readers of lockdown tales
julia adlardJulia lives in London with her husband and they have three grown-up children. She is an artist. When she was little, she lived in a beautiful house in Berkshire, which gave her lots of ideas for her pictures. She likes painting people's houses, and people's favourite places.
Julia has written and illustrated Domino the Miracle Dog, which is based on a true story of a dog who really did live in Suffolk. It was published in December 2019 and is available now from all good booksellers. You can find out more about Julia here. |
Julia blackburnJulia is an author who lives in Suffolk and has two children, one stepdaughter and four grandchildren.
She writes books about real people, places, and things that have happened. She is most interested in 'the places that still hold echoes of what once was'. She also writes radio plays and stories. You can find out more about Julia here. |
Ann BrysonAnn started her performance career busking with Sara Crowe in Covent Garden As The Flamin‘ Hamsters.
They performed on a few children’s programmes including The Wide Awake Club and Number 74. She appeared in 3 series of Space Vets for CBBC. She also was Fairy Vegetable in the pantomime at The Theatre Royal Norwich. 'OH NO SHE WASN'T'... She now combines acting with gardening. |
Sally Ann BurnettSally was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, and tries to visit as much as possible. She lives in Norfolk, with her daughter Marcie. Sally loves elephants, cooking, and cats of all kinds. One of her favourite places is the National Gallery in London, especially the Rembrandt rooms. When lockdown is over, she and Marcie hope to travel to Italy together in the near future, to explore.
Sally's drama training was at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in London. She has loved working in theatre in many places and regions. She has spent time working with Norfolk and Suffolk care homes, reading to Residents, who have become friends, and she has also recorded many books for the RNIB. |
rosalind burtRosalind is a Voice and Character Actor. For her, telling stories is the best part of the job!
When she isn’t performing, Rosalind is a Story Teller and Drama Facilitator. Her theatre credits include: Thisbe in Thisbe (Door Ajar Theatre Company, Theatre Royal Stratford East, London), Dorothy in Everything Must Go (Eastern Angles Theatre Company, Sir John Mills Theatre, Ipswich), Girl in The Last Woodwose (Wonderful Beast Theatre Company, Regional Tour). Her screen credits include Charlotte in the web series The Inside Man, series 1 & 2 (Twist and Shout Media). |
Emma Chichester ClarkEmma is an author and illustrator. She lives in London and Suffolk, with her husband Rupert and a scruffy little dog called Plum. She has three stepsons.
When Emma was very little, she lived on a farm in Ireland, where she made little stitched books using paper and a needle and thread. At university, she studied art, and graphic design, and began illustrating other people's stories, which she still does. She also writes and illustrates lots of her own books, including the Blue Kangaroo, Melrose & Croc, and Plum Dog series. You can find out more about Emma here. |
alfie enochAlfie lives in London. His favourite colour is green, and he used to prefer dogs but now prefers cats. He supports Aston Villa and likes cricket as well as football.
Alfie's theatre appearances include: Tree (Young Vic); Red (Wyndham’s Theatre); King Lear (Royal Exchange); Coriolanus (Donmar); Timon of Athens, Antigone (National Theatre); Happy New (Old Red Lion); Dinner (Fringe) and The Ballad of Salomon Pavey (NYMT). His film credits include: Tigers, Medida Provisória and Harry Potter: Philosopher's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows pt.2, and he his television work includes Trust Me 2, Troy, How to Get Away with Murder, Sherlock, Mount Pleasant and Broadchurch. |
vincent franklinVincent is an actor, author and director who lives in Suffolk with his wife and two children.
He has worked extensively in theatre, television (The Thick of It, Doc Martin, The Office, Gentleman Jack, Twenty Twelve, Bodyguard) and film (Vera Drake, The Illusionist, The Bourne Identity). He has directed his own adaptations of The Government Inspector, The Turn of The Screw, and Shirley Valentine, all for Harrogate Theatre. Were it not for Covid-19, he would currently be playing Vanya in the Tony-award-winning Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike at the Charing Cross Theatre. His first book, Menus That Made History, is published by Octopus. He’s also founder and creative director of the award-winning creative agency, Quietroom. You can find out more about Vincent here. |
Rob GildonRob is an opera singer who lives in Suffolk with four dogs, nine goats, nineteen chickens, four peacocks, bees and a tortoise.
Rob loves to collaborate with other artists and dip his toes into other styles. He studied at Manhattan School of Music in New York, the Tanglewood and Aspen Music Festivals in America and the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme at Snape. He has worked with Garsington Opera, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Royal Opera House, English National Opera , London Symphony Orchestra as well as theatre companies such as Complicitie. He is passionate about educational work and regularly leads workshops for Streetwise Opera and Snape Maltings amongst others, as well as co-leading the Wonderful Beast singers. You can find out more about Rob here. |
hilary greatorexHilary is an actor who lives in Suffolk with her husband and two children.
When Hilary's not acting for grown ups in theatres or on TV, she works in schools telling stories, running workshops and helping children create amazing things. In 2019 Hilary played the title role in Wonderful Beast's play, The Last Woodwose, written by Thea Smiley. You can find out more about Hilary here. |
will hackett-jonesWill grew up in Suffolk but he now lives in St Petersburg with his wife, Sasha, and their baby girl. He likes black Labradors and at school he had a band called 'Ghandi's Hairdryer' (an acquired taste).
Will runs a company translating all sorts of texts from Russian into English and English into Russian, and writing subtitles for films. He also does voiceover work, and can even lay claim to being the British voice of the St Petersburg tube. You can find out more about Will here. |
Jenny hallJenny Hall lives in Suffolk, with her husband Glenn.
Jenny has played Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Bill Bryden, and Miranda in The Tempest, directed by her father Sir Peter Hall, both at the National Theatre. Since 2018 she has been giving workshops in speaking Shakespeare’s verse, and in October 2019 she launched SHAKE Festival at The Cut in Halesworth. You can find out more about the festival here. |
Rob JarvisRob Jarvis lives in Suffolk with his wife Sally, their son Charlie, and Sharon the cat.
Rob grew up in Merseyside and has worked extensively as an actor in TV, film, theatre and radio. Listeners may remember him as Eddie in Hustle, while younger ones might have spotted him as the Downing Street Policeman in Transformers. He has also appeared in Guerilla, Holby City, Call the Midwife, and Doctor Who, among many other shows, films, and on stage. |
Veronica LamondVeronica was born and grew up in Durban, South Africa, where her family still live. She has happy memories of being driven around in Land Rovers as a child.
Her first jobs in the UK were working with children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. She moved to North Cornwall aged 23, where she had three daughters, and worked as a botanical artist. She studied Illustration at Falmouth College of Art and since has worked therapeutically with young adults on the autistic spectrum. In November 2009, she decided to devote all her spare time to working on a children’s book. She now works as an artist (see her Instagram profile) alongside running her children’s book publishing company. The real Fender belongs to joiner Charlie Turner, who lives in North Cornwall. There are lots more brilliant stories in the Landybooks series, and you can find out more about them and Veronica here. |
morven macbethMorven is an actor and theatre-maker based in Scotland. Morven dedicates the stories she has read for Lockdown Tales to her father, Ian Macbeth, a keen story-teller and collector of stories. Most of his collection is now housed in the library of the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh.
She is a core member and associate artist with theatre company imitating the dog. Morven works in voiceover, film, television and radio and regularly tours nationally and internationally with theatre projects. Her first professional job in theatre after she left drama school was with Wonderful Beast, as a performer in Forty Hares and a Princess. She also appeared alongside fellow Beast Matt Prendergast in The Swineherd and The Princess & the Pea. More recently Morven has worked with theatre companies such as Improbable, Bodies in Flight and Invisible Flock. You can find out more about her here. |
Petra MarkhamPetra Markham is a British film, television and theatre actor. She was born in Cheshire, but now lives in London.
Among her many roles, she has appeared in Get Carter, Doctor Who, Eastenders, Hotel Babylon and children’s series Ace of Wands. Her stage roles include Anne-Marie in Bryony Lavery’s adaptation of Ibsen’s A Doll's House, Miss Framer in Trevor Nunn’s production of Shaffer’s Lettice and Lovage, and in 2019 she appeared in Joshua Miles’ BE REET. Petra’s mother, Olive Dehn, was a writer, and one of Petra’s readings for Lockdown Tales was a poem of hers. Petra is currently writing a radio script for herself and her sister, Kika Markham. |
sophie nevilleSophie is an actor, writer, artist and producer. She loves horses, and otters. She lives with her family on the South Coast of England.
As an adult, Sophie has worked all over the world, including for the BBC's Natural History Unit, but when she was a little girl she played the role of Titty in the 1974 film Swallows and Amazons. She has written a book about it, called The Making of Swallows and Amazons, published by the Lutterworth press. It's available here. You can find out more about Sophie here. |
Dean parkinDean is a poet who lives in Suffolk.
He runs workshops for all ages, from primary school children to the over nineties. He has performed at many festivals, venues and schools across the UK, and is the first poet to have appeared on BBC One performing a poem on the loo. The Bubble Wrap is his first book of poems for young people. You can find out more about Dean here. |
Ann Penfold Ann Penfold is an actor who lives in Suffolk with her husband, actor Col Farrell.
She began her career playing First Fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream on a tour of South America, and has worked since at the National Theatre, the RSC, toured extensively with the English Shakespeare Company, and many more. Local audiences may remember her as Mrs Wilberforce in The Ladykillers at the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich. On television, she was Anne Bronte in The Brontes of Haworth, Jean Burden in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, and, most recently, Miranda in We Hunt Together on Alibi TV. Immediately before lockdown Ann narrated a programme of poetry and prose about Shostakovich with the English Piano Trio, and has been busy since in her garden, and volunteering at the Grundisburgh Millennium Meadow. |
Diana QuickDiana is an actor, and she lives in Suffolk.
Best known as Julia in Brideshead Revisited, Diana has appeared in numerous stage plays, television series and films. She has recorded many audio books, and is a regular on the radio. Her memoir, A Tug on the Thread, and an essay in Fifty Shades of Feminism, are both published by Virago. Before lockdown, she was working with Netflix on a SciFi series, The White Horse, which she hopes to resume soon. During lockdown, Diana has self-filmed a half hour version of Midnight Your Time by Adam Brace, directed by Michael Longhurst for the Donmar, streaming on YouTube from Wednesday 13th at 7.30pm. She is also adapting a forgotten Wilkie Collins novel for later transmission. |
Montserrat roig de puigMontserrat is a London-based actress from Spain. She works internationally in cinema, TV, theatre, presenter and voice overs. She studied acting at the prestigious Theatre Institute, Barcelona, with further training at the Ecole Philippe Gaulier, London, and was awarded the Berlinale Talents Alumni.
Montserrat has appeared in several Wonderful Beast productions including Maps of Desire at Southwark Playhouse. Films include: principal role of 'Jasmine' in Small World feature film directed by Patryk Vega, and I Am Not In Love, directed by Col Spector. Other films include The Other Boelyn Girl, and Meeting with Sarah Jessica (a multi-award-winning Spanish film). Her TV work includes Wire in the Blood, The Bill, and Life Begins. You can find out more about Montserrat here. |
Prathap Ramachandra and Anusha SubramanyamPrathap Ramachandra is an internationally acclaimed South Indian Percussionist, who specialises in playing Mridangam, Ghatam, Khanjira and rendering Konnakol. He started his career at a very young age and has taken his sounds to some of the biggest stages in the world, performing in some of the greatest festivals around the globe. Prathap has been part of the British music scene for over twenty years, has accompanied world-famous artists from India and abroad, and been part of cross-cultural collaborations in music and dance, crafting interesting approaches to Indian rhythms. His unique perspective on percussion has led to the creation of his own band 'Rhythm Yatra' which can be translated to 'Journey of Rhythm', exploring a flamboyant side of Indian Classical Music. You can find out more about Prathap here.
Anusha Subramanyam is a dance maker and teacher. She integrates dance, education, a focus on the body, and contemplation into her work. She is a champion for South Asian and inclusive dance. Anusha has choreographed a wide range of performances and collaborated with artists from a many backgrounds and disciplines to create work that is accessible, entertaining and thought-provoking. Anusha has helped to run organisations like Peoples Dancing and Live Music Now. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Asian Women Achievement Award in Culture 2011, and was named ‘Nritya Acharya Ratna’ (Distinguished Teacher in Dance) by Milapfest, 2017. She has been curating events like the Dance Festival Croydon and Croydon International Mela, showcasing many types of dance along with her partner Vipul Sangoi. You can find out more about Anusha and her work here.
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Martina SchwarzMartina is a London based musician, composer, performer and choir leader.
She has been commissioned to write and perform music for theatre, film and dance as well as for community, health and educational settings and loves the variety of her work. Martina also writes children songs and has released several songbooks and CDs in collaboration with the Goethe Institute. She tours her song programme “Learn German with Songs” for young audiences worldwide. You can find out more about Martina here, and about her programme here. |
Dame Penelope WiltonPenelope is an actor and lives in London.
She has appeared in many stage productions on Broadway and in London's West End. Her film appearances include Calendar Girls, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and The BFG, and she has been a familiar face on television in The Borrowers, Doctor Who and Downton Abbey (for which she won several awards), among many others. Penelope has a daughter, Alice, and two grandchildren, Ella and Daniel. She loves walking in the countryside. |
music OF THE LOCKDOWN TALES
SYLVIA HALLETTSylvia is a multi-instrumentalist and composer moving between violin, Hardanger fiddle, saw, hurdy-gurdy, accordion, bowed bicycle wheel (playing a bicycle wheel with a bow, like a violin), bowed vines and branches, and electronics. Sylvia composed, performed and recorded the Lockdown Tales accordion theme and has worked with Wonderful Beast many times over the years.
Sylvia works with musicians (such as Mike Cooper, Clive Bell, Anna Homler, Chris Dowding, Evan Parker, David Toop) dancers (h2dance, Miranda Tufnell, Eva Karczag), and theatres (RSC, Opera North). She also plays with the band The Heliocentrics. In 2015 Sylvia was commissioned by the Livio Felluga Wine Company to create and perform a solo site-specific work on a hill in an Italian vineyard, incorporating the bowing of grape-vines, a technique which she also used in Wonderful Beast’s The Last Woodwose, where she bowed branches and Russian vine. Sylvia has released four solo albums: Skimming, Let’s Fall Out, White Fog (featuring bowed bicycle wheel), and Tree Time (3rd June 2020). You can find out more about Sylvia here. |
Tree time, a new album from sylvia hallett
During the 2020 lockdown, Sylvia has made her fourth solo album, Tree Time.
You can listen to Tree Time here: https://sylviahallett.bandcamp.com/releases
You can listen to Tree Time here: https://sylviahallett.bandcamp.com/releases
'This music reaches places in me far beyond anywhere that ordinary music can touch. As if it’s a language I used to speak' – SEAN K
Tree Time is a reflection on the derelict Tottenham garden, now a forest, next door to me, full of sycamores, holly, walnut, horse chestnut, hazel, elder, jasmine and ivy where the birds nest and the bees go for nectar, and the squirrels chase and chatter along their aerial runways. Underground in the root system a family of foxes dig out their tunnels and palaces.
During this time of pandemic lockdown, I have been fortunate to have time to listen to the wind soughing in the trees, and get drawn into a different time dimension - the trees speak slowly and ponderously, over centuries, rooting down to the memories that are stored in their fibrous trunks and roots. There is a huge canopy of Russian Vine at one end, and every year it advances further into my garden until I deal with it. I used some of this vine along with other small branches - beech, ash and sycamore, to make sound, using a violin bow to bring out their resonant qualities. They behave like something between a string and a tongue of wood, then in real time I processed the sounds using simple guitar pedals - delay, pitch-shift and looper. The tracks are all improvised and edited, but no overdubbing. - Sylvia Hallett |