatres across the UK, the West End and Broadway.

Theatre work has included: Tom’s Midnight Garden (UK tour and New Victory Theatre, New York); The Pocket Orchestra (Trafalgar Studios, West End); Treasure Island (Bristol Old Vic); The Homecoming and Twelfth Night (York Theatre Royal); The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, Swallows & Amazons, As You Like It, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Stig of the Dump (Storyhouse, Chester); Great Expectations (Manchester Library), A Christmas Carol (Liverpool Playhouse), Peter & the Starcatcher (Northampton Theatre Royal), The Mozart Question (The Barn Cirencester), The Grapes of Wrath (Colchester Mercury), Far From the Madding Crowd (Newbury Watermill), The Wizard of Oz (Basingstoke Haymarket), The Rivals (Worcester Swan), and A Winter’s Tale (Salisbury Playhouse)

Ian has toured extensively with companies such as the Rude Mechanicals, Miracle, Cherub, the Unicorn Theatre, and most recently with Living Spit – appearing earlier in the year at the Brewhouse in One Man and His Cow. He has worked in theatre as a director, musical director and composer and has a passion for developing new theatre work.

ZALIKA HENRY

Theatre includes Mandela the Musical (The New Vic, London December 2022 – March 2023), The Lion King UK and Ireland Tour (July 2019- December 2022), Respect Aretha: Song Book Tour (2019), Caroline or Change (The Playhouse Theatre London) 2018, Disneyland’s ‘Mickey and the Magician’ (Disneyland Paris) 2018, Yesterday’s House (Theatre Royal Stratford East) 2017, Flesh (Edinburgh Fringe Festival) ( 2007)

Television includes BBC 1 I Can see Your Voice – 2020. Zalika is professional actress and singer, who has performed in varied platforms, including gospel choirs and function bands.

GINA JAMIESON

Gina trained at Manchester School of Theatre and LAMDA. Her theatre credits include The Railway Children (Hull Truck Theatre), Arthur/Merlin (Iris Theatre at The Actors Church), Good for a Girl (Birmingham Repertory Theatre), Sleeping Beauty (CAST Theatre), Treasure Island (Pleasure Dome Theatre Company), Twelfth Night and The Gunpowder Plot (Three Inch Fools UK Tour), The Monster (New National Theatre Tokyo). Her short film credits include This Place (LJMU Festival) and Sins of The Father (PAUS TV, Pisek Film School Festival). Her audio credits include historical podcast Traces of the White Rose and an educational recording for Silversun Media Group.

MORGAN VAL BAKER

Morgan Val Baker trained at LAMDA. Recent credits include Overspill (Hampstead Theatre), This Land (Leeds Playhouse) and The Lamentable Tragedy (Tobacco Factory). Morgan has performed regularly with WildWorks Theatre over the last 10 years including their critically acclaimed show, Wolf’s Child. On screen credits include Placebo (BBC), Doc Martin (ITV) and Mark Jenkin’s BAFTA winning film, Bait. Morgan is also a professional musician and multi-instrumentalist and a regular on the UK folk circuit. He continues to compose and perform with The Invisible Circus.

SASHA WILSON

Sasha Wilson is delighted to be joining the company of A Christmas Carol. Her recent credits include The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria (Queen Giovanna, Theodore Dannecker, Liliana Panitsa) at The Arcola Theatre London & The Pleasance Theatre Edinburgh Fringe, Noises Off (Belinda) at the Beck Center, The Mechanicals Present: Julius Caesar or Macbeth (Brutus/Macbeth) UK regional tour; and The Tempest (Sebastia/Trincula) at Shakespeare in the Squares London. She won the Broadway World Award “Best Actress in a Play” for Romeo and Juliet (Juliet) 2018. She founded Out Of The Forest Theatre in 2017, an ensemble based theatre company that takes misremembered or forgotten stories from history, sets them to folk music and tells them through a lens to better understand today.

JOE WILTSHIRE SMITH

Joe is a Welsh actor who graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2017. He represented RWCMD at the Sam Wanamaker Festival in his second year, and received the J.O Francis Memorial Award in 2017 and the Gareth Jones Scholarship in 2016.

Joe’s theatre credits include Ghost About The House at the King’s Head Theatre, The Kneebone Cadillac at the Theatre Royal Plymouth, Cracked at the Pontardawe Arts Centre, and led in Roast Me at the Union Theatre. Most recently Joe led in the touring production of The Swearing Jar by New Perspectives, and his original play Behold! The Monkey Jesus opened to great acclaim at the Brockley Jack Theatre.

RELAXED PERFORMANCE
19 December at 11am

Our Relaxed Performances are for everyone but have been specifically adapted to be sensitive to audience members who may benefit from seeing a show in a less formal, more supportive atmosphere. This may include (but is not limited to) people who have autism, learning disabilities, auditory sensitivities, epilepsy, or dementia. During these performances, noise and movement in the theatre are welcomed; the house lights will be set to dim, and loud noises, flashing lights, and pyrotechnics may be left out of the show. Free Essential Companion tickets are available.

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETED PERFORMANCES
19 DECEMBER at 3pm  & 27 December at 7pm

British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter Sarah Ankers will be stood at the front of stage left for the duration of the show, translating for those who use British Sign Language. BSL Interpreting provided by Complete Communication. £15.00 tickets and “Best View of the BSL Interpreter” seats are available for those who identify as D/deaf, deafened, or hard of hearing. Free Essential Companion tickets are also available.

AUDIO DESCRIBED PERFORMANCE
22 December at 7pm

This performance will feature a live commentary, delivered to participating audience members via an audio description headset. The narrator will introduce the characters and describe the scenery, costumes, and action taking place on stage, including any changes in body language, expressions, or movements. The performance will be preceded by the Introductory Notes. £15.00 tickets are available for those who identify as blind or visually impaired. Free Essential Companion tickets are also available. Audio descriptions provided by Jonathan Nash from Sightlines.

Find out more about how to book free essential companion tickets online.

To Download our Visual Story please click here!

To Download our Education Pack please click here!

For further information about our access performances, please email our Box Office at [email protected] or call us on 01823 283 244 between 10am and 4pm, Monday – Friday.