PAUL STEBBINGS is artistic director of TNT Theatre Britain and the American Drama Group Europe. He was born in Nottingham and studied drama at Bristol University, where he received first class honours. He trained in the Grotowski method with TRIPLE ACTION THEATRE in Britain and Poland. Paul founded TNT theatre in 1980 and received regular Arts Council funding for work in the UK. Paul has also acted for NOTTINGHAM PLAYHOUSE and TNT and directed and written for the SHANGHAI DRAMATIC ARTS CENTRE, TEATRO TERRUNO Costa Rica, PARAGON ENSEMBLE Glasgow, TAMS THEATER Munich, the ST PETERSBURG STATE COMEDY THEATRE and the Athens Concert Hall MEGARON. His productions have toured to over forty countries worldwide. Festival appearances include WIZARD OF JAZZ at the Munich Biennale (critics prize), the Off Broadway Festival in New York, the Tehran Fajr Festival, the Tokyo International Festival, and award winning performances at the Edinburgh Festival (THE MURDER OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, in which he played the title role). His numerous productions for ADGE and TNT include MACBETH, BRAVE NEW WORLD, MOON PALACE (a dance drama version of Paul Auster’s contemporary novel), DEATH OF A SALESMAN, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, MACBETH and DR JEKYLL & MR HYDE. One of Paul’s main areas of interest is the integration of music and theatre which culminated in his large scale production of Melville’s MOBY DICK. He has directed productions in Russian, Greek, German and is increasingly working in Spanish, while he recently directed OLIVER TWIST and THE TAMING OF THE SHREW in Mandarin at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre. This season sees Paul direct or revive: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE and HAMLET by Shakespeare, FRANKENSTEIN the Monster and the Myth (which he also co-writes), THE WAVE by Morton Rhue, A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens (in English and Spanish) and premier three new plays: AMERICA Dreams and Nightmares (THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MARTIN LUTHER KING); GOYA IN LOVE, WAR AND SILENCE (in Spanish) and a new version of PETER PAN. These productions will be performed in cities as diverse as Beijing, Jerusalem, Prague, Tokyo, Moscow, Hanoi, Istanbul, San José de Costa Rica, London and Berlin. In June 2013 Paul was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by H.M the Queen for services to British culture.
TNT theatre The company was founded in 1980. Our first production was a manifesto piece: A commedia dell’arte life of the Russian director Meyerhold, who was murdered by Stalin. His ideas are still present in TNT’s work. The company received UK Arts Council (government) funding for extensive tours of Britain for many years before shifting its focus to international touring. TNT’s initial productions were all self-written and combined popular theatre forms with serious subjects. In 1983 we began integrating music into the productions on a complex level. In 1993 we began our collaboration ADG Europe and expanded our repertoire to include classical texts and radical stage interpretations of novels. TNT toured internationally from its first year and now tours to over thirty countries a year on three continents in four languages. Our motto: “Tragedy with a smile on its lips”.
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Adrian Decosta was born in South East London, he has a twin brother and both him and his brother began modelling for Norrie Carr and worked for leading brand names such as Disney and travelled the world for leading fashion labels. Adrian caught the theatre bug young and performed in amateur roles to fulfill it. Adrian studied acting at Rose Bruford College, a leading Drama school. He went on to gain the Lilian Bayliss Award for acting potential. Adrian graduated Rose Bruford with a B.A. Honours degree and went straight into the professional industry. Adrian's first role was the lead in Ma Vie En Rose at the Young Vic, he then played the title role in the biography play Bella's Gate Boy based on the life of Trevor Rhone directed by Yvonne Brewster. Adrian continued his career working for The Royal Shakespeare Company in The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew, a Midsummer Night’s Dream Project and World Premiered The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbs. He then went on to play on the Olivier Stage at the National Theatre in Mark Ravenhill's adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Nation. Adrian has played major roles in Titus Andronicus and A Taste of Honey at the Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh. We Love You City at the Belgrade Theatre Coventry and Venus/Mars at the Bush Theatre London. Adrian last stage role to date was Duwayne for New Vic Productions, where he played the title role as Duwayne Brooks the best friend of the murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence. Adrian's film credit include Jab Tak Hai Jaan by the late Bollywood director Yash Chopra. Adrian also worked on a series for BBC Radio4 called the Music Teacher.
Daniel Boys.
Jonathan de Mallet Morgan trained at Webber Douglas Academy in London.This is his second production with TNT theatre. His theatre credits include: La Boheme (Soho Theatre), Brave New World (TNT/ International Tour), Nicked (HighTide), Dancing Queen (UK Tour), Mr Kolpert (Greenwich Playhouse), The Highwayman (C, Edinburgh Festival), Beauty & The Beast (Royal Spa Theatre), Sleeping Beauty (Princess Theatre), Salome, Odette (The Bridewell Theatre), The Problem with Being It (Castle Theatre, Wellingborough), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (UK Tour), Hound of the Baskervilles (Brockley Jack Theatre), The Trash Christ (Godalming Productions), Punk Princess (workshop), Holly Golightly (Sadler’s Wells/ Lost Musicals), Wish Upon a Prince (Jacksons Lane) His film work includes: Fused (winner of 48 hr film project), The Fourteenth and Bloodfuel. Jonathan can also be heard as part of the choir on Douglas Whyte’s Christmas Song featuring Andrew Earl has been acting since the early nineties and began classical training after Television appearances in London’s Burning, Desmond's, Pork Pie, The Old Bill and East Enders to name just a few. Having fallen in love with the arts he still acts and enjoys it as much as when he began 20 years ago. Recent stage successes have seen him in an award winning One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and Of Mice and Men which also received Olivier nominations and an Olivier Award. Last year he was also in a wonderful production in Hamlet as Polonius. . Despite minor appearances in Feature Films since the nineties he's yet to land the meaty film role that would challenge him enough."But though he will suffer trying to get there, he will win one".
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Phil Smith is a performance-maker, writer, ambulatory researcher and lecturer. He was awarded his PhD in 2013 and is an Associate Professor (Reader) at the School of Humanities & Performing Arts, Plymouth University (UK). He is the company dramaturg of TNT (Munich). As a playwright over 100 of his plays and adaptations, many of them co-written with Paul Stebbings, have received professional productions and have been seen by over 3 million people. When not working for TNT he specializes in creating performances related to walking, site-specificity, mythogeographies and counter-tourism. He writes and performs ‘mis-guided tours’, gently subverting sites of heritage. He is a core member of site-based arts collective Wrights & Sites; and a co-author of the company’s various ‘mis-guides’ including ‘An Exeter Mis-Guide’ (2003) and ‘A Mis-Guide To Anywhere’ (2006). He has recently begun working on interdisciplinary dance-based performances with Jane Mason (on her ‘Life Forces project’) and with choreographer Siriol Joyner. His most recent performance work includes Blind Ditch’s ‘This City’s Centre’, ‘Shapes’ for b-side Festival, and ‘Signs and Wonders’ with Katie Etheridge and Simon Persighetti for Lancashire Witches 400 in Lancaster and Pendle. His books include ‘On Walking’ and ‘Enchanted Things’ (2014), ‘Counter-Tourism: The Handbook’ and ‘A Sardine Street Box of Tricks’ (2012) and ‘Mythogeography’ (2010) (all Triarchy Press) and as a co-writer ‘Walking, Writing and Performance’ (2009, Intellect). His first novel ‘Alice’s Dérives in Devonshire’ will be published in late 2014. Mary King, born in London, grew up wanting to be a singer. Like most little girls she sang using hair -brushes as her microphone. She would learn dance routines from music videos and act as if she was the musician. This later developed into a love for acting. Mary trained at Sylvia Young Theatre School in her teenage years on the weekends and took part in amateur plays. Due to the advice of her Mother, Mary went to University and holds a BSc in Psychology and Human Resource Management. Mary believes a lot of her experiences during University, and the degree itself contributes to her acting. Although acting is May's first love, she still very much enjoys singing and dancing. Mary was fortunate to dance in the London Olympic Closing Ceremony 2012. Mary graduated from The American Musical Theatre Academy in July 2014 and she seeks to impact, make a difference and enlighten individuals through her roles in theatre. Takunda Kramer is from Zimbabwe but moved to London England in 2008 when he got a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and trained there for the next three years, graduating in 2011. Some of his roles whilst at RADA where, Angelo in Measure for Measure, as well as Othello, Mr Sloane in Entertaining Mr Sloane, Dionysus in The Bacchae, as well as Oshoosi Size in the Brother’s Size. Some of his work since graduating are, Orsino in Twelfth Night at the Orange Tree Theatre, Sour Lips at the Oval House theatre London , Eye of the Needle at the Bush Theatre, Chasing the Moon at the Drill Hall, If Only Sharukh Khan at Theatre in the Mill. John Kenny has performed and broadcast in over 50 nations. He is internationally acclaimed for his interpretation of contemporary music but also works extensively with improvisation and early music. He is particularly active in collaborations with dance and theatre: in 1983 he began his long collaboration with TNT Theatre and playwright Paul Stebbings, performing, composing and directing the music for productions which continue to tour worldwide, including Cabaret Faust, Tempest Now, The Wizard of Jazz, Moby Dick, Moon Palace, The Taming of The Shrew, Romeo & Juliet, The Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe, Illiam Dhone and The Wave. Autumn 2014 sees the premier of Mareica: Dreams and Nightmares and the re-staging of The Wave. Kenny’s past commissions have included the London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust, Chamber Group of Scotland, Dance Umbrella, St. Magnus Festival, BBC Proms in The Park, American Drama Group Europe, The New Haven International Festival of Arts and Ideas (USA) the Festival d’ Angers, France, Vokal Nord (Norway), CCMIX Institut (France), and the city of Wroclaw, Poland. John is a professor at both the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and is also head of brass at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh. Since the early 1990’s he has also become increasingly involved with musical archaeology, and in 1993 he became the first person for 2000 years to play the great Celtic war horn known as the carnyx. He now lectures and performs on the instrument internationally. In 2003 he performed his composition The Voice of The Carnyx to an audience of 65,000 in the
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Stade De France, Paris. In 2009 he undertook a month long recital tour of the USA which included the world premiere of his composition Wild Stone for alto flute and carnyx, and released his seventh solo album, Embracing the Unknown. In September 2013 John Kenny and playwright Paul Stebbings celebrated their 30 th year of collaboration with the premier of The Wave at Berlin’s Akademie der Künst. John Kenny is also a founder member of the European Music Archaeology Project (EMAP) with whom he is currently working to bring to fruition the reconstruction of many lip reed instruments of antiquity. To find out more about John’s work visit: www.carnyxscotland.co.uk
Juliane Kasprzik was born in north Germany. She studied design in Hamburg. She has worked extensively in German theatres, designing or assisting for the Hamburg Schauspielhaus and the city theatres in Kassel, Darmstadt as well as the Residenztheater in Munich and many theatres on the “Free” or alternative scene in Germany’s theatre capital such as ETA and Theaterzelt. She has designed costumes for the all recent TNT and ADGE productions including FRANKENSTEIN, HAMLET, THE WAVE, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, MACBETH, DR JEKYLL & MR HYDE and ROMEO & JULIET. Arno Scholz (set design) was born in Berlin and haslived in Munich for many years. He studied at the Muenchner Kunstakademie. After two years at the Theater der Jugend started creating and building stage sets. Since then he has created many sets for independent theatres:Vaganten Buehne Berlin, Theater in der Garage Erlangen, TamS Theatre, Theater 44 and Modernes Theater in Munich and also for THE AMERICAN DRAMA GROUP EUROPE. He has also worked on TV productions for example Tatort Detective series but is now focusing on set building for touring theatre. He has designed and constructed sets for all of TNT’s recent productions including ROMEO AND JULIET, DON QUIJOTE, OTHELLO, THE WAVE, DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE and BRAVE NEW WORLD. Tom Ward trained in dance and choreography at London Contemporary Dance School in 1986. Since leaving he has danced with London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Rambert Dance Company, DV8, Adventures In Motion Pictures and many others. He has worked with TNT and ADG Europe, Complicite’, Royal National Theatre London and appeared in several musical theatre productions including Hair at The OldVic, Cabaret at The Lyric Theatre in London’s West End and most recently has been playing the role of Frank Sinatra in The Rat Pack Live From Las Vegas Tour around the UK, Europe and America. This is his third production with TNT after MOBY DICK and ROMEO & JULIET.
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