TNT theatre Britain & ADG Europe presents:

DAVID COPPERFIELD A dramatisation of Charles Dickens’ novel by Paul Stebbings and Phil Smith. Original music by Thomas Johnson.

David Copperfield

George Mclean

Emily and Clara Copperfield

Eilidh Debonnaire

Mr Pegotty and Luther

Joe Herzfeld

Pegotty, Dora and Miss Murdstone

Emily Bowman

Steerforth and Mr Murdstone

Peter McMillan

Other roles played by the ensemble Director

Paul Stebbings

Costume designer

Juliane Kasprzik

Set Design

Arno Scholz

Production assistant

Monika Ondockova

Producer (ADGE)

Grantly Marshall

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 SOUTH YORKSHIRE THEATRE, PARAGON ENSEMBLE Glasgow, TAMS THEATER Munich, the ST PETERSBURG STATE COMEDY THEATRE, the Athens Concert Hall MEGARON and the Russian TEATR EXPERIMENTA. His productions have toured to over twenty 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, THE CRUCIBLE, DON QUIJOTE and the recent prize winning HAMLET. One of Paul´s main areas of interest is the integration of music and theatre which culminated in his large scale production of production of MOBY DICK. He has directed productions in Russian, Greek, German and is increasingly working in Spanish, while n spring he directed THE TAMING OF THE SHREW in Mandarin at Shanghai’s leading theatre (SDAC). Productions for TNT and ADGE this season include: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, TAMING OF THE SHREW and MACBETH by Shakespeare, Lorca’s LA CASA DE BERNADA ALBA and his own version of DON QUIJOTE (in Spanish) OLIVER TWIST, DAVID COPPERFIELD and A CHRISTMAS CAROL all adapted from the novels of Charles Dickens, ONE LANGUAGE MANY VOICES ( an exploration of Britain’s colonial legacy),and his own play HITLER KILLED MY CANARY These varied productions tour to over thirty countries on four continents performing in cities as diverse as Beijing, Jerusalem, Paris, Tokyo, San Jose’ de Costa Rica, Hanoi, London and Berlin.

Thomas Johnson (Composer and musical director) After graduating from Oxford University Thomas joined DR.FOSTERS THEATRE CO., where he spent 5 years as resident composer/MD. He has subsequently composed the music for many theatre companies, including THE NATIONAL THEATRE, LUDLOW FESTIVAL, BIRMINGHAM STAGE COMPANY, THE UNICORN THEATRE, EXETER NORTHCOTT, PLYMOUTH THEATRE ROYAL, CHELTENHAM EVERYMAN, NOTTINGHAM PLAYHOUSE, LONDON BUBBLE, THEATRE ALIBI (with the West End hit WHY THE WHALES CAME), POLKA THEATRE, TRAVELLING LIGHT, CHIPPING NORTON THEATRE, and FAIRGAME. His music has been performed worldwide, from Singapore to St. Petersburg, including a Broadway run of the awardwinning TIR NA N-OG. He has worked with TEATRO DIONYSUS in Costa Rica, SEATTLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE in the US, and THE VEDOGON THEATRE in Moscow. Choral work includes GILGAMESH, a 90-minute oratorio for STROUD COMMUNITY CHOIR. Tom has also written the scores for several BBC RADIO 4 drama productions. OTHELLO is his 14th production with TNT/ADG, for whom he has written the scores for KING LEAR, HAMLET, ROMEO & JULIET, CHRISTMAS CAROL, OLIVER TWIST, THE MURDER OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE GREAT GATSBY, DAVID COPPERFIELD, GULLLIVER’S TRAVELS, THE GRAPES OF WRATH, THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, OTHELLO and HITLER KILLED MY CANARY. GEORGE MCLEAN I am delighted to be playing David in TNT’s and the ADG’s production of DAVID COPPERFEILD, it is a great opportunity to work both with a company I love and on a rich Dickensian tale. I have worked for the company before in DEATH OF A SALESMEN and GULIVERS TRAVELS so know exactly what iv got my self in for! The biggest perk of the job is the travelling to all the varied places and experiencing all the different audiences and theatres. I graduated from drama school in London (ALRA) in 07 and since then have worked for the BBC, both on Radio and TV, in classical text, new writing and theatre in education. One of my previous favourite roles was Tybalt in ROMEO AND JULIET for the Oxford Shakespeare Company (always fun playing a bady!). I am keen fan of pretty much all sport (not golf), and follow England in Football, Rugby, Cricket and Athletics, and am a massive Liverpool fan in the English Premier League. I hope you enjoy the show! PETER MCMILLAN grew up in Hull, Yorkshire and trained as an actor at the University of Hull and the Oxford School of Drama. His UK theatre work includes: LARK RISE (Oxfordshire Museum) WIDOWS (Battersea Arts Centre), THE BALD PRIMA DONNA (Juno Theatre Company), BLAIR ON BROADWAY (Arts Theatre, London), CIRXUS (Arcola Theatre), THE MAN OUTSIDE (Theatre Royal Haymarket), THE LESSON BEFORE BREAK (Theatre 503), BOUNCERS (Hull Truck Theatre Company) and TEECHERS (Hull Truck Theatre Company UK Tour). Peter first started studying the clarinet at age nine and was Principal Clarinettist in the City of Hull Youth Symphony Orchestra which toured to Budapest and Venice. He also plays the piano and has always wanted to combine his passion for music, drama and travel in his work. Peter is very much looking forward to bringing DAVID COPPERFIELD to an international audience.

JOE HERZFELD trained at Mountview Academy after appearing in many productions while studying history at Oxford University. Since 2008 he has toured in all weathers with outdoor theatre company Heartbreak Productions, playing the French king in Henry V, Jacques in "As you like it" and Colin in "The Secret Garden". Other parts include Konstantin in the Seagull, Goldberg in "The Birthday Party", Corvino in "Volpone", Reverend Paris in "The Crucible", Dr Astrov in "Uncle Vanya", Ajax in "The Trojan War will not take place", Earnest Beavers in "Time and the Conways", Dogberry in "MUch ado about nothing", and Petruchio in "Tamingof the Shrew". Joe is also a comic writer and improviser - he wrote and performed for comedy double act "The Habberdashers", co-directed sketch show "The Oxford Revue" and has improvised entire performances in various independent films. As a composer he provides original music for certain productions in which he acts. He is the frontman and song-writerfor two darkly comic bands - "Hooverville", a maximalist rock group, and"Joey Herzfeld and the Haunted", an acoustic cabaret band. But to his friends he will always be the guy who dressed up as a giant fish in a Walkers crisps advert dignity is over-rated. EMILY BOWMAN Trained at East 15 Acting School. Since graduating in 2001 she has worked all over Europe on a number of different projects from Shakespeare to Children’s Theatre. She worked with the American Drama Group on a production of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST with Tour De Force playing the roles of ‘Gwendolen’ & ‘Miss Prism’. Emily thoroughly enjoyed the traveling and is really looking forward to sampling some more international beverages! Other theatre credits include ‘Miriam’ in PROJECT DANCE – THE RED SHOES (Future Shorts); ‘Celia’ in AS YOU LIKE IT (Minack Theatre, Cornwall); ‘Musician’ in THE IMAGINATIVE WOMAN (Camden People’s Theatre); ‘Enchantress’ in BEAUTY & THE BEAST (Lyceum Theatre); ‘Sally Keebler’ in CHRISTINE (New End Theatre, London); ‘Helena’ in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (International Tour) and probably one of the most memorable, the title role in HUMPTY DUMPTY IN NURSERY RHYME LAND (Hackney Empire & Tour). Emily is also the Artistic Director of CUE Theatre. EILIDH DEBONNAIRE trained as an Actor Musician at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance. She is a performer and a Musical Director with a particular interest in the use of live music in Theatre. She lives in London and works for various Theatres running Musicality workshops and a Young adults Choir. She is really excited about getting out of busy London and spending some time touring the world. Theatre Credits: Puss in Boots, (Derby Guildhall) Bizet’s Carmen (Leicester Square Theatre,London) Brittans Noyes’s Fludde (Cheltenham International Music Festival) The Rose Tattoo (The Rose Theatre) As Musical Director: Remember How To Fly (Young Vic Theatre) The Red Helicopter(The Almeida Theatre) Park High School Musical (The Unicorn Theatre, Paines Plough) Our Country’s Good (West Sussex County Youth Theatre) The Rose Tattoo (The Rose Theatre)

TNT theatre The company was founded in 1980 by Paul Stebbings and other actors trained in the Grotowski method in Britain and Poland. While valuing the imaginative and physical techniques of the Polish director they wanted to extend their work into comic and popular forms with greater contemporary relevance. Their first production, HARLEQUIN, was a commedia dell’arte based on the life of the Russian artist Meyerhold and his struggles with Stalin. (The play was revived in 1989 and became the first play about Stalinism to be performed throughout Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall). Other productions took popular forms and explored serious themes; such as finance and fairy tales in FUNNY MONEY, vaudeville and war in ENGLISH TEA PARTY and the detective thriller and violence in THE MURDER OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. Since its foundation all TNT productions have been written or edited by Paul Stebbings and Phil Smith. The company’s approach to the classics is to critically examine the themes of the original rather than slavishly present a hallowed text. Since 2000 the company has extended this approach to interpretations of Shakespeare with considerable international success. Music plays an important role in the company’s work, and most productions include a newly commissioned score. Notable music theatre productions include CABARET FAUST (inspired by Klaus Mann’s MEPHISTO) and the WIZARD OF JAZZ (prize winner at the Munich Biennale) both scored by the well known composer, John Kenny. TNT’s most ambitious production to date was the integrated drama, dance and music version of Melville’s MOBY DICK, with a score by John Kenny and Paul Flush. Other long term members of TNT are the choreographer Eric Tessier Lavigne and composer Thomas Johnson. TNT began its collaboration with The American Drama Group Europe and producer Grantly Marshall in 1993. Notable productions include BRAVE NEW WORLD, LORD OF THE FLIES, FAHRENHEIT 451, DEATH OF A SALESMAN, OLIVER TWIST and many of Shakespeare’s greatest plays including our recent award winning HAMLET, OTHELLO and TAMING OF THE SHREW. TNT has received regular funding from the British Council and the UK Arts Council and collaborated or coproduced with organisations such as the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron), The St Petersburg State Comedy Theatre (Akimov), Tams Theatre Munich and St Donats Arts Centre (Wales) and the current long term collaborations with Costa Rica’s Teatro Terruno (Café Britt) Milky Way Productions in Beijing and the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre. TNT has toured from London to Hong Kong, from Guatemala to Tokyo, from Atlanta to St Petersburg and Tehran to Berlin in venues that range from village halls to opera houses and from castle ruins to National theatres. We borrow our motto from the great Russian theatre director, Meyerhold: “Tragedy with a smile on its lips”. Repertoire 2011-12 MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, MACBETH, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM and TAMING OF THE SHREW by Shakespeare, DAVID COPPERFIELD, OLIVER TWIST and A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens, LA CASA DE BERNADA ALBA by Lorca and our own version of DON QUIJOTE (in Spanish) and a multicultural production, ONE LANGUAGE MANY VOICES, based on Britain’s colonial experience with text from Salman Rushdie, Chinue Achebe and Somerset Maugham.