roles with threepenny theatricals
production credits with 3-t
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neil frenchAn alumnus of the Edinburgh Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Opera Camerata, Carnegie Youth Theatre, and the Scottish Chamber Choir, Neil made his stage debut while still at primary school, rocking and pointy blue crepe-paper hat as Chief Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. He outgrew those roles fairly quickly (no-one needs a 6-foot-tall munchkin), and instead threw himself enthusiastically into the works of Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Euripides and Richard Stilgoe; in the latter case, literally having the opportunity to play God.
He's never quite reached those heady heights in the years since, but he has been almost everything else, from royalty to a dragon's backside, with a parade of guitar-wielding ghouls, undertakers and theatrical impresarios thrown in for good measure. Many of these characters have themselves been in disguise, so he's quite used to pretending to be someone who in turn is pretending to be someone else. Most of them have also ended up either dead, temporarily dead, or technically dead, sometimes before the end of Act 1. At the very least, there's normally a family curse or a chap with a shiny axe to keep things interesting. Neil's association with Threepenny Theatricals goes back to 2018's production of Elephants, but he's normally to be found behind the sound desk, providing train noises, car horns, telephones, thunder, and the occasional mystery voice. His most challenging sound effect was an exploding bathtub! This year he's delighted to be stepping back on stage after an absence of several years, in the role of Lord Pinkleton, an officious, shouty man with nothing to hide, who probably spends his evenings watching snooker, doesn't get killed by anything, and has nothing to fear apart from peasants and ballroom dancing. Well, maybe the occasional dragon, giant or gargoyle, but it's all in a day's work. - Biography taken from the programme for Cinderella (2024) |
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