Show & Tell was a variety show that was previously hosted by Twisted Willow Theatre at the Portland Arms. The first night was massive success. We had a great turnout, each of the acts did a fantastic job and we raised over £80 for our chosen charity Arts & Minds! One of the performers, Patrick Widess, wrote a review of the evening, which you can read here. You can also listen to an interview about Show and Tell with Twisted Willow Theatre’s Artistic Director Richard McNally on Cambridge Radio 105, you can do so here. (the interview is about a quarter of the way through the slot. Below is a list of all the acts that performed on the night and their entries in the programme, or you can view the PDF of the programme here, Show and Tell Programme.
-Richard McNally (Compere)
Richard is the Artistic Director of Twisted Willow Theatre. He has acted in and directed many productions both professional and amateur. This is, however, his first experience as a compere.
-Kate Vowles (Music)
Growing up around the heart of American folk and bluegrass scenes in the mountains of Colorado, Kate Vowles brings freedom and passion to her songs. She began playing on her mother’s old guitar, teaching herself with the help of books and the internet. Many years and guitars later, she has been sharing her music with people on three different continents, with albums in over seven countries. Kate has been delighted by the response, and finds song writing a terrific outlet. It has been such a joy to share music with others in so many places.
-The Youthful Exuberants (Improvisational Comedy)
The Youthful Exuberants is a brand new comedy group made up of talented teenagers from around Cambridge. Although some have been working together, and practising improvisation, for years, tonight is their first show to members of the public – who we know you will be as supportive and generous as they are good-looking and kind. Here’s to the first, hopefully, of many amusing performances.
-J.S.Watts (Poetry)
J.S.Watts is a local writer and poet. Her poetry and short stories appear in publications worldwide. She has had two poetry books , Cats & Other Myths and Songs of Steelyard Sue, published by Lapwing Publications and a novel, A Darker Moon, published by Vagabondage .
-Simon Jones (Stand-Up Comedy)
Simon trained at East15 Acting School, London. Simon has only recently ventured on the comedy scene so this all very new and exciting for him. This will be his 2nd performance as Martha Dench Mirren. He has performed at The Lions Den Comedy club and Proud Cabaret in London. He hopes you have a great night, as in his opinion variety performances are the most fun!
-Sylvie England (Martial Arts Demonstration)
Sylvie is a martial arts enthusiast, and will be giving a martial arts performance, based on kung fu forms that she learnt while attending a martial arts academy (Kunyu Shan Mountain Academy) in China for a few months. Sylvie is also I’m part of a stage combat fight team with Independent Drama (independentdrama.com). Sylvie is predominantly a professional actress and later in the evening will be performing a comedic monologue.
– ‘King Prawns and Apple Pie’ By Rani Drew of Making Good Theatre (A Short Play)
Starring- Miriam Kmetova, Priyanka Joshi, Michal Szpak and Dinesh Kapur.
About the Writer:
Rani Drew has written more than forty plays and staged over twenty in the U.K., Hungary, China, Romania, Macedonia & Spain. In 2009, during the Darwin Centenary Festival in Cambridge, she staged two plays on Darwin: 1859 – A Meeting of Poets & Scientists & The Man Behind Evolution. The Great Wall of Adhamiya, a play about the Iraq War, was staged in March, 2012. She is also a poet, short story writer and novelist. In 2010, her first novel, The Dog’s Tale, was published by Whyte Tracks, Denmark.
About the Actors
Miriam Kmetova has been involved in several theatrical productions in Slovakia and received Slovakian awards. She has taught Creative Drama following on a theatre project run by UNICEF and the Royal National Theatre in London. She “likes to explore the creative process of staging meaningful ideas that matter & thus giving the audience a glimpse of the importance of ‘Love for the World’.
Priyanka Joshi has worked with Nichestagekraft, a theatre company in India, acting in their street plays and writing scripts. A travel enthusiast and an amateur photographer, she is at present working on a Ph.D. in chemistry at Cambridge University.
Michal Szpak, also doing a Ph.D. at Cambridge University, has been involved in theatre activity as an actor for 8 years. He was associated with many student theatres in Poland, trained at the Polish National Theatre in Warsaw and more recently has had experience working as a Polish language coach in the USA.
Dinesh Kapur is currently studying the MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development at the University of Cambridge. An Engineer by training, he is an accomplished orator with various victories in debating competitions and sports. He has worked as a Voice-Over artist, and a Script Writer in multiple documentaries on environmental issues.
-John Drew (Buddhist Reading)
John Drew is a would-be poet, tonight he will be reading mostly verse fables from his book, The Buddha at Kamakura, which has been translated into several languages, including Japanese. He runs the Cambridge Poetry Workshop (cambridgepoetry@hotmail.com).
-Leanne Moden (Poetry)
Leanne Moden is a performance poet, whose work has been described as ‘surreal’ and ‘unexpected.’ Performance poet Kat Francois was kind enough to call Leanne’s poetry ‘hilarious’, and she’s been riding on the crest of that wave ever since. Leanne blogs at:
www.tenyearstime.blogspot.co.uk
-Clarise Mbombo (Song)
Clarise is in her final year of university studying performing arts. She has performed in productions such as: Richard III, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet. She writes her own stage plays, and is trained in radio acting, stage acting and wants to experience acting for TV. Tonight she will be singing Out here on my Own from Fame.
-Poppy Kleiser (Poetry)
Poppy Kleiser is Twisted Willow’s resident writer. Poppy is also a classically trained actress, and has a number of leading acting credits to her name. In her gap year Poppy was commissioned by the government to write several plays about young people’s issues. Poppy now has a degree in English Literature and Drama and is focusing on writing new plays for the company to perform. She also writes poetry and fiction and is a member of Cafe Writers in Norwich.
-The Cambridge Impronauts (Improvisational Comedy)
The Cambridge Impronauts are a skilled team who create comic sketches from your suggestions. Everything is made up on the spot, allowing our highly trained performers to dazzle you with their skill and wit. Your suggestions drive the show, so be prepared to join in! No scripts, no rehearsals, no problem!
-Sylvie England (Theatre/Monalogue)
After showing us her martial arts prowess, earlier in the evening, Sylvie will now demonstrate her acting talents. Sylvie is a professional actress, based in Cambridge and recently has been working closely with Write-On on a number of projects. She will be performing her comedy monologue ‘No Personality’ from the play ‘Vital Signs’ by Jane Martin.
-Patrick Widdess and Tom Adams (Poetry/Music)
Patrick Widdess is a published poet known for his surrealism and deadpan humour. He was a finalist in the Hammer & Tongue 2012 poetry slam and presents a music and spoken word show on Cambridge 105 called Headstand.
patrickwiddess.co.uk
Tom Adams is a multi instrumentalist composer, producer and songwriter based in the UK. He also releases music as Toma, The Mountaineering Club Orchestra, and Hollow Mountain. Tom is currently doing a PhD in live electronics at the University of Huddersfield and regularly performs live in the Uk and occasionally in Europe.
tomadams.bandcamp.com
Patrick and Tom began working creatively together this year, although have been friends for considerably longer. This is their second performance.
-Harry Wright (Stand-Up)
Harry Wright is an effete autistic Yorkshireman in exile at university in Cambridge. It’s probably for the best. Tonight Harry will be sharing with us some stand-up comedy about his own mental health and the problems therein.
-The Statue Theives (Headlining Band)
Formed in January 2012, The Statue Thieves are based in and around Cricklewood, North West London, currently playing the London gigging circuit continuously in promotion of the forthcoming EP Statues of Realisation. The Statue Thieves’ intentions lie in a laboratory–‐esque cooking of Mod rock, roots rock and roll, soul, folk, psychedelia, and mellow funk.
The four piece also finds space to be inspired by hip hop instrumentation in specific ways, as seen with the number Movie Queen. Lyrically, an existential reflection is dealt alongside a peeping commentary and the world with live in. Syria, David Cameron, and the London 2011 riots are reported on next to a look at lovers, relationships, strangers, drugs, and the overlooked beauty of this world.
The band, in alphabetical order, consists of:
Craig Ingham: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, and Harmonica
Ryhan Lovell: Percussion, Chime Tree and Cajon
Alex Montague: Bass Guitar
Ivan Muela: Electric Guitar and Acoustic Guitar
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Proceeds from the evening went to Arts and Minds, a Cambridge based charity that aims to include people of all ages, with all forms of mental illness and learning disabilities, in therapeutic arts-related activities.
Their website can be found here:
http://www.artsandminds.org.uk/index.html
