About Us
CREATIVE TEAM
Neil Salvage
Co-Producer and Performer
Despite a successful acting career Neil has also maintained a career as a writer in recent years: his screenplay “Caught in the Act” for Carnaby International starring Maureen Lipman and Freddie Jones, directed by BAFTA award winning Matt Lipsey was released in 2008 after premiering at BAFTA and going on to the Berlin Film Festival. He co-wrote and directed “A Kiss from Grandma” with J. Sate starring Andrew Dunn which was selected for Cinecentre (Brighton Film Festival) and his co-written play “M. Prudhomme” premiered at Komedia in Brighton in which he starred with Sally Phillips. His play “The Pearl” had rehearsed readings with Production Exchange and York Theatre Royal. A film version of his is in development with Cabana Films, supported by the South Australian Film Council in Adelaide, Australia. His film “Footprints” - again co-written with J. Sate is currently in development with ffilm Cymru and another screenplay “Dark Steam” is currently in development with Angry Films. He has also written for Juniper Films .
As an actor Neil has appeared in over 150 theatre productions over the past thirty odd years. Highlights have included: “The Crucible”, Old Vic (directed by Yael Farber); “Peer Gynt”, National (directed by Declan Donnellan), “Gulliver’s Travels”, National, “The Ubu Plays” National Theatre (as Ubu - directed by Ed Kemp and Toby Jones) “The Happiest Days of your Life” (Royal Exchange, Manchester) “Animal Farm”, Peter Hall Company; “The Cryptogram” , New Ambassadors, London (with Eddie Izzard and Lindsay Duncan); “The Mousetrap” (as Paravicini), St. Martin’s Theatre, London; “Fiddler on the Roof”, No. 1 Tour (Music & Lyrics with Paul Michael Glaser, directed by Craig Revel Horwood); “Animal Farm”, Peter Hall Company; “The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾”, Curve, Leicester; “The Three Birds”, Gate Theatre and many others as diverse as dreamthinkspeak and New Vic, Stoke.
In film he has worked for Mike Leigh (“Topsy –Turvy” with Jim Broadbent), Richard Eyre (“The Other Man” playing opposite Antonio Banderas and Liam Neeson) FFM Media (“Above the Clouds”), Digital Film (“The Crucible” with Richard Armitage) and Allenalla (as the Old Man in "boat" for which he was nominated as Best Actor at the Madrid Film Festival). His T.V. credits include “The Last Days of Anne Boleyn”, “Casualty”, “Westbeach”, “Doctor Faustus” (title role), “Joseph’s Troubles”, “Chucklevision”, “The Russian Soldier” (Title role) (BBC and BBC OU), “Staying Alive”, “The Bill”, “Diana’s Legacy” (as William Boyce Q.C.) “The Enfield Poltergeist”, “Mapp and Lucia” (ITV), “Bare Knuckle Boxer”, “The Georgian Underworld”, “Queen Victoria’s Men” (Channel 4) “Family Affairs” (Channel 5) and many others. His radio work has included “Diary of a Nobody” with Stephen Tomkinson (BBC Radio 4) and a number of plays for Big Finish productions.
Neil is also a bassoonist and is often in demand as an Actor/Musician (most recently Fiddler on the Roof with Music and Lyrics) as well as playing in various ensembles and orchestras throughout the years. He has just completed the book and lyrics of a Musical about the Marx Brothers, “Jumping Butterballs.”
Nicholas Collett
Co-Producer and Performer
Nicholas is an award-winning actor, writer, producer and director.
Born and bred in Sheffield, graduated from Birmingham University and then trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where he won the Comedy Prize.
His theatre work includes the RSC at the Barbican, Bombur in “The Hobbit” in the West End, Pod Clock in “The Borrowers” (UK No 1 Tour) and over 40 shows in repertory in Basingstoke, Ipswich, Jersey, Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.
Co-founder of Third Party Productions in 1992, he has toured from Belfast to Beirut and beyond, with 18 productions of Shakespeare and other classics and over 1000 performances. In 2010 he was nominated for ‘Best Actor’ by the Off West End awards for his title role in “Dr Faustus” at the New Diorama Theatre, which won the company a Peter Brook award.
He has a fruitful partnership with Gavin Robertson – since 2011, together they have created five solo shows. Nicholas regularly tours his self-penned “Spitfire Solo”, “Nelson – The Sailors’ Story” and “Your Bard – an informal audience with Will Shakespeare in the pub” around the UK and abroad to Australia and the USA. “Nelson” won the Best of Kansas City 2015 Critics Choice Award. He has directed “Crusoe – No Man Is An Island” and “Bond – An Unauthorised Parody” for Gavin. Together they perform Gavin’s play “The Six-Sided Man” (a stage version of “The Dice Man”).
He also recently co-produced and directed “Crazy Horse – A Dream Of Thunder” for the American actor Samn Wright. It premiered at Brighton Fringe in 2016 and won Best Solo Show at Kansas City Fringe.
TV enthusiasts may remember him as Buster from BBC’s “Timebusters” – and as Sylvester the Jester in the new episode of “Knightmare” for Google Geek Week. He has also appeared in many Afternoon Plays on Radio 4.
He recently won the British Arrows Craft Award for Best Performance by an Actor for the Currys commercial “Laptop” with Jeff Goldblum. He directed "That Daring Australian Girl", performed by Joanne Hartstone, which won Best Theatre Award at Adelaide Fringe 2018. He also won the Special Performance Award at the Duo Theatre Festival 2018 in Seoul, for his performance as Counsellor in "Black and White Tea Room"
Sabina Arthur
Performer - UK
Sabina’s stage work includes The Vote (Donmar Warehouse), Phillip Pullman's Grimm Tales 1 and 2 (Bargehouse, South Bank and The Ditch), Mystery Solved (St Martin's Theatre, West End), Hamlet (Theatre Nation), Ardent (King’s Head), Super Skinny Bitches (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Der Ring Des Nibelungen (Royal Opera House), To Freedom’s Cause (UK Tour), Doubt (Dark Unicorn), Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bowler Crab). Once Upon a Time (Bromley Churchill), Nature of Promises (Theatre503) and Agamemnon (Humanitas Culture).
On screen, Sabina has appeared in Game of Thrones (HBO), Coronation Street (ITV), Typical (Perty Productions) and Damian (Adverto Studios). She won the Runner-Up Prize in the BBC Radio Drama Norman Beaton Fellowship and can be heard as Sarah in BBC Radio 4’s WW1 drama, Listening to the Dead.
Eleanor Ryan
Musician - UK
Ahram Min
Musician - Adelaide
Eleanor is originally from Wellington, New Zealand where she gained her undergraduate degree in Violin performance from Victoria University, Wellington. She went to achieve a Masters Degree with distinction in performance from the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester, UK.
Eleanor has regularly worked with many top UK ensembles including the Hallé Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and Northern Sinfonia. Alongside this work she developed her teaching career and held teaching positions in violin, chamber music and orchestral studies at the renowned Chethams School of Music in Manchester.
From 2009-2018 Eleanor worked as Assistant Professor of Violin at the University of Trinidad and Tobago and principal violin of the Ibis Ensemble, the only professional chamber ensemble in the English-speaking Caribbean.
In Trinidad, Eleanor performed in countless concerts and projects. Stand out recent projects included solo concerto appearances backed by steel orchestra and writing and performing on British-Trinidadian musician/poet Anthony Joseph’s 2018 Album ‘People of the Sun’. In Trinidad she taught violin, ensemble studies and instrumental to students at UTT and established multiple string outreach programmes within the community.
She recently took up the post of Head of Strings at Repton School in Derbyshire.
Amy Bonsall
Director
Amy assisted Janet Suzman on her internationally acclaimed production of HAMLET at the Royal Shakespeare Company and at The Baxter Theatre, South Africa; Amy has also assisted Ray Cooney on TOM, DICK AND HARRY (Duke of York), Barry Kyle on AN INSPECTOR CALLS (Clwyd Theatr Cymru) and Hamish Glen on BABYLONE (Coventry Belgrade). Her first production HEADLONG received a 4 star review in the Scotsman.
Amy works as a freelance director and has directed a number of very successful touring productions including: I’M A MINGER! (co-production with the Coventry Belgrade) toured the UK, selling out at numerous venues including York Theatre Royal and The Egg in Bath; CHUTNEY has played at The South Bank Centre, Trafalgar Square, The Melbourne Comedy Festival, The Greenwich and Docklands Festival to name just a few; ROMEO AND JULIET for Bilimankhwe Arts was commissioned by The Shakespeare Birth Place Trust and has been performed in Stratford –Upon –Avon and it continues to tour regularly in Malawi; DEATH OF A SALESMAN toured the South East and London. Amy is also heavily involved in developing new writing; curating a festival of South African new writing at the Oval House Theatre, directing a festival of Human Rights theatre in venues around south east London; she gained an ACE award to develop BLEEDING HELL! With writer/director Joyce Branagh.
Amy is Associate Artistic Director for the acclaimed international company Bilimankhwe; she works regularly for iceandfire Theatre Company where she is an associate artist, she directs and lectures in drama schools and universities across the UK. She has recently completed her PhD at Leeds University.
Maddy Sinclair
Set & Costume Designer
40 years of design experience has seen Maddy working from Hollywood to Osaka....and Blighty. Theatre: Set and Costume for Sally Phillips in Komedia Theatre' production "Monsieur Prudhomme". Set for "Briefs and Shakers", The Hawth. Numerous productions for Sideshow Young Peoples Theatre.Interiors: Designed and constructed bespoke hand made soft furnishings for private clients from home whilst raising her daughter, Maddy.
Couture: Creating bespoke Performance, Bridal and Occasion wear for private clients from her Atelier "Maddy Sinclair" in Kent. First client Googie Withers. Fashion: Finalist in Brighton and Hove Business Awards 2008, category “Best New Ethical Business” whilst Partner of Gaiahouse, an online business designing and selling Bridal wear made from Organic and Upcycled silk fabrics. Future projects: Zero waste upcycled soft design promoting and supporting political and environmental Activism for Introverts. 'Greening up' theatre set and costume design, for example stuffing Lisl's bustle with used plastic bags. Collaboration with other planet-centred artists.
Paul Kissaun
Musical Director
Paul is originally from Malta and read History and Politics at Buckingham University. On graduating, Paul ran off to join various touring theatre companies and soon found himself working as an actor musician, performing in premier productions of works by Jim Cartwright (Eight Miles High) Phillip Whitchurch (In The Midnight Hour) Bill Morrison (Bebopalula) John Burrows (Keep On Running) and Henry Livings (Stop The Childrenʼs Laughter). At the same time Paul found that he was being asked to write and direct music for shows including Cowboys for Red Shift, Stop The Childrenʼs Laughter and Streetcar Named Desire for Bolton Octagon and The Beggars Opera for Great Eastern Stage.
In 1989 whilst rehearsing a panto at the Everyman in Liverpool, Paul was invited to join acapella hit makers The Flying Pickets and so set about a singing, arranging and recording career which was to last eleven years. During this time Paul arranged for the group both for live and studio work, often appearing alongside such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Nina Simone, Blur, The Pretenders, Art Garfunkel, The Gypsy Kings and Joan Baez to name but a few. During all this commotion he still found time to act in such shows as Wind In The Willows for The National Theatre and the world tour of As You Like It for Cheek By Jowl. He still makes the occasional appearance with the group he officially left in 2001 in order to write music for theatre and children’s television. This included the theme for CITVʼs Jim Jam and Sunny and Florries Dragons (Playhouse Disney) and music for The Hive (ITV), Boo and Wibbley Pig (BBC.) He is the composer of the musical Jumping Butterballs- which embraces all styles from Baroque to Classical, Jazz to Musical Theatre and 1940’s Dance .
Ahram Min
Performer - Adelaide
Ahram is an actress and violinist from Seoul in South Korea. She graduated in Violin from Kookmin University, under the tutelage of the renowned Bong Woo Yu. After a period of teaching, in 2012 she decided to go to the UK and studied at an English language school. Returning to Korea in 2013 she appeared in a production of “Ophelia’s Shadow Theatre”, acting and playing the violin. She also appeared in a new production of Ibsen’s “Ghosts”. She is a company member of Theatre Hooam in Seoul and appeared in the premiere of “Kansei Punch”, as well as appearing as Florence in “The Odd Couple” for Arumdri. She has also studied mime to enable her to appear in “Cleaning Girls” and “Sarah Moon”. In 2018 she appeared as Anna in “Collaborators” for Gwanak Theatre Co.
Stefanie Rossi
Performer - Adelaide
Stefanie graduated from the Adelaide College of the Arts with an Advanced Diploma of Arts (Acting) in 2012. She has since studied with 16th Street Actors Studio (Melbourne) as well as Rob Marchand and Tony Knight (Adelaide). Her theatre credits include Mr McGee and the Biting Flea (2013 & 2014 National Tour Patch Theatre Co), Read Across the Universe (Splash Theatre Co 2013), Macbeth (Foul Play 2014), The Luv Boat (Matt Byrne Media Fringe 2016), Patricia in William Mastrosimone’s Extremities (Tony Knight Productions 2016), My Kitchen Fools (Matt Byrne Media Fringe 2017), Velma Kelly in Chicago (Emma Knights Productions 2017), 41 Seconds (Talk Out Loud Fringe 2018), Diana in I Love You Because (Emma Knights Productions 2018) and Paula in Fefu And Her Friends (Joh Hartog Productions 2018). In 2015/2016 Stefanie worked as the Primary School Program Coordinator/Puppeteer for Camp Quality and early in 2016, Stefanie started up media/production company Leading Line Productions with partner Marc Clement. In 2016 Stefanie took on lead roles in SASA nominated web series Freemales, Kessel Run Production’s short film Cheaters, Port Film Co-op’s Adelaide Film Festival feature Youth On The March and ABC iView series, Almost Midnight. She currently works with the Paediatric Mental Health Training Unit at Adelaide University, The Bone Health Foundation in their educational primary school show and is about to commence work at the Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Ovation Centre of Performing Arts and STAR Academy teaching acting, singing and dancing. She is also currently working on up-coming film series Warpath -Chronicle–, taking on the role of Amarosa as well as Co-Producer/1st Assistant Director/Co-Head of Casting. In January of last year Leading Line Productions, in conjunction with Tony Knight Productions, presented the Adelaide premiere of Gardner McKay’s psychological thriller Toyer, after which the two companies joined forces to form STARC Productions, presenting Jim Cartwright’s Two as their premiere production at the Bakehouse Theatre in July of last year and then the Australian Premiere of award-winning Australian playwright Suzie Miller’s Reasonable Doubt in September. Earlier in the year during the 2018 Adelaide Fringe Stefanie performed the role of Azra in UK production company Smokescreen Production’s staging of Mengele and went on to perform lead roles in Smokescreen Productions’ shows All Change and Mengele at the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe. At the end of last year, Stefanie was awarded the Emerging Artist Of The Year Award for 2018 by the Adelaide Critic’s Circle. Stefanie is thrilled to be kicking off STARC’s 2019 season with the well-loved comedy by award winning playwright Jim Cartwright, Last Of The Red Hot Lovers.
Kate Stafford
Performer - UK
Kate trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has worked in Film, Theatre and TV. She is also Artistic Director of Bilimankhwe Theatre and founded and ran Nanzikambe Theatre in Malawi for several years. Her early career included For Services Rendered (Salisbury Playhouse at The Old Vic), Look Back in Anger (Vienna’s English Theatre) and she appeared TV in The Bill and London’s Burning. She subsequently spent 20 years training actors, directing and producing internationally, touring over 15 productions in the UK and Africa (Malawi and Zimbabwe) and directing youth theatre productions for National Theatre Connections. Kate recently returned to the London stage performing the title role of The Princess of Wales in the premiere of Tom Kempinski’s play, and played Mrs Reece in The Farndale Murder Mystery in 2018. She will be performing in a UK tour of River’s Up, a two-hander by Alex Jones later in the year.