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Alexandra Da Silva and Neil Eckersley in association with MC Productions and Park Theatre present the World Premiere of
My Dad's Gap Year
WRITER I TOM WRIGHT
DIRECTOR I RIKKI BEADLE-BLAIR MBE
SET AND COSTUME DESIGNER I SARAH BEATON
LIGHTING DESIGNER I DEREK ANDERSON
SOUND DESIGNER I BENJAMIN WINTER
PRODUCTION MANAGER I JAMES ANDERTON
STAGE MANAGER I MARIE COSTA
Writer | Tom Wright
Tom is a London based playwright and theatre director, originally from the Midlands. He is currently the Artist Development Manager at The Old Vic. Having initially trained as an actor at the Guildford School of Acting, he's participated in the Royal Court, Soho Theatre and Finborough Theatre’s playwright groups, Mercury Musical Development’s advanced writers’ lab and Young Vic’s directors’ programme.
My Dad’s Gap Year was first workshopped at the Tristan Bates Theatre, before being developed with Rikki Beadle-Blair for Team Angelica and then showcased at the Bush Theatre in London. Tom’s second play I Ain’t Dumb was also developed with Team Angelica and supported by the Peggy Ramsay Foundation. It premiered at Theatre Royal Stratford East the following year. Tom was commissioned to adapt Jamie O’Neill’s novel At Swim, Two Boys into stage musical Rebel Song. It was nominated for the Stiles & Drewe ‘Best New Song’ Prize, secured funding from Arts Council England and was selected as part of From Page To Stage to be performed at The Other Palace. His play Kweenship was developed with the Soho Theatre’s Young Company and an extract of his play Very Special Guest Star previewed at the Arcola Theatre. Short work includes BROADCAST (Old Vic New Voices), Three Sunrises (St. James Theatre) and I, We, Me (Vaults Festival). His next full-length play Undetectable will premiere at the King’s Head Theatre in March 2019.
Tom recently directed Sarah Milton’s Tumble Tuck at Underbelly Edinburgh, which then transferred to the King’s Head Theatre in London. It was also produced by Old Vic New Voices and at the Soho Theatre and was nominated for an Off-West End Award for Best Performance Piece. Other directing work includes Fledglings (Criterion Theatre), Bedtime Story (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Claire (Arcola Theatre Queer Collective) and My Dad’s Gap Year/An Invitation (Tristan Bates Theatre). Assisting credits include the world premiere of Rikki Beadle-Blair’s Legendary Children (Theatre De Meervaart) and dance-theatre crossover 2.1 (Rich Mix, Camden People's Theatre).
For The Old Vic, Tom is responsible for connecting with exciting theatre talent and creating opportunities to bring them into the theatre and to develop new work. This is achieved through the management and delivery of key projects including The Old Vic 12, The Old Vic Lab, Connect and Baylis Director Schemes. Tom also reads scripts for a range of organisations and is a Senior Reader at Theatre503.
Director | Rikki Beadle-Blair
Rikki is a writer, director, composer, choreographer, designer, producer and performer. He has won several awards including the Sony Award for Best Documentary Feature for The Roots of Homophobia, and the Los Angeles Outfest Screenwriting and Outstanding Achievement awards. Past projects include several feature films and TV series including the American feature Blackbird starring Oscar-winning actress Mo’nique, Stonewall for Killer Films New York and BBC Films, Metrosexuality for Channel 4, Noah’s Arc for MTV Logo as well as Fit, Kickoff and Bashment for his own company, Team Angelica. He is one of the creative directors of the Visionary Youth Project for young European Film Activists. Rikki also works extensively in theatre and has written 28 plays in the last decade that have been performed in London and across the UK. In 2016, he was awarded an MBE for his services to drama.
Producer and General Manager | Alexandra Da Silva
Alexandra is a London based Producer and General Manager.
Theatre includes the international tour of Shrew, which included dates at the Edinburgh Fringe, the United Solo Festival in New York, Fringe Club in Hong Kong and the Camden People’s Theatre in London. Associate Producer credits include Stephen Sondheim’s Company at the Aberdeen Arts Centre.
General management credits include Judith: A Parting From the Body (Arcola Theatre) and Holmes and Watson: The Farewell Tour (National Tour).
As Associate General Manager for David Adkin Limited, work includes Rothschild and Sons (Park Theatre), The Past is a Tattooed Sailor (Old Red Lion Theatre) and The Life, directed by Michael Blakemore (Southwark Playhouse).
Alexandra is a bursary recipient of the Society of London Theatre’s Stage One Producer’s Scheme and one half of The Creative Roots, a company specialising in film and documentaries. Her debut short film as producer, The Cost of Bronze, is set for release in 2019.