Alumni News Roundup - Summer 2021
This roundup celebrates a selection of Central graduate’s news and successes, covering alumni award wins and nominations, and their numerous contributions in all areas of stage and digital theatre, television and film, as well as in the wider community.
If you’re a Central graduate and have some news that you’d like to share with us, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Please email alumni@cssd.ac.uk, or complete our ‘Update Your Details’ webform.
Awards & Nominations
Riz Ahmed won an Independent Spirit Award, Satellite Award and Webby Award for his performance in Sound of Metal, and was also nominated for an Oscar and BAFTA, both in the category of Best Actor. In addition to this, he won two awards at the British Independent Film Awards; he was the recipient of Best British Short for The Long Goodbye and Debut Screenwriter for Mogul Mowgli, for which he was also nominated for a BAFTA.
Stefan Chanyaem won The Mandy’s Monologue Competition. His monologue was showcased at Central’s Keep Creating Gala.
Hannah Donelon was shortlisted in the Fiction Prize category of the 2020 Manchester Writing Competition for her short story, Little.
Abigail Hirsch’s play Present Fears has been long-listed for development for the Traverse Theatre’s Open Submissions. She wrote the play whilst studying on the MFA Advanced Theatre Practice course, and has now been accepted to do a PhD at the Shakespeare Institute.
Graham Norton and Rupert Everett were both nominated for BAFTA TV Awards this year; Graham Norton in the category of Entertainment Performance for The Graham Norton Show, and Rupert Everett in the category of Supporting Actor for his performance in Adult Material.
Jonathan O’Boyle won Best Director at the Offies for his production of The Last Five Years. The production also won in the category of Musicals: Production, and starred Molly Lynch.
Shereen Jasmin Phillips was awarded an Olwen Wymark Theatre Encouragement Award by The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain in recognition for her work nurturing and championing playwrights and new writing.
Stage & Digital Theatre
Opened in May
Xahnaa Adlam was Associate Director for Bristol’s Tobacco Factory Theatres’ production A Place at the Bridge, running from 26 to 28 May.
Emma Callender directs The Merthyr Stigmatist running at Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre from 27 May to 12 June.
Lizzie Clachan provided design for Donmar Warehouse’s UK touring production, Blindness (pictured), running from 28 May to 12 July, before going on an international tour.
Samantha Dye was Associate Director, and Class of 2020 graduate, Ana Web Sanchez, was Design Assistant for Southwark Playhouse’s production You Are Here (pictured), running from 7 May to 12 June.
Nathan Ellis and Emteaz Hussain were both co-writers on Still Life, a new piece of digital theatre for Nottingham Playhouse presenting untold stories and bringing them to life as a series of digital dramas, available online from 7 May to 24 June.
Hazel Holder is Voice and Dialect Coach, and Simon Kenny is Designer for Hampstead Theatre’s production Death of A Black Man, running from 28 May to 10 June.
Chi-San Howard is Movement Director, and Karla Simpson is Stage Manager, for Bush Theatre’s production, Harm, running from 17 May to 26 June.
Sonia Friedman’s RE:EMERGE season presents Walden, running from 22 May to 12 June, and including sound design from Emma Laxton and casting from Amy Ball, and J’Ouvert, running from 16 June to 3 July, and including sound design from Beth Duke. Both productions will be performed at The Harold Pinter Theatre.
Joshua Griffin, a Class of 2020 graduate, has now joined the cast of West End’s The Mousetrap, performing in the role of Christopher Wren.
Matt Powell was Video Designer for Public Domain, which ran at West End’s Vaudeville Theatre from 27 to 30 May.
Opening in June
Rebecca Brower is the Production Designer on new immersive experience Dr Who: Time Fracture (pictured). Graduates in the Production Team include; Jack Berry as Head of Lighting; Harry Johnson as Head of Sound, and Tasha Shepherd and Madeleine Young working in the scenic art team. A number of current students on placement have also been working on scenic art, props and sound design for the production. It also includes performance from Ivy Corbin and Kieran Mortell.
Anna Crichlow will perform in Shakespeare’s Globe’s productions As You Like It and The Tempest as part of Shakespeare’s Globe’s Globe on Tour 2021. Both productions will also include costume supervision from Rebecca Gunstone.
Dante or Die, founded by Daphna Attias and Terence O’Donovan presents Skin Hunger, three monologues written by Ann Akin, Sonia Hughes, and alumnus Tim Crouch. It includes Ayse Tashkiran as Movement Director, and performance from Rachel-Leah Hosker and understudy from Deshaye Gayle. This socially distanced installation, which explores touch, invites three audience members at a time into a hidden chapel in London’s West End, and runs from 15 to 27 June.
DARKFIELD, co-founded by David Rosenberg, and including Creative Producer Victoria Eyton and Executive Director, Andrea Salazar, have launched a new season of DARKFIELD RADIO and KNOT (pictured), which will premiere at the prestigious TriBeCa Film Festival in New York City from 10 to 20 June, and then launch more widely in the UK, US and Australia from 25 June for a six-week run.
Dadiow Lin will direct Southwark Playhouse’s production of Miss Julie, running from 29 June to 3 July.
Nick Payne’s play Constellations will return to the West End, running at Vaudeville Theatre from 18 June to 12 September with four different casts, including Zoë Wanamaker. The production’s creative team also includes movement direction from Lucy Cullingford, design from Laura Ann Price, and sound design from David McSeveney.
Khadija Raza will provide costume design, and Gareth Fry will provide sound design, for Bridge Theatre’s Bach & Sons, running from 23 June to 11 September.
Sophie Rubenstein is Deputy Stage Manager for Reasons You Should(n’t) Love Me, presented by Paines Plough, 45 North and Kiln Theatre, and running from 2 to 12 June.
Warren Rusher stars in solo show, Heartwood, which will be performed as part of the Waterloo Festival on 21 June at St John’s Church.
Cherrelle Skeete directed Michael X at Almeida Theatre on 4 June, as part of Six Artists in Search of a Play.
Sarah Stallwood-Hall produces The Ballad of Corona V - The Remix (pictured), running from 3 to 26 June at The Big House. The production includes a team of graduates and students including; Jack Boissieux as Production Manager, Class of 2020 graduate, Ryan Day, as Lighting Designer, Megan Taylor, as Engagement Manager, and current 2nd year student, Sean Laing is among the team.
Kibong Tanji stars in Dipo Baruwa-Etti’s monologue The Sun, The Moon and The Stars, running at Stratford East Theatre from 2 to 19 June.
Donarto Wharton provides sound design for The National Theatre’s production, Under Milk Wood, running from 16 June to 24 July.
Millicent Wong stars in The National Theatre’s production, After Life (pictured), running from 2 June to 24 July. The production includes sound design from Tom Gibbons and company voice work from Jeannette Nelson.
Opening in July
Naana Agyei-Ampadu stars in Orange Tree Theatre’s production, Last Easter, including sound design from Beth Duke, and running from 3 July to 7 August.
Gina Beck and Keir Charles will both appear in Chichester Festival Theatre’s South Pacific. The production will include lighting design from Howard Harrison and sound design from Paul Groothuis, it’ll also include assistant stage management for Maikel Bellanco.
Tom Lee is Production Manager for Kiln Theatre and Dasha Theatreical’s The Invisible Hand, including Charlotte Padgham as Deputy Stage Manager, Daniele Lydon as Voice and Dialect Coach, and design from Lizzie Clachan. The production is running from 1 to 31 July.
Baker Mukasa stars in The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of A Comedy of Errors, running from 13 July to 16 November.
Guy Retallack directs Southwark Playhouse’s production John & Jen, running from 28 July to 31 August.
Danny Sapani stars in Hymm at Almeida Theatre, running from 16 July to 13 August.
Gareth Snook appears in The Old Vic Theatre’s production, Bagdad Café, which includes voice from Joel Trill and runs from 17 July to 21 August.
Screen
Naomi Ackie joined the third season of Netflix’s Master of None and was an Executive Producer on the show. She has also been announced to play Whitney Houston in I Wanna Dance with Somebody, a biopic charting her life and music.
Nonso Anozie stars as Tommy Jepperd in Netflix’s Sweet Tooth, an American fantasy drama streaming television series based on the comic book of the same name by Jeff Lemire.
Polly Bennett was Movement Choreographer for Riz Ahmed’s Mogul Mowgli, and Movement Coach for No Time to Die, the next instalment in the James Bond franchise, due for release in September.
Nia Da Costa directs the reboot of the classic horror film, Candyman, which will star Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, and is due for release in August. She will also direct the highly anticipated Captain Marvel 2, due for release in 2022. Nathan Stewart-Jarrett can also be seen on screen starring in HBO Max’s Generation.
Sujaya Dasgupta plays Zoya in Netflix’s Shadow and Bone, also starring Zoë Wanamaker and Jasmine Blackborow. The fantasy series has now been renewed for a second season.
Sara Ferdinando was a Costume Maker for Disney’s recently released origin film, Cruella, (pictured), which also include voice and dialect coaching from Neil Swain. The costume construction team also included; Ali Herring, Jonathan Burniston, Jodie Roberts, Lucy Loraine, Kate Peters, Orla Convery, Cecile Schils and Jessica Wright.
Veridiana Ferraz was Principal Costume Supervisor for F9: The Fast Saga, the tenth full-length film released overall in the Fast & Furious franchise.
Andrew Garfield stars in a new adaptation of Tick, Tick, Boom…, directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, due for release on Netflix later this year. He will also play Charles Ryder in a new adaptation of Brideshead Revisited, starring alongside Joe Alwyn, and due for release next year.
Michael Grandage directs My Policeman, which has now begun filming and will star Rupert Everett, Kadiff Kirwan and Linus Roache.
Kit Harington plays Dane Whitman/Black Knight in Marvel’s Eternals.
Martins Imhangbe played Will Mondrich in Shonda Rhimes hit period drama, Bridgerton, one of the most watched Netflix series of all time. It also includes performances from Kathryn Drysdale, Amy Beth Hayes and Ash Hunter.
Cush Jumbo and Jared Harris both star together in Britbox’s The Beast Must Die. A second season has now been announced, and Cush will also star in The Young Vic’s production of Hamlet later this year.
Ita O’Brien was most recently Lead Intimacy Coordinator for BBC’s adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love, and HBO’s Gentleman Jack.
Simon Paraskevas is Special Effects Engineer for Marvel’s Black Widow, released on 9 July.
Tom Payne reprised the role of Malcolm Bright for the second season of hit US show, Prodigal Son.
Harry MacQueen’s film Supernova, which he wrote and directed, had its world premiere last year at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. The scheduled UK release date was pushed back due to the pandemic, but the film, which stars Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth, will now open in UK Cinemas from 25 June.
Amy Manson plays Maladie / Sarah in HBO’s hit new show, The Nevers.
Pia Rickman was Intimacy Co-ordinator for Tove, a biographical film of Swedo-Finnish author and illustrator Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomins. The film was selected as the Finnish entry for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, and was screened as part of BFI’s Flare programme, from 17 to 28 March.
Adam Sina plays Nurse Carl Lewis in new Sky One comedy Bloods. He is now currently in Belgium filming Theodosia, an adaptation of the acclaimed children’s novels by, R.L LaFevers. The show will air next year on HBO Max.
Rufus Sewell and Gael García Bernal will both appear in Old, an upcoming American supernatural horror-thriller filminspired by the graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters. The film is scheduled for release in July.
Jessica Swale has been announced as one of the directors of the UK version of French hit show, Call My Agent!
Charlie Vickers will appear in Amazon’s new long-awaited TV adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings due for release later this year.
In our Community
Bruce Anderson’s book Backpacking and Inflatable Unicorns will be followed up with a sequel entitled Backpacking and Inflatable Swiss Goats. He has also recently finished twelve children’s stories called Lochie the Lochmara Doggie, which will be available in late 2021. This initial comical offering follows his travels in Australia, New Zealand and several Pacific islands, including Tonga.
Clodagh Chapman, a graduate of the Class of 2020, produces Even Baddies Wear Helmets, a podcast about the craft of making children’s television, in conversation with the grown-ups who make it happen.
Rebecca Evers taught Drama for a number of years, before working as a Performing Arts Education Consultant for Premier Education Group. When the pandemic hit, and schools and businesses shut, Rebecca took this opportunity to start her own consultancy business. With her business partner Elle McHugh, she launched Creative Minds in June 2020. Through Creative Minds, they have an aim to inspire creative learning through performing arts, as well as educate pupils, teachers and coaches on the impact and benefits Creative Learning can have as a continuation of learning from the classroom.
Christiana Hartsiotis has launched Artist Avenue Podcast, a podcast dedicated to creatives travelling the globe in order to pursue their passion in the creative arts industry. Read Christiana’s Central blog post to find out more about the podcast.
Danielle Kassaraté is a founding member, and Executive Producer, of the newly launched Mawa Theatre Company, (team pictured), which is the UK’s first all Black, all female Shakespeare Company representing Women of the African diaspora. Mawa will address how Black and Black Mixed Race Women are represented in classical text and explore how Shakespeare translates to Black audiences, producing content that focuses on themes within his works that correlate with the Black community.
Grace Linstead is now a Clinician (Dramatherapist) for leading British children’s charity, Barnado’s.
Suzanne Priest has been appointed as a Lecturer at Wolverhampton University, teaching on their undergraduate dance and drama courses, and on their MA Dance programme.
Daniel Romeo has been appointed Artistic Associate at CoLab Theatre, an award-winning production company that focuses on immersive and interactive theatre. Daniel’s new work Sovereign Song will soon be produced at CoLab.
Kamari Romeo recently submitted a blog post talking about founding Humblebee Creative, a London based social enterprise, and about his work with Black History School. Kamari is also Project Manager on the StART Entrepreneurship Project - a collaboration between Central, the Royal Northern College of Music and University of the Arts London, to support the professional development of students within the creative arts.
Rohan Sachdeva has been working with Jana Sanskriti Center, a theatre based organisation in Calcutta for Theatre of the Oppressed. He joined in January 2019 as a Project Manager, and was recently promoted to Program Officer. Rohan’s work focuses on how Theatre of the Oppressed and Forum Theatre can be used as a tool and a medium to work with oppressed communities for social change and development in rural areas in India.
Ilai Szpiezak has founded HARKALIVE, a start-up providing online dance classes, both live and on-demand, for dance enthusiasts at home.
Aneesha Srinivasan and Emma Harris founded Global Origins, a company for International, multicultural and diaspora artists. In May 2020, Global Origins started a free, easy-to-access Slack network for artists struggling due to the Covid crisis. The network is a space where artists who may be separated from home and/or family can receive emotional support, and reach out for creative collaboration.
Sita Thomas has been appointment as co-artistic director of Common Wealth Theatre.
Mark Wong (pictured) is a Lecturer, Tutor and Accent and Dialect Coach. In July 2020 he joined one of Singapore’s acting studios, Haque Centre of Acting & Creativity (HCAC), and has been running monthly virtual voice workshops for the school. In May, he also collaborated with Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC), in Malaysia, running a series of workshops.