Eyes Open

Eyes Open is a young production company based in London run by a team of talented graduates intent on producing innovative, imaginative and exciting new theatre.

The company was established by Oxford student Jack Sanderson-Thwaite in 2006 to produce his play 'The Irreverence Crusade'. This first Eyes Open project attracted critical praise and made a profit. The company is now taking 'Picaresque' to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2009.

'Picaresque' is being produced by Amy Ruffle, and the production's Press and Marketing is being managed by Lucy Newman.

The Designer: Ted Brandt

Ted is about to embark on a degree in Illustration for Graphic Novels. He has always been a keen artist and more examples of his work can be seen on his Flickr page.

Cast

Narrator: Rebecca Shorrocks

Rebecca trained at the Guildford School of Acting and was a Principals Award winner in 2003 and 2004. Her theatre work includes ‘Miller’ (Back2Back Productions, The Pleasance), ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ (Theatre Royal Margate), ‘Whisky Galore’ (Nottingham Playhouse/No.1Tour), ‘And Then They Came for Me’ (The Lyric Hammersmith) and ‘Bad Girls’ (No.1 Tour/Polka Theatre). Rebecca also devised and performed ‘Triple Threat Live’ in 2007, and produced and starred in ‘Like a Virgin’ in 2008, both at the Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh.

Elijah: Dominic Leeder

Dominic trained at East 15 Acting School and graduated in 2007. His roles there included Mitch in ‘A Streetcar named Desire’, Belarius in ‘Cymbeline’ and Medvedenko in ‘The Seagull’. He has enjoyed his first year out and has been a part of many projects including a physical theatre company that will hold its debut show this year.

Nathaniel: Jonathon Muir

Jonathon trained at the Actor’s Centre in London, and at the London School of Speech and Drama. His recent experience includes playing Harry in ‘Ants’ (Southwark Playhouse, London), and Algernon in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ (Cockpit Theatre, London). He has also acted in a number of short films and commercials.

Ensemble: Doug Crossley

Doug trained at the Guildford School of Acting. His recent theatre credits include ‘Turf’ (Bush Theatre) and ‘Christopher’ (Etcetera Theatre). As a writer Doug was invited to join The Royal Court Young Writers Programme and is currently under commission for Action Transport Theatre, in addition to working on two original play scripts. Doug hopes to continue to work in theatre whilst building a career in performing and writing for film and T.V. Doug is performer/writer of ‘Life Support’, a narrative sitcom intended for production in the near future.

Ensemble: Louisa Ashton

Louisa trained in Musical Theatre at the Urdang Academy and now specialises in physical comedy and puppetry. Stage credits include: ‘The Snow Queen’ (North UK Tour), ‘Jack And The Beanstalk’ (Theatre Royal Winchester), ‘The Actor’s Nightmare’ (Jermyn Street Theatre), ‘Sweet Charity’ (Stratford Circus), ‘Sunday Lunch’ (Charles Cryer Theatre) and ‘Treasure Hunt’ (Queen’s Park Open air). Screen roles include: ada_loveless in the online series ‘Compulsive’, Carmel in the short film ‘Pacifism’ which premiered at Cannes 2008, puppeteer for ‘Daisy’s Adventures’ and also for E4’s ‘Just for Laughs’ promo 2008.

Ensemble: Madeline Carrick

After completing her BA Hons in English and Drama at Royal Holloway and New York University, Madeline trained at Drama Centre London, splitting her time between Shakespeare's Globe and the Vakhtagnov Theatre Insititute, Moscow. Credits whilst training include ‘As You Like It’ and ‘Uncle Vanya’. Recent credits include ‘Living the Dream in Bethnal Green’ (Rosemary Branch), ‘American Dad’ (ICA), ‘26’ (BAC) and ‘The Super Science Lab’ TV show. Madeline is also a regular member of the ‘52’ monthly sketch show at the Leicester Square Theatre.