A huge Vamos Theatre welcome to our Boy on the Roof cast, who started rehearsals this week here in Worcester.
We have a three-strong cast for this production. Gavin Maxwell (centre) is a neurodivergent theatre-maker and movement director. He is a graduate of the East 15 Contemporary Theatre course and holds an MA in Collaborative Theatre Making from Coventry University. Gavin has worked as a practitioner for Frantic Assembly for five years and has delivered workshops and residencies, sharing the Frantic method of devising all over the UK and the world. In addition, Gavin co-directed the company's flagship outreach project Ignition in 2019 and 2022, taking the role of Associate Director on their 2021 production, I Think We Are Alone.
James Greaves' (left) seminal work with Trestle Theatre has taken him across the world, including performing in Top Storey, Hanging Around, Blood and Roses, Bitter Fruit and Adventures Of The Stoneheads. He's now also well-known to Vamos Theatre audiences for lead roles in Dead Good, A Brave Face, Nursing Lives, Finding Joy and more. We're very happy to have him as part of the team.
Alan Riley (right) is a co-founder of Trestle Theatre. As an original member of the company, Alan performed in many Trestle classics, including Hanging Around, A Slight Hitch, State of Bewilderment, Running Dogs, Fool House and The Adventures of the Stoneheads. Alan has also been an Associate Artist with Vamos Theatre for the last few years, working as an Associate Director on Finding Joy, The Best Thing, A Brave Face and starring alongside James in Dead Good.
Touring with the cast will be technicians Rhianne Cheetham and Paul Milford who join us in January.
Rachael Savage, writer and director of Boy on the Roof, comments, “It's incredibly exciting going into the rehearsal room with such a strong cast. Alan and James have 40 years of mask experience each and although Gavin is new to performing in mask, his vast experience with physical theatre performance, dance, and choreography means he has a great understanding of mask theatre's physical skills. The cast has already very quickly discovered a shared vocabulary and a really exciting blend of skills. ”
Welcome to all our cast!