salad days programme - tete-a-tete.org.uk

Andrew AhernDon, PC Boot, Electrode

Lee BoggessTroppo, Cossack, Slave

Emma BurfordDon, Aunt Prue, Manicurist, Rowena, Charmian, Lady

Sophie-Louise DannDon, Lady Raeburn, Artist, Theatregoer, Lady, Marguerite

Michelle FrancisJane

Sam HarrisonTimothy

Matthew HawksworthDon, Tramp, Bishop, Cossack, American, Tom Smith, Pressman

Graham HowesDon, Tim’s Father, Butterfly Catcher, Inspector, Augustine Williams, Ambrose

Claire MachinDon, Tim’s Mother, Heloise, Nanny, Asphynxia, Lady, Anthea

Spencer O’BrienDon, Fosdyke, Nigel

Ellie RobertsonDon, Assistant, Tennis Player, Shop girl, Fiona

Richard SuartDon, Sir Clamsby Williams, Theatregoer, Manager, Pressman, Uncle Zed

Performance length: Act I 75 minutes, Interval 15 minutes, Act II 75 minutes.

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The Company

ChromaHannah Conway Piano Steve Gibson PercussionElena Hull Double BassAnthony Ingle Piano Fergal O’Mahony Piano

ProductionBill Bankes-Jones DirectorLee Boggess Dance CaptainMark Doubleday LightingFactory Settings Set BuildersElizabeth Fielding Deputy Stage

ManagerGigi Hammond Wigs & MakeupCaroline Hughes CostumesElspeth Threadgold Costume MakerAnthony Ingle Music DirectorTim Meacock DesignerOlly Platt Assistant DirectorSarah Playfair ConsultantMarius Rønning Technical DirectorQuinny Sacks ChoreographerClaire Shovelton WelcomeNeil Swain Dialect CoachRuth Walker DresserBob Watts Stage Manager

Tête à Tête

Bill Bankes-Jones Artistic DirectorNell Baugh Marketing OfficerAnna Gregg Administrative

Director

Jeremy at Jaded Publicity DesignHugo Glenndinning Publicity PhotosToby Leeming Web DesignTim Murray Music DirectorSoundUk PR

Matthew Hart Deputy ChairPhilip Holt MemberDavid Leeming ChairJane Plumptre DirectorKenneth Richardson DirectorAndrew Rodgers DirectorCaroline Steane Company Secretary

Tête à Tête32 Lilyville Road London SW6 [email protected]

ThanksWe would like to extend our warmestthanks for their help on this production:Angels Costumiers, Carol Baugh, BristolUniversity Archives, Fulham Palace, AdeyGrummet, Susan Hamilton from GarsingtonOpera, Angus Boyd Heron, Mike Henry,LAMDA, Louise Mott, Tim Murray, OperaHolland Park, The Orange Tree Theatre,RADA, Slade Foundation, Peter Stapletonand all at Union Chapel, Damian Thantrey,Anthony Whitworth-Jones,

Salad Days

The Derek Butler Trust

The Original Instrument: Salad Days

When I was a small boy, we had very few records at home, seldom played ona stylish, if outmoded, small radiogram. Amongst them I remember just threemusicals, two LPs, of The King and I and My Fair Lady, and typically quirkily, along playing 7” record of Salad Days. No-one took much notice of these apartfrom me; I remember them as a source of great joy, playing them often,learning all the tunes and words. I can also vividly remember dressing up withmy cousins and dancing around to the music, which is more or less what I nowdo for a living. And how if one of my parents was passing, their face wouldreflect this happiness, but with a mysteriously nostalgic tinge. I’m sure theyexplained the story to me, but it’s only now, working on the piece, that I’vebegun to understand the full implications of this. I also remember well beingtaken to see it for a friend’s birthday party at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, whenI must have been about 10, and enjoying it thoroughly. And then a seed laydormant for a handful of decades and all kinds of adventures, until increasingly,over the last few years, a core of us at the heart of Tête à Tête kept saying toeach other how much we’d like to bring our treasured memories of Salad Daysback to life in a major production. But how?

Then, in a seismic shock early this year, the opportunity presented itself. Amajor sponsor called me in for a meeting to tell me that he was no longer ableto meet his commitment to finance entirely our major autumn production of anew opera, and that he would have to withdraw. My reaction was pure reflex,that we stood no chance of replacing that funding at such a late stage, nor hadwe time to bring into being a replacement new opera, but that we should haveto do Salad Days. And here we very happily are.

Instinct usually springs from sound reason, and the sound reasons here aremany. Tête à Tête itself began with a joyous production of The Flying Fox, (DieFledermaus,) a robust treatment of an equally frivolous but meaningful workwhere the audience quite literally got drunk, danced and sang, and thereaftertrusted and supported us to deliver more adventures in new and innovativeopera. At a time of crisis, it seemed absolutely right to refresh our wonderful

Salad Days

loyal public with a huge treat. Salad Days itself seems ripe for a faithful, lovingrevival. Without meaning to be unkind, the first revivals of Salad Days allappeared to try and capitalise on the show’s initial huge success byregurgitating it, becoming ever more decadent, while later productions felt theneed to interfere with and update what we can maybe only now understandand stage as a period classic.

Salad Days’ roots, meanwhile, seem to make it very pertinent now. It’s the storyof a young couple coming together and trying to map out their own path in apost-traumatic world, a paean to the spirit of fun in opposition to an out ofcontrol and over-regulating establishment, a call for optimism to lead us fromadversity into a bright future, and in the simplest terms, the story of a youngman trying to find a job in a world messed up by his elders.

And an opera company doing Salad Days? Well, why not? I’ve no doubt that ifyou drew a line through Monteverdi, Handel, Mozart, Verdi and Puccini it wouldlead, via the West and Broadway through West Side Story, Les Miserables, toSpring Awakening. I’ve also no doubt that, along the way, some things havebeen lost: the rigour applied to the original intentions of the authors, the deliveryof the work as it was intended, a really high value placed on the musical side,and most particularly, a real understanding of the huge value of the humanconnection between performers and audience unmitigated by the artifice ofamplification. So here we are, confronting the Original Instrument Salad Days.

The texts we have to work from are fascinating. Dorothy Reynolds’ book is anabsolutely magnificent technical accomplishment, meticulously planned andpaced, more perfectly constructed than any other play or libretto I have evercome across. And much of the joy of the piece comes from the tension betweenthat and the uninhibited anarchy of the music, where Julian Slade has supplieda string of wonderful, unforgettable tunes, preserved in about the most poorlyedited score and parts I have ever seen. Exactly as scored, the piece isunperformable, full of crazy inconsistencies, like a French horn that plays onlytwo notes in total, and a complex and unsuccessful vibraphone part that dropsout after only a couple of numbers.

Salad Days

Fortunately, we have a third source to work from, the heavily edited originalcast recording. And we learn that the piece was clearly delivered by a smallband of two pianos, bass and percussion, with a huge amount of liveimprovisation, including some virtuosic playing from Julian Slade himself. Thewhole thing is in fact far more like a baroque score with figured bass, a matrixfor fabulous musicians to improvise from rather than a precise technicalrendition to be delivered with accuracy.

For that reason, our Music Director Tim Murray has very generously handedover the baton for this production to the marvellous Anthony Ingle who firstconnected with the company through this summer’s Festival, and, whosemixed roots in opera, musical theatre and above all improvisation are alreadyleading to music-making in the rehearsal room like I have never heard before.For the performances Anthony has formed a team with two other MD/Pianists,both also veterans of our Festival, and drum and bass from our AssociateEnsemble Chroma.

We’ve had fun investigating the original instrument hardware, though in theend are defeated by budget in sourcing macabre things like animal skinneddrum kits. Nevertheless, we’re confident that in pursuing this we’ll arrive at thenearest one could accomplish these days to the original sound, (including,even, a brief episode of amplification 1954-style.)

Of course the key to this approach is the casting. Salad Days demands asinging style that is almost completely lost, somewhere between Gilbert &Sullivan and contemporary musical theatre. Our determination to let theperformers make the direct connection with the audience that you can onlyachieve without amplification has meant we had to look very hard to find thevoices capable of pulling this off. Together with the huge demands put on theacting and choreography – it is, after all, the story of a piano that makes youdance – this led to the most enormous and rigorous audition process, wherewe sifted a vast number of people to arrive at the wonderfully skilled andtalented company we’ve the pleasure of working with now.

Instinct again kicked in to be justified later, in that I was convinced that the

Salad Days

central characters, fresh from university, must be played by people of thecorrect age. This was vindicated very fast through the audition process as wesaw how a few years in the West End seem to shrink most people’s vocal skillsto a strong microphone technique and can occlude some very wonderfulpersonalities with too much technical overlay. I’m really delighted that we’vemanaged to assemble a cast of young performers who have it all 100%, somemaking their professional début. Meanwhile, there are still a handful of over25’s whose natural talents and skills have kept their voices as strong as theiracting and dancing and let their wonderful personalities shine through, whoalso took a lot of finding. But what a great company they all make together.

The serious approach one applies to an original instrument performance canembrace more than the music. As you’ll see, we’re delivering the show in atruly tête à tête manner, fostering a connection between audience andperformer way beyond just junking the amplification, and far closer than theoriginal production could have been, but in all other respects as lovingly faithfulas we can manage.

Our stages and screens have been littered now for a long while with jubilant“retro” looks at the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, like Hairspray or Grease, while operasof any period are often staged in a stylised, even generalised 1950’s kind of away. It is absolutely fascinating to take our characters entirely seriously as realpeople of their own time, to pursue a more authentic kind of 1954, and then tolet the absurdity come from what happens to them in this potty, magical piece.

Our wonderful designer Tim Meacock and his team have been great allies inthe vast amount of research this involves, to do our very best with our meagreresources to capture the mood and look of Salad Days’ 1954. The passing oftime and the coronation the previous year of the young, beautiful, charismaticQueen helped everyone move their gaze from the traumas of the recent pastinto a more cheerful-looking future. But they were still poor, rationing was stillin place, new threats were looming like the burden of over-regulation thatcomes from underoccupied (and hypocritical) politicians, or the danger ofparanoia based on lack of understanding that was the Cold War. Both these last

Salad Days Salad Days

to surprise and astonish me, and suggest a really surprising degree of truth inthis wonderful, crazy, ostensibly ridiculous piece.

So here we are, hoping enormously that the spirit we’ve so enjoyed in makingthis show reaches right through to you through our performances. Last wordhas to go, of course in a huge thank you to everyone who has joined us in thislatest adventure for Tête à Tête, and in particular our visionary funders, The PaulHamlyn Foundation and Arts Council England who have just given us hugevotes of confidence in the company’s future, the PRS Foundation, the GenesisFoundation, the Derek Butler Trust, the Cameron Mackintosh Foundation andthe huge horde of beloved generous individuals who support our work. Andyou, of course, for coming. I hope you all thoroughly enjoy the performance.

Bill Bankes-Jones25th October 2009

two are delivered with the lightest of touch in Salad Days, but are also bothmore pertinent now than ever.

Of course the piece is littered with references to things of the period likeReveille, or Bill & Ben, which root it in its own time. Rather deliciously, inresearching around the piece I found that one of the biggest Hollywoodblockbusters of 1954 was the rather tawdry “The Egyptian,” which must havemade the theming of Cleopatra’s nightclub at the beginning of Act IIscreamingly funny at the time. The establishment no longer embraces Englishfolk dance in the way it did when our Inspector first put Boot through his paces.But then the modern-day Harrods is even more absurd than any 1954Egyptianisation, while we have all encountered and been amused by Inspector-style pseudery in all kinds of fields.

As with any real people, Salad Days’ 1954 characters grow out of their ownpast. This has emerged in a fascinatingly vivid way as our marvellouschoreographer Quinny Sacks brings her vast knowledge and experience ofmovement of all periods to the piece, and we find that the music relentlesslydraws the characters backwards towards the Charlestoning of the 20’s. Anydancing we normally imagine as 1950’s seems to lie in their future rather thantheir present. A real lesson in how to capture an era.

My own biggest discoveries through the exhilarating process of rehearsingSalad Days have been very personal, brought a truth to the proceedings I couldnever have imagined, and rather explain the glint in my parent’s eyes whenthey found me listening to the record. Just like Timothy and Jane, my parentscame together as undergraduates at post-war Oxford. My grandmotherstrongly disapproved of my mother pursuing her academic studies rather thanan eligible husband, a disapproval which of course extended for a while to theirbetrothal. He, meanwhile was following a kind of due process throughuniversity which then continued with the involvement of a string of influentialuncles (including the odd black sheep,) and definitely a certain amount of notknowing what to do. Though they never to my knowledge operated a piano thatmakes people dance or went off in a flying saucer, the real parallels continue

Minnie - a Magic Inspiration

As Julian showed me around, I remember looking at it all rather solemnly, asyou do when you’re a young person trying to make up your mind, and thinkingthis is what I am going to do when I grow up. It was to be the defining momentof my life. Within a few months I’d worked out that the job I wanted to do wascalled a producer. I thought, yes, I can do this.

My uncle, Bill Button, who was a great theatre aficionado in America, keptsending the family the cast albums of the great musicals such as My Fair Ladyand the Sound of Music long before you could buy them in this country. Bill thebrother of my beloved grandmother who along with my aunt, my parents and Ilived with straight after the war. My grandmother was a marvellous pianoplayer and her name was Minnie – what else! Bill was a wonderful artist andhe drew pictures of me as “Cameron Mackintosh: impresario” which I was only10! My whole family were happily resigned to my theatrical ambitions.

I kept in very close contact with Julian all through my school days and after. Iused to get permission from the school or pretend that some relative was dyingso that I could go off and attend first nights of Julian’s shows in Bristol andBath. I always remember my housemaster saying “I hear your grandmother isterminally ill…. again. What’s opening?”

I have often wondered if any other show less magical than SALAD DAYS wouldhave inspired me to produce musicals in the way that this one did.

“The music took me by surprise,I hadn’t time to realise,What’s happening?What’s happening?What’s happening to me?”

Thanks to Julian, Dorothy and of course Minnie, I have never looked back.

Sir Cameron Mackintosh

Minnie - a Magic Inspiration

The first time I saw “Salad Days” I wasn’t quite eight and I was dragged by myaunt Jean to see what was my first musical. I thought it would be very cissyand I didn’t want to go but of course fell in love with it immediately, andpromptly demanded that three weeks later, on my eighth birthday, we go andsee it again. And dressed in my wee kilt, I marched down the aisle to meet itscomposer Julian Slade, who I had discovered by then was playing the piano inthe pit. He was very nice and took me backstage and showed me around,showing me how the flying saucer worked, how the scenery came in and out,how, indeed, Minnie the magic piano was a dummy piano – a very lovely one,while he played a real one in the pit. It had a special sound to it. He could pressa pedal and it then made that “ting ting ting” sound that made everyone dancein “Look At Me, I’m Dancing”.

Who knows what triggers a person’s imagination? I‘d been to the theatre beforeso my only other memory was of Frankie Howerd doing “Charley’s Aunt”, a prettycamp way to start going to see shows. But I’d never seen a musical before andthe idea of a magic piano making people sing and dance completely inspired me.

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Biographies

Andrew Ahern Andrew has recently finishedhis training at Phil WinstonsTheatre works in Blackpool.Salad Days marks Andrews

debut! He would like to thank his Mum,Dad & his friends for their continuedsupport. Enjoy the show!

Bill Bankes-Jones After a Philosophy degree atSt Andrews, joined the ITVRegional Theatre YoungDirector’s Scheme and has

since directed theatre and opera on allscales. He has directed all Tête à Tête’sproductions, and is Chair of the Operaand Music Theatre Forum, the UK’sUmbrella body for opera companies.

Nell BaughNell has an inherent interestin the Arts. Many days atdress rehearsals watchingphoto-shoots as a child with

her mother and helping set ups andstrikes for Mecklenburgh Opera Co withher father. It comes as no surprise to findherself working in the Arts, Marketing asecond time for Tête à Tête OperaCompany, the first being the OperaFestival 2009.

Lee BoggessGraduated Ballet RambertSchool 1988. Soloist BalletRambert Dance Company88-95. Original cast of

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake. Workedwith numerous esteemed choreographersand companies including Royal OperaHouse, ENO, ARC Dance Company andJeremy James. Perform with the RoyalShakespeare Company for two seasons(Beauty and the Beast). The lead in theproduction of Pinocchio with Royal Ballet.Most recently appeared in EnglishNational Opera production of Punch &Judy at the Young Vic.

Emma BurfordEmma trained at RoseBruford College, having alsostudied dance at RochesterSchool of Ballet. Her credits

include Follies (SFA Auditorium, Texas,USA), Sacrificial Viscera (Cock Tavern)and A Chorus Line (Brook Theatre,Chatham). She also is a backing singerfor a London soul band Soul Inhabitant.

Dorothy Reynolds & Julian Slade

Dorothy Reynolds, Denis Carey and Julian Slade in 1954

Dorothy Reynolds and Julian Slade first worked together in 1952 after DenisCarey, Artistic Director of the Bristol Old Vic, asked them to write a Christmasshow. Dorothy was a classical actress. Julian, a decade younger, had recentlywritten two popular musicals at Cambridge University. Their first musical wasChristmas in King St, followed in 1953 by The Merry Gentleman, and in 1954by a ‘summer show’, which they called Salad Days.

The Bristol audiences loved them all, particularly their ‘summer show’, butnobody ever dreamed that, when Salad Days transferred to the VaudevilleTheatre in London, it would run for six record-breaking years. Julian and Dorothywrote four other musicals staged in London - Free as Air, Hooray for Daisy(another Bristol Christmas show), Follow that Girl and Wildest Dreams. In 1963Dorothy then decided to resume her serious acting career. Julian continued towrite and compose successful shows, with or without new collaborators. Fordetails of all these and other Julian Slade shows visit www.julianslade.com.

BiographiesBiographies

Michelle Francis Michelle trained at theLondon Studio Centre,winning the Sheila O’NeillAward for Best Musical

Theatre Performer. Theatre includes:Oklahoma! (Chichester Festival Theatre)directed by John Doyle, Francine in theoriginal London cast of Jersey Boys(Prince Edward Theatre) directed by DesMcAnuff, Libby Drake in Babes in Arms(Chichester Festival Theatre), Jack andthe Beanstalk directed by Giles HavergalCBE (Barbican Theatre), Polly in TreasureGirl directed by Rob Fisher (CardiffInternational Festival of Musical Theatre),played Frenchy and understudied andplayed Sandy in the National Tour ofGrease and Lois in the National Tour ofKiss Me Kate, directed by MichaelBlakemore.

Steve GibsonFifty words, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fifty

words, fifty words, fifty words, fifty words,fifty words, fifty words, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fifty words, fifty words,fifty words, fifty words, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fifty words.

Anna Gregg Has worked with TheFarnham Maltings, AdonaisBallet Company, PimlicoOpera, Grange Park Opera,

The Covent Garden Festival, The BigPicture Company and Early OperaCompany.

Maija Handover (sounduk) Sounduk is committed topromoting the very best newmusic through PR, liveevents, consultancy and

artist representation. For moreinformation visit www.sounduk.net

Sam Harrison Since graduating this yearfrom the Royal Academy ofMusic, Sam has appeared inToo Marvellous for Words

(Landor), sung with Elton John at theRoyal Albert Hall, and has just playedBobby in Crazy For You in this year’sShowtime Challenge (London Palladium).He is delighted to be treading the grasswith Tête-à-Tête.

CHROMAFounded in 1997 by artisticdirector Stuart King, thecritically acclaimed chamberensemble CHROMA is known

for the passion it brings to contemporaryworks, its vivid renderings of classicpieces and its diverse programme ofeducation work. It is associate ensemblefor Tête à Tête with whom more recentpremieres include Julian Grant’sOdysseus Unwound, the six opera shortsBlind Date and Philip Cashian’s TheCumnor Affair (libretto Iain Pears).

Hannah Conway Hannah is sought as acomposer and animateur tolead creative educationprojects for orchestras and

opera houses in the UK and worldwide.She has been guest artist with theDanish National and Swedish RoyalOperas, Luxembourg Philharmonie, RoyalAmsterdam Concertgebouw andMelbourne Symphony Orchestra. Hermusic has been commissioned by theLondon Symphony Orchestra andSouthbank Centre.

Sophie Louise Dann Sophie’s extensive careerhas encompassed the worldsof opera, musicals, theatreand film. Most recently

Sophie starred in Forbidden Broadway!(Chocolate Factory) and made her BBCProms debut as Lady Saphir in Patience. Future engagements include a series ofChristmas Concerts at Royal Albert Halland 125th Anniversary production of theMikado at Royal Festival Hall

Mark DoubledayMark has designed thelighting for all of Tête à Tête’sproductions except for one(when he was pre-booked

for New York City Opera!) Otherwise hejust works and works and works. Whatelse is new!

Elizabeth FieldingGraduated from the TechnicalTheatre & StageManagement course at RADAwith Distinction specialising

in Stage Management. Professionally Lizhas worked as ASM on Grease TheSummer Schools Musical; BYO’s Il SignorBruschino & La Scala di Seta; The LordMayors Show 2008; Bakewell YouthTheatre, and Bakewell Arts Festival:SM/On Book for The Lemon Tree ofKensington by MEDAF, and This is a Thatby Peut-être Theatre Company

Biographies

Anthony Ingle Anthony has composedmusic for six musicals andthirty-seven plays, anddirected music for seventy-

six others and much traditional andcontemporary opera. His particularpleasure now is to bring skills developedin Impropera, the world’s only andarguably best improvising operacompany, to bear on the classic score ofSalad Days.

Claire Machin Claire was born in Stoke-On-Trent and trained at theSylvia Young Theatre School.Theatre credits include High

School Musical ( Ms. Darbus) , MaryPoppins ( Miss Lark), My Fair Lady (ClaraEynsford-Hill), Oliver (Charlotte) , LesMisérables ( Madame Thenadier).Television includes Eastenders , VanityFair, Miss Marple, The Ritz.

Tim MeacockHas much experienceof intimate theatreworking at the Orange Tree.Current design work Beauty

and the Beast for Nottingham Playhouse,The Making of Moo and The Lady or theTiger both for the Orange Tree.

Tim MurrayFifty words, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fifty


Spencer O’Brien Spencer recently graduatedfrom Arts Educational,London, with a BA honDegree in Musical Theatre.

His college performances include‘Vinnie’ in ‘Lucky Stiff’ and the leadingrole of ‘Perks’ in ‘The Railway Children’.Other theatre credits include ‘paparazzi’in ‘BETWIXT!’ Ambassador’s theatre:and ‘Joey’ in ‘Soul Traders’ EdinburghFestival.

Biographies

Matthew Hawksworth Training: MountviewAcademy of Theatre Arts (SirJohn Mills Scholarship) andNational Youth Music

Theatre. Theatre credits include: Sam inCrazy For You (Kilworth House Theatre),Macbeth (Glyndebourne Festival Opera,Royal Albert Hall, National Tour & Sadler’sWells). Choreography and teachingcredits include: Lord of the Flies(Broadway Theatre, Catford), The WalpoleOrange (Robert Atkins Studio, Regent’sPark Open Air Theatre) and Cabaret(Bloomsbury Theatre).

Graham HowesExtensive work includes;Senator Robert E. Lyons in Ofthee I Sing and Let ‘em EatCake (Opera North),

Scheinkopf in FAME (Aldwych), SunsetBoulevard (West End International),Arcadia (Manchester Library), The Miser(Salisbury Playhouse), Godwin inWesker’s Blood Libel, Daddy Warbucks inAnnie (Colchester Mercury), Promises,Promises (Crucible) as Eichelberger,Claudius in Hamlet for ESC. TV / Filminclude; Kingdom (2 series) The Bill (ITV),Peter Greenway’s Draughtsman’sContract, John in No Ordinary Trifle (TrifleFilms Ltd), Clumsy Roger (regular) inModel Millie, Bugs, Swallows andAmazons Forever, (all for the BBC).

Caroline Hughes Caroline has enjoyedworking with Bill and Tim onDie Fledermaus (ETO) andNitro The Revival (Royal

Opera House) for Tête à Tête Push,Odysseus Unwound, Blind Date and theCumnor Affair. Recent projects includeAlcina and Xerxes OTC Dublin, As YouLike It Shakespeare’s Globe. Caroline iscurrently designing costumes forWhalesavers W11 opera. Recipient BestCostume Irish Time Theatre Awards 2007Othello (Second Age Dublin).

Elena HullElena Hull was educated atthe Yehudi Menuhin Schoolwhere she learned manyimportant things including

how to play the double bass. She thenwent on to the Royal College of Music asa Foundation Scholar. She is now a fairlysuccessful freelancer specialising incontemporary solo and chamber works.As bass teacher at the RCM JuniorDepartment she is a champion of theRabbath playing method and has athriving class of 13.

Fergal O’MahonyFergal is a pianist-composerliving in London. His playingcareer has taken himthroughout Europe, the US

and as far as Kazakhstan. He hasappeared as concerto soloist withseveral orchestras including the RoyalLiverpool Philharmonic Orchestra andManchester Camerata. He has alsotoured with European Youth Orchestraunder Vladimir Ashkenasy. Fergal is alsoa keen composer and his latest project'Gutter Press the Opera' was premieredat this years tete a tete opera festival.The show was a sell out and was wellreceived by critics.

Oliver Platt Oliver is delighted to beworking with Tete a Teteagain after enjoying lastyear’s production of The

Cumnor Affair so much. He hasexperience working with WNYO, ETO, TheArmonico Consort and WNO and thissummer directed a new opera entitledThe Star Beast which was performed atthe Tete a Tete Summer Festival.

Sarah Playfair Sarah Playfair is a freelanceopera casting director whohas also worked in theatreand dance. Recent

successes include Street Scene (TheOpera Group/The Young Vic) which wonthe Evening Standard Ned Sherrin Awardfor best musical of 2008. For furtherinformation see www.sarahplayfair.com

Ellie Robertson Ellie trained at The ArtsEducational School London.Theatre: After graduating in2008 she joined the national

tour of Our House and following SaladDays will be playing the lead role inSnow White at The Kenneth MoreTheatre. Other theatre includes YoungAlice/Jo in Once Upon a Time at theAdelphi (Workshop), Ensemble in bothBarbara Cook and Friends (Coliseum) andin Good Thing Going (Cadogan Hall) andhas understudied the lead in SleepingBeauty (Sheffield’s Lyceum).

Biographies Biographies

Marius Rønning Fifty words, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fifty


Quinny Sacks Since finishing dancing withRambert and Bejart, Quinnyhas choreographed for film,theatre, opera and television.

Screen work includes Shakespeare inLove, Roger Rabbit and The SingingDetective. Many Opera productions,including The Fairy Queen and LadyMacbeth for ENO. Theatre includesmovement for RNT, RSC, Donmar andRoyal Court.

Claire ShoveltonClaire’s past includesRiverside Studios, the YoungVic, the West End andOperafactory. In addition to

managing CHROMA and the Early OperaCompany (Christian Curnyn) her presentalso includes Tête à Tête, the OperaFestival and commercial composersLounge Productions.

Richard SuartRichard is known as theleading Gilbert and Sullivan“patterman” of hisgeneration, maybe most

notably as Ko-Ko and the LordChancellor, which distinction has seenhim perform in most of the major cities ofthe world. He is also particularlyassociated with contemporary opera,again, an international appreciation.

Neil SwainFifty words, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fifty


Bob WattsFifty words, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fiftywords, fifty words, fifty


Damaris Albarran Christopher & Primrose ArnanderStephen BaisterRoger & Molly Bankes-JonesGeoffrey & Fiona BarnettElizabeth Bawdon Peter BazalgetteSharon & Graham BeckettSir David & Lady BellSimon CallowAnne Cameron Gill & Tony CashEvelyn CaulcottPhil & Sue Chandler Peter & Joan ChapmanDeborah & Peter ClarkeSir Anthony & Lady CleaverRichard & Biz CollettJane & Mike CookJohn & Tanya CookeHunter & Brucie CrawfordMr & Mrs Peter CunardJim Peers & Victoria DickieElizabeth DobsonPeter & Fiona EspenhahnMr & Mrs Howard FlightPhil ForteyPeter GoffPatrick & Louise GrattanFather Kevin Scully & Adey GrummetPenny Gummer Bruno & Celia HandelMatthew Hart Carolyn Hayman Patricia Healey Drew Heinz

William & Fouki HellerLiz HeritageTim JacksonEdward Kemp-LuckMark & Lucy Le FanuDavid & Gill LeemingTony Payne & Jane Manning Christopher & Clare McCannDesmond & Clare McCannHugh & Victoria MerrillIan & Frances MurraySir Bryan & Lady NicholsonGeorge & Jane NissenTerry & Valerie OsborneIain PearsSarah PlayfairJane Plumptre Katie PriceMichael & Tamara RabinJulie RecordAndy RogersClive & Gill RoweCharlotte Scott-BarrettOdette SeipmannJenny Slack Richard & Caroline Smerdon Peter & Jill StewardCaroline SteaneDavid TaylorThe Taylor FamilyAnthony & Carolyn TownsendMark & Nicola TurveyPeter Verstage Nicholas & Sarah WalkerAlan Warner Judith Weir

We would like to extend our warmest thanks to the many private donors whohave kept Tête à Tête thriving and made “Salad Days” possible; we reallycouldn’t have done it without you:

PICTURE TO BE TREATED...

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salad days programme - tete-a-tete.org.uk

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