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James Seabright in association with Jason Haigh-Ellery and Park Theatre presents the Birmingham Rep production of

The Way Old Friends Do

By Ian Hallard

WRITER | IAN HALLARD
DIRECTOR | MARK GATISS
SET & COSTUME DESIGNER | JANET BIRD
LIGHTING DESIGNER | ANDREW EXETER
SOUND DESIGNER | BEN HARRISON
CASTING DIRECTOR | MARC FRANKUM
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR | GAVIN JOSEPH

Ian Hallard

Ian’s credits for theatre include The Boys in the Band (Park/Vaudeville - Whatsonstage Awards Best Actor nomination), Scenes From An Execution and Great Britain (NT), Hogarth’s Progress (Rose, Kingston), Tonight at 8:30 (Jermyn Street), Lovesong of the Electric Bear (Hope/Arts), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Clwyd), Lilies (Greenwich), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (West Yorkshire Playhouse), The Vote (Donmar Warehouse), Tumulus (Soho), and Donkeys’ Years (UK Tour). Ian’s television credits include Doctor Who, Sherlock, Endeavour, The Power, The Crown, Poirot, Marple, Doctors, Crooked House, and The Worst Journey in the World. Ian’s film credits include Mary Queen of Scots, The Act and The Dark Room. Ian has written and been script associate on three episodes of Poirot for ITV. Ian’s first play Adventurous was produced online by Jermyn Street in March 2021. Further writing for theatre includes Steenie, about the relationship between King James I and the Duke of Buckingham (Turbine), and Horse-Play (Riverside Studios).

Twitter/Instagram: @IanHallard www.ianhallard.co.uk

Mark Gatiss

Mark Gatiss has had a long and varied career as a Writer, Director, and Producer, as well as an Actor and published author. Mark is best known as a member of The League of Gentlemen and as the Co-Creator and Executive Producer of the multi award-winning BBC series Sherlock, in which he played Mycroft Holmes.

Mark both wrote for and appeared in the modern revival of Doctor Who and was the Writer and Executive Producer of An Adventure in Space and Time for its 50th anniversary celebrations. Mark also co-created the BBC and Netflix drama Dracula, and has written and directed several BBC ghost stories including The Mezzotint, Martin’s Close, The Dead Room, and The Tractate Middoth. Other writing credits for television include The Amazing Mr Blunden, Crooked House, The Worst Journey in the World, Poirot, and his adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The First Men in the Moon. Mark wrote and presented the documentary series A History of Horror and its sequel Horror Europa, as well as art documentaries on John Minton and Aubrey Beardsley. Mark curated and directed Queers, a series of eight monologues for BBC Four to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act.

As an actor, Mark’s recent film credits include Mission Impossible 7, Operation Mincemeat, The Father, The Favourite, Christopher Robin, Gunpowder, Wolf Hall, Coalition and Game of Thrones. On stage, his credits include Coriolanus (Donmar Warehouse), The Boys in the Band (Park/ Vaudeville), Three Days in the Country (NT - Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role), the title role in The Madness of George III (Nottingham Playhouse), and Jacob Marley in his own adaptation of A Christmas Carol (Nottingham Playhouse/ Alexandra Palace). Mark has recently directed Steven Moffat’s debut play The Unfriend for Chichester, which in 2023 will transfer to the Criterion in the West End.

Janet Bird

Janet Bird was born and grew up in Cardiff and is now based in London. She received an MA in Scenography from Wimbledon School of Art and has designed theatre productions all over the world.

Janet’s design for theatre includes What’s New Pussycat? (Birmingham Rep), Paper, Talent, Guys And Dolls, Kiss Me Kate, Wizard Of Oz, and Hobson’s Choice (Sheffield), Milky Peaks, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Much Ado About Nothing (Clwyd), Our Lady of Blundellsands (Liverpool Everyman), Abigail’s Party (UK Tour), Enjoy (West End/ UK tour), The Madness of George III (Royal, Bath / West End/ UK Tour), The Merry Wives of Windsor (US Tour), A Comedy of Errors, and Holding Fire (Shakespeare’s Globe), Adult Supervision (Park), Ken, Four Minutes Twelve Seconds (Trafalgar Studios), Alphabetical Order (UK Tour), and The Argument (Hampstead), Uncle Vanya (St James), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Regent’s Park Open Air), Mad Man (Plymouth Drum), A Taste of Honey, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Age of Arousal, and Long Day’s Journey into Night (Edinburgh Lyceum), The BFG and Lighthearted Intercourse (Octagon, Bolton), The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Dundee Rep), The History Boys (West Yorkshire Playhouse / UK Tour), Way Upstream (Salisbury Playhouse), A Doll’s House (Exeter Northcott), Hay Fever (Guthrie, Minneapolis), Single Spies and The Adventures of Woundman and Shirley (Royal, Bath / UK Tour), Tell Me on a Sunday (UK Tour), Longwave (Lyric Hammersmith), and The Rocky Horror Show (West End/ UK Tour). 

Andrew Exeter

Andrew is a Set and Lighting Designer based in London. He was a 2020 Stage Debut Award nominee for his Lighting Design on High Fidelity at the Turbine and is an OFFIE nominee on his design for LIFT at Southwark Playhouse. Andrew trained at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance.

Andrew’s credits for set and lighting design include Oti Mabuse: I AM HERE (UK Tour), Johannes Radebe: FREEDOM (UK Tour), LIFT and Dogfight (Southwark Playhouse), The Last 5 Years (Minack), Daddy Issues (Seven Dials Playhouse), REHAB: A New Musical (Playground), Closer Than Ever and Scaramouche Jones, (Broadway HD/ Ginger Quiff Media), KLYN (Broadway HD), GUY: A New Musical (UK Tour) and Millennials (The Other Palace). Andrew’s credits for lighting design include Das Spongebob Musical (German International Tour), The Jungle Book, Bleak Expectations and Whistle Down The Wind  (The Watermill), West Side Story (Ljubljana Festival Slovenia), Hair - directed by Arlene Phillips (London Palladium/ Turbine), STAGE DOOR for Celebrity Cruises (TBI Media), High Fidelity (The Turbine), Perception (The Place and Stockholm Fringe) John & Jen, Once On This Island and Preludes (Southwark Playhouse), and also Annual Pantomimes for Crossroads Pantomimes & Mark Goucher Productions.

Andrew has also designed the set for Lady Chatterley's Lover (Shaftesbury, West End). Andrew worked as Associate Lighting Designer on The Drifters Girl Musical (West End), Heathers The Musical (West End/ UK Tour). Andrew’s projects John & Jen, Closer Than Ever and BKLYN are available to watch now on Broadway HD.

Ben Harrison

Ben’s sound designs include Bugsy Malone, 9 to 5,  Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Hairspray, Rock of Ages, Club Tropicana, Dr Dolittle, Fame, The Railway Children, The Wedding Singer, The Million Dollar Quartet, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Return To The Forbidden Planet, Happy Days The Musical, Carnaby Street, High Society, Blood Brothers, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jekyll & Hyde, Tommy, Save The Last Dance For Me, The Boy Friend, Half A Sixpence, The Roy Orbison Story, This Is Elvis, Laughter In The Rain (UK Tour), Cabaret, Scrooge, Soul Sister, Dreamboats & Petticoats, and The Country Girl (West End/ UK Tour), Starlight Express and Evita (International Tour), Whistle Down The Wind (UK/ American Tour), Dancing In The Streets (West End/ International Tours), Great British Bake Off The Musical (Cheltenham Everyman), Mame (Hope Mill), The Stick Maker Tales (NTW), The Wizard of Oz & Into The Woods (Leeds Playhouse), Bugsy Malone (Hammersmith Lyric), Five Guys Named Moe (Festival Square/ Marble Arch), Little Shop of Horrors, A Little Night Music and The Beggar’s Opera (Chester Storyhouse), Hedda Gabler (Northampton Royal), The Prodigals (Coventry Belgrade/ Edinburgh Fringe), The King & I and Hairspray (Leicester Curve/ UK Tour), Obama The Mamba (Leicester Curve/ The Lowry), Simply Cinderella, The Pillowman, Hot Stuff, Gypsy, Hello Dolly!, Oliver, Piaf, Sweeney Todd, Chicago and The Sound of Music (Leicester Curve).

Between 2002 and 2007 Ben was Head of Sound at Leicester’s Haymarket where he designed West Side Story, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Macbeth, An Illustrious Corpse, Beautiful Thing, The Fortune Club, East, Divine, The Bogus Woman (Adelaide/ New York), The Good Woman of Schezuan, Pacific Overtures, The Happy Prince, and The Wizard of Oz. www.benharrisonsound.com

Mark Frankum CDG

Gavin Joseph

Gavin’s theatre credits include Assistant Director for Liar Heretic Thief (Lyric Hammersmith), The Glee Club (Out of Joint) and The Unfriend (Chichester Festival). As a director Gavin's credits include Ad Nauseam (Lyric Hammersmith), Madam Interpreter (Stanley Arts), Hello, it’s me (Tamasha), and Little Threads (Selladoor). Gavin is currently an Associate Artist at Company Three where he will be writing and directing two new pieces of work in collaboration with young people from Islington.

Gavin co-created and produced a podcast Bame(ish) commenting on the creative arts and providing a platform for young creatives from under-represented communities and backgrounds at the beginning of their careers. Gavin has worked as Assistant Director at Southwark Playhouse, Wimbledon Civic Theatre Trust, Co-Lead at Kiln, Artist Consultant at The Old Vic, Associate Reader and Director for WoLab, Arts Festival Leader for I Am At Tate Exchange Festival, Lyric Ensemble and RADA Youth Company alumni, and also is an alumni of the Hackney Empire’s Writers Room. As an Actor Gavin appeared in The Cleaner and Marriages.