Natural PERFORMERS

Ralph Oswick

Natural Theatre Artistic Director, writer and performer. BA Hons (Stage Design). Ralph studied under Richard Negri / Malcolm Pride at Wimbledon School of Arts and is a Naturals founder member, having toured worldwide in the company’s street theatre teams. With Chris Dickins he co-wrote and performed the popular Radio 4 series One Lump or Two? in the guise of his alter ego Lady Margaret, who also famously led the Queen’s Jubilee Parade down the Mall in her royal nanny uniform! Ralph and Chris have written several of the Naturals’ musical stage shows together, including Rasputin and Scarlatti in Paradise. Ralph is an active participant in several cultural bodies in the city of Bath and is a member of Bath and NE Somerset Cultural Partnership. Other credits include: Aladdin, Greenwich Theatre 2005: designer. Barber of Seville, European Chamber Opera: co-librettist.

Gary Barber

Gary started his career as an actor with the Naturals and is proud to have been one of their regular performers for 20 years. He also acts in the theatre and has worked with directors like Mike Alfreds and David Glass. Recent television work includes regular appearances on the ITV childrens’ programme Brum. Gary’s one-man show An Audience with Albert Einstein was originally produced with the support of NTC’s research and development fund. It has played to audiences in the UK and abroad and can be seen at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. To find out more about the show, you can visit the web site http://www.naturaltheatre.co.uk/einstein.php

Mark Bishop

Trained East 15 Acting School. Mark is Artistic Director of Big State Theatre and has devised and performed in all six productions to date: Gone West, Spaghetti Weston-super-Mare, Hitting Dennis, Sixteen Types of Happiness, The Fire Starter and Fetch! He is a founder member of Innerroom Theatre Company and his performing credits with them include My Big Desk, The Tempest, The Fisher King and The Truth about Hogget and Webb. He is a regular performer with the Natural Theatre Company and has performed street theatre all over the world. He is an experienced workshop leader and runs theatre and film projects for young people all over the country. www.bigstate.co.uk

Dan Bradford

Dan has worked for NTC for 16 years. As well as his NTC work, he was the lead singer with The Carrot Crunchers. He has been a stand-up comedian, he is a singer/songwriter and creative visual artist. He has numerous theatre and television credits including extended periods pushing a hospital trolley in the popular BBC series Casualty. You can currently see Dan as the resident Monk in Glastonbury Abbey.

Andy Burden

Andy Burden is the Artistic Director of The Rondo and a freelance director who has worked on a number of projects for Natural Theatre Company. Andy co-directed Scarlatti in Paradise and was associate director for the German run of Rasputin. Andy directed Spawn Stars / Natural Theatre Company's In The Eyes Of Cod. Other directing includes: For Innerroom Theatre Company, The Truth About Hoggett and Webb, The Fisher King, The Tempest, In a Room, Six Is Nine, Dambusters!, My Big Desk, The Lesson and Shirley Valentine. For The Tobacco Factory, Searchlights Over Bemmy. And for Big State: Walk This Way, Spaghetti Weston-Super-Mare, Hitting Dennis and Sixteen Types Of Happiness. Andy adapted The Fisher King and Searchlights Over Bemmy, wrote the Iraq war satire The Truth About Hoggett & Webb and has scripted and devised nine other shows. Andy performed with the Natural Theatre from 1997, defying all laws of physics to get his Robert Plant hairstyle under a wig.

Ashley Christmas

Since training at Leicester Polytechnic, Ashley has performed for many companies including Hull Truck, Belgrade Theatre (Coventry), Stopwatch, Hathi Productions, Innerroom Theatre Company and Big State Theatre. She has played Queen Victoria for Cardboard and String Theatre Company and the Flagship Portsmouth Trust at the Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth. Ashley has extensive experience as a youth theatre workshop leader / director, particularly with the Haymarket Theatre (Leicester).

Pavel Douglas

Pavel has been a freelance member of the Natural Theatre Company since 1978 as both a performer and compere, and as occasional Director of their award-winning indoor shows. He is also one of the country’s foremost voice-over artists with his own ISDN studio. Further information, photographs, television, theatre and film credits may be accessed via www.paveldouglas.com (up and running early 2006) where audio clips will be available or www.spotlight.com/artists (enter the number 5736-5619-1095 to view). Alternatively contact his Agent: Mondi Associates, 30 Cooper House, 2 Michael Road, London SW6 2AD. Tel: 07817 133349, Fax 0207 351 7628.

Daisy Douglas

Daisy is the daughter of two of our performers, and was literally born into the company, performing alongside her parents since the year dot. So she really is a Natural Natural! She went on to train at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating in 2002. Her most recent indoor theatre credits include the Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory 2005 season. Daisy also does a lot of teaching, working as an associate artist for the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.

Saffron Fish

Saffron has worked for NTC for 12 years. In addition to her NTC work she also founded The Dirty Nans, a character-based comedy trio who had a very successful sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Saffron can currently be seen in the Helibeds TV adverts! Saffron was very proud to have performed at The Rondo, Bath in Andrew Pollard's In The Eyes of Cod (a co-produced production with NTC), a very, very funny play! Various other work in theatre, TV, short films and advertisements. Saffron is currently running workshops with the Bath Young Peoples' Theatre.

Neil Fowler

Neil trained at the Guildford School of Acting and has worked with the Naturals since 1998. Credits include Grange Hill, Crimewatch UK and YES Car Credit commercial, as well as small-scale theatre tours. Currently frontman of the band SUNSHINE VARIETY CLUB who are trying to break into the music scene. See: www.sunshinevarietyclub.co.uk

Ric Jerrom

For NTC: 30 years devising and performing Interactive Theatre worldwide, including two years’ worth of Japanese residencies; academic and professional lecture / demos and workshops for universities, British Council, Gulbenkian, Soros, etc. OTHER: Artistic Director, The Quest. Acting: most recent stage role Prospero in The Tempest for Innerroom Theatre. Over 30 radio plays for BBC Radios 3 & 4. Over 30 Audiobooks read for BBC; 3 times winner of Audio Review’s Golden Headphones Award (!).

Ben Livingstone

Ben read French and Norwegian at University College London and then trained as an actor at East 15 Acting School. Theatre includes Scarlatti in Paradise, Rasputin, Scarlatti’s Revenge, Scarlatti’s Birthday Party and Henry VIII Diary of a Serial Killer (all Natural Theatre Co), The Dybbuk (RSC), Oh What a Lovely War (Colchester Mercury Theatre), Live From Paradise (Station House Opera), Overboard (Orange Tree, Richmond), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Northern Sinfonia), Twelfth Night (AandBC Theatre Co), and seasons at Westcliff Palace and Eye Theatre. He has also worked as Music Director for Katie Mitchell, Kathryn Hunter and Marcello Magni on a number of productions which include A Woman Killed With Kindness, Easter, Everyman, The Mysteries (all RSC). He lives in Colchester with his wife, also an actor, and his 5 year-old son, Harry.

Nick Lucas

Nick has worked for the company for fifteen years and enjoys the drama and surprises of street theatre, principally the joy of making people laugh. He has had a varied career in theatre and television, including Cyrano de Bergerac (West End) and The Hostage (RSC), Frost (ITV), The Fragile Heart (ITV), Fingersmith (BBC) and will shortly be seen in the new Berry and Fulcher sitcom Bronze (BBC2). Nick likes to put the moustache to good purpose in his one-man shows Haig - The Story of a Soldier and Bert, the story of 'Bomber' Harris. Nick also uses his extensive experience with the company performing at the London Dungeon.

Haf Morgan

Hâf graduated from Warwick University in 1983 (BA Hons. Theatre Studies / Dramatic Arts), and worked in theatre, TIE, TV before joining the Company in 1990. She has performed in 45 countries, devised and directed projects and residencies for NTC in academic and art institutions worldwide. Hâf is project director for The Quest, a workshop facilitator – most recently for DASH – Disability Arts in Shropshire; co-ordinates and performs for Bath Fringe events; was last seen on stage as Ariel in The Tempest for Innerroom.

Jill Myers

Jill started her career in the Olivier award-winning musical Return to the Forbidden Planet. She first worked for NTC in their indoor show William Tell (1997), quickly graduating to the street theatre team the following year. Her most recent indoor show for NTC was Rasputin in which she played the dotty trumpet-playing Tsarina. When not travelling the world with the Naturals Jill has worked extensively in theatre and TV, for further details see agent’s website: http://www.sdfranks.plus.com/directpm/fcvs/fjmy.html

Richard Neale

Richard trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Credits include Holby City (BBC 1), She Stoops to Conquer and Memoirs of a Twelfth Man (BBC Radio 4), Privates on Parade (New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme), Cinderella (Qdos Entertainment) and other TV and theatre projects. Whilst at Bristol, Richard gained his advanced stage combat certificate and plays clarinet. He is represented by Michelle Braidman Associates (0207 437 0817).

Andrew Pollard

Andrew is an actor / writer and has worked with Natural Theatre Company for over 14 years, performing in festivals worldwide. He studied drama at Manchester Metropolitan University and Bristol Old Vic Drama School. Apart from NTC, Andrew has toured extensively with Northern Broadsides Theatre Company, in various Shakespeare and classic works, as well as appearing in plays in various rep. theatres around the country. As a writer, Andrew has written several comedies and children's plays, some in conjunction with NTC and in 1999 he won the Bristol Old Vic / Paines Plough playwriting competition. He has a great love of pantomime and has appeared in 11 so far. Last year he was asked to write the pantomime for Greenwich Theatre, London and will be doing so again this year.

Brian Popay

Brian is a founder member and now Senior Performer with the Company. He has also directed (Avanti Display's Mr Lucky’s Birthday Party) and performed with other companies such as Forkbeard Fantasy. He is currently researching and writing a one-man show about Brunel for touring in 2006, which will be Brunel’s 200th birthday.

Jacqui Popay

NTC veteran. Art school, teacher training college. Adventure playground leader, school secretary, singing telegrams, tap dancing in a cage, model (in the 60’s) catwalk Honey magazine. Performs a myriad of characters from slut to sophisticate. Wiltshire knitting champion, junior Olympic swimming team. School workshops, character, dance drama classes for children.

Rose Popay

Rose was born into the Natural Theatre Company ... and is indeed a Natural born performer! She is a practising artist and is always full of positive energy. Diverse, enigmatic and witty. www.rosepopay.co.uk

Ruth Rogers

Ruth gained a first class BA Honours in Drama at the University of Bristol, where she spent her student loan launching her theatre company, Wonderland Productions. Wonderland have since toured seven productions to the Edinburgh Festival, London and Frankfurt. Ruth acts, directs and produces, and is happiest when her fingers are being scorched by many pies. She trained in film acting at the New York Film Academy and would like a green card for Christmas please.

John Sampson

John is a virtuoso Edinburgh musician, playing a bewildering array of wind and brass instruments. His sensational musical skills are an essential ingredient of Natural Theatre's rumbustuous indoor stage shows and he has also worked with most leading Scottish theatre and dance companies. His one-man cabaret appearances are a hoot!http://home.freeuk.net/johnsampson