Oifrogandfriends

Robin Hemmings – Frog

Robin Graduated from The Oxford School of Drama in 2008 and has worked extensively in theatre touring nationally & internationally with Bristol Old Vic, Oxford Playhouse, Bolton Octagon, Birmingham Stage Company, Pins & Needles, Eastern Angles, A-Line Art, Tobacco Factory, Tucked-In, Reading Between the Lines and more.

He’s performed in over 20 countries worldwide with the acclaimed production ‘One Small Step’ and in London’s West End as Christopher Wren in The Mousetrap.

Robin is also Co-Director of ROUSTABOUT THEATRE, who create enchanting theatre for all ages.

He is delighted to be touring Oi Frog!

Darren Seed – Dog (Cover Frog)

Darren trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating in 2013 with the Peter Ackerman Comedy Award. He has since worked extensively on stage and screen in various productions internationally, and works with many writers across the UK, co-devising productions for Bristol Old Vic, Tobacco Factory and Oxford Playhouse. Credits include: Room On The Broom (UK Tour); We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (USA Tour); Tiddler & Other Terrific Tales (Leicester Square Theatre); The Last Days of Mankind (Bristol Old Vic); 140 Million Miles (Traverse); The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies (ITV); Poldark (BBC); Schwarzkopf and Virgin Atlantic commercials.

Lucy Tuck – Cat

Lucy is a Bristol based actress who hails from Watford. Shows at the Tobacco Factory and Bristol Old Vic include: The Borrowers; Sleeping Beauty; The 101 Dalmatians; Cinderella. A Fairy-tale; Boy Who Cried Wolf! and for South African Puppet Company: Handspring / B.O.V – A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She played cyclist Beryl Burton in Beryl by Maxine Peake for in-the-round theatre The New Vic and cycling the theatre’s circular promenade each performance remains a career highlight. She later returned to the New Vic for Queens of The Coal Age also by Peake, taking over the role of Elaine at short notice. Lucy is delighted to be playing Cat in Oi Frog!

John Winchester – Frog

John is originally from Glasgow and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating in 2011. Film and TV credits include: Anna and the Apocalypse (Blazing Griffi n Films); A Long Long Crime Ago (CBBC); Grandpa in my Pocket and Ha Ha

Hairies (Adastra Creative/CBeebies). Theatre Credits include: Cinderella (Imagine Theatre Co); The Scarlet Pimpernel (Pimpernel Productions); A Christmas Carol (Cumbernauld Theatre); Dick McWhittington (Horsecross Productions); Kidnapped: When Kilts Were Banned (Rough Cut Robin Productions); Thark, Carousel and This Happy Breed (Piitlochry Festival Theatre); Puss in Boots (Platform Theatre); Lovers (Cumbernauld Theatre); Black Watch (National Theatre of Scotland).

Simon Yadoo – Cheetah (Cover Dog)

Theatre credits: Coriolanus, Salome, Henry V, Henry IV Parts I and II, Richard II, The Famous Victories of Henry V, The Two Gentlemen of Verona (RSC); Damned by Despair (National Theatre); The Real Thing (Old Vic); My Family and Other Animals (York Theatre Royal); Three Men in A Boat (Bury St Edmunds Theatre Royal); 2401 Objects (Analogue Productions); Melmoth the Wanderer (Big Telly Productions); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Christmas Carol, Snow White and Tales from the Brothers Grimm (Creation Theatre); Richard III, Demi Monde, The Half Life of William Morris, Oliver Twist, La Ronde (Love and Madness/ Riverside Studios); Dogfight (Arcola).

Rebecca Ayres – Understudy/ASM (Cover Cheetah & Cat)

Rebecca trained at The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama.Theatre credits include: Dick Whittington as Tabby the Cat (The Wilde Theatre); Teletubbies Live as Facilitator/Understudy Sam (UK tour); Animalphabe as Elephant/Alligator (UK Tour/ Edinburgh Festival); Lady Windermere’s Fan as Lady Windermere (UK Tour); Finding Alice as Miriam (UK Tour); Black Snow as Yegor Agapenov (Moscow Art Theatre); Snow White as Snow White (The Wilde Theatre); Rapunzel The Musical as Rapunzel (UK Tour). Rebecca also spent time travelling the world as a Lead Vocalist with AIDA cruises. Workshops include:

Christine Keeler in Profumo The Musical (Palladium Theatre). Rebecca is also a singer/songwriter and regularly gigs in and around London.

Lucy Barker-Dale – Company Stage Manager

Lucy trained in Stage Management and Technical Theatre at LAMDA after receiving the Andrew Lloyd Webber Scholarship Award. Her most recent jobs include ‘Dear Santa’ with Norwell Lapley Productions Ltd, ‘My Mother Said I Never Should’ and ‘No Man’s Land’ with London Classic Theatre, ‘The Roundabout’ with Cahoots Theatre Company which transferred to New York, ‘The Railway Children’ (National tour) with Nick Brooke Ltd as well as 6 annual pantomimes with Phoenix Theatre Group. This is Lucy’s first time working with Kenny Wax Family Entertainment and she’s very much looking forward to the tour.

Emma Earle – Direction & Script

Emma trained at the National Theatre Studio and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She is Co-Artistic Director of Pins and Needles Productions. Emma has directed and adapted numerous shows for family audiences, including the world premieres of two of Raymond Briggs’ best loved picture books Father Christmas and The Bear, and the Atwater’s Mr Popper’s Penguins. All three shows have toured extensively, including West End, New York and Hong Kong. Recent

credits include Little Mermaid which won Best Show for Children and Young People at the 2018 UK Theatre Awards; Scarlet Pimpernel; Flies; Adventures in Wonderland; Dinner at the Twits. Emma is an Associate Artist of the egg, Theatre Royal Bath and Les Enfants Terribles theatre company. She is hugely supported by her family and can’t wait to share Oi Frog & Friends! with children Dottie and Barnaby.

Zoe Squire – Design & Script

Zoe trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She is Co-Artistic Director of Pins and Needles Productions. Zoe has designed and adapted an array of shows for family audiences, including the world premieres of two of Raymond Briggs’ books Father Christmas and The Bear, and Mr Popper’s Penguins. All three shows have toured extensively, including

West End, Broadway and Hong Kong. Recent credits include Little Mermaid which won Best Show for Children and Young People at the 2018 UK Theatre Awards; Scarlett Pimpernel; Flies; Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs. Zoe is an Associate Artist of the egg, Theatre Royal Bath.

www.zoesquire.com

Luke Bateman – Music & Script

Musical scores include: Mr Popper’s Penguins (West End, New York, USA, UK Tours); H.R.Haitch (The Union Theatre); The Little Beasts (The Other Palace); The Sorrows of Satan (Tristan Bates Theatre) All I Want for Christmas, (Jermyn Street & Upstairs at the Gatehouse) Bachelor Boys, Lord Byron’s Mistress (JST). Music for plays include: The Nightingales (Theatre

Royal Bath & UK Tour) Reel Life (Ustinov- Bath & St James) Dark Tourism (Park Theatre), The Autumn Garden; On Approval; St Johns Night; Mother Adam (JST). Arrangements include: The Nightingales (Theatre Royal Bath) West End Recast (Duke of Yorks & Phoenix), Sarah Brightman’s Classics.

Richy Hughes – Lyrics & Script

Richy’s credits include Superhero (Southwark Playhouse); Mr Popper’s Penguins (Criterion, New Victory, UK and US tours) and A Song Cycle For Soho (Soho Theatre). Awards: 2018 Off-West-End Award for Best New Musical (for Superhero), Stiles and Drewe Prize (for “Don’t Look Down” from Superhero) and the 2017 Xmas Factor All Stars Prize for Best New

Christmas Song (for “The Beautiful Game”). Richy is a member of the Book, Music & Lyrics workshop, London. He is massively supported and inspired by his wife, Nikki, and his children Jessica and Harry.

www.richyhughes.com

Yvonne Stone – Puppet Design

Yvonne studied puppetry at the Central School of Speech and Drama and is a puppet designer, director, maker and puppeteer. Theatre credits include Warhorse, Nation and His Dark Materials for the National Theatre; Room on the Broom and Gruffalo’s Child for Tall Stories; Frankenstein for Blackeyed Theatre; Rubbish and Mojo for Theatre Rites; Alice for Metta Theatre; and Disney’s The Lion King. She also designed and fabricated the puppets for the National Theatre’s

Jubilee Tribute. TV work includes Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance for Netflix; Pompidou by Matt Lucas for BBC2; Mongrels for BBC3; and Space Pirates, Doodle Do and Mr Bloom’s Nursery for CBeebies.

Ric Mountjoy – Lighting Designer

Ric designs lighting for Theatre and Opera. His work has been seen worldwide: in Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul and Beijing; in Seattle, Dubai and Doha, and most significantly in London and New York City. Recent lighting designs include The Play that Goes Wrong on Broadway & West End; Uncle Vanya (Theatr Clwyd & Sheffi eld Theatres); Darbar Festival (Akram Khan & Sadler’s Wells Theatre); Emancipation of Expressionism (Boy Blue Entertainment, Barbican Theatre & BBC TV); and The Great Gatsby (Theatr Clwyd). For Pins and Needles: Little Mermaid (Theatre Royal Bath); Mr Popper’s Penguins (Seattle,

Minneapolis, New York City). For Kenny Wax Family Entertainment: What the Ladybird Heard (International Tours).

www.ricmountjoy.com

Andy Shaw – Sound Designer

Andy Shaw of Jollygoodtunes has been designing sound and music for theatre since 1997. Recent show highlights include, The Comedy about A Bank Robbery (West End and number one tour); Wilde Creatures (UK and International tour); The Canterville Ghost (UK tour); The Gruffalo (UK and international tours); The Gruffalo’s Child (UK and international tours);

Room on the Broom (UK and International tours); The Snow Dragon (UK and international tours); Emily Brown and The Thing (UK tour); What the Ladybird Heard (UK and international tours); Mr Benn (UK tour) and The Tiger Who Came to Tea

(UK tour and International tours).

John Bulleid – Magic Consultant

John is a Magic Consultant, Actor and Magician. Credits include: Witches of Eastwick (Cirkus, Stockholm); Harry Potter & The Cursed Child (Palace Theatre); The Worst Witch (Northampton/UK Tour/Vaudeville Theatre); A Very Very Dark Matter (Bridge Theatre); #WeAreArrested (RSC/Arcola Theatre); Sherlock Holmes: The Final Curtain (Theatre Royal Bath); The Invisible Man (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch); Beauty and The Beast (Watford Palace); The Star (Liverpool Everyman); Partners In Crime (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch); The Inn at Lydda (Shakespeare’s Globe); Dirty Dancing (Secret Cinema);

Dracula (Paul Ewing Entertainment, Thailand); The Gypsy Thread (National Theatre Studio); The Ladykillers, The Secret Adversary (Watermill Theatre); Thark (Park Theatre).

Kes Gray – Author

Kes Gray is a bestselling, multi award-winning author of more than 70 books for children. He eats Ideaflakes for breakfast, spreads silliness on his toast and lives in a place called Different. Kes was the second bestselling picture book author in Oi Frog!, Oi Dog!, Oi Cat! and Oi Duck-billed Platypus! are a top ten bestselling series. Oi Dog! won the Laugh Out Loud Picture Book Award and was shortlisted for the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Award and the British Book Award, amongst others. It also won the Teach Primary New Children’s Fiction Award, MadeForMums Award, Bishop’s Stortford Picture Book Award and Portsmouth Picture Book Award. Oi Cat! was the Independent Booksellers Children’s Book of the Season and Oi Goat! was the number one bestselling World Book Day book in 2018. Oi Frog! received a Silver Award at the Nielsen Bookscan Awards 2019, and Oi Duck-billed Platypus! was shortlisted for the Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards 2019.

Jim Field – Illustrator

Jim Field is a lead-driven, pencil-pushing, 25-framesper-second Led Zeppelin fan. He is also a hugely talented illustrator and animation director. His first picture book Cats Ahoy! won the Booktrust Roald Dahl Funny Prize and was nominated for the Kate Greenaway award. He has since illustrated a string of bestselling, multi-award-winning children’s books, including Oi Frog! and The Lion Inside, as well as young fiction series Rabbit and Bear. Jim is the 5^th bestselling illustrator in the UK.

Kenny Wax Family Entertainment – Producer

Kenny Wax Family Entertainment is renowned for producing some of the best family theatre in the West End and on tour in the UK and worldwide. Productions include: What the Ladybird Heard, Around the World in 80 Days and the Olivier Award nominated (‘Best Family Entertainment’) stage adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson’s Hetty Feather. They have also had great success with We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Mr Popper’s Penguins and The Worst Witch adapted from Jill Murphy’s original book series. In 2020 they will bring The 13-Storey Treehouse to the UK stage General management includes: Tall Stories Theatre Company’s The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo’s Child and the Olivier award nominated Room on the Broom.

THE COMPANY

Frog: Robin Hemmings

Dog (cover Frog): Darren Seed

Cat: Lucy Tuck

Cheetah (cover Dog): Simon Yadoo

Understudy/ASM (cover Cheetah & Cat): Rebecca Ayres

Company Stage Manager: Lucy Barker-Dale

Direction and Script: Emma Earle

Design and Script: Zoe Squire

Music and Script: Luke Bateman

Lyrics and Script: Richy Hughes

Puppet Design: Yvonne Stone

Lighting Designer: Ric Mountjoy

Sound Designer: Andy Shaw

Magic Consultant: John Bulleid

Costume Props Maker: Chris Barlow

Wardrobe Supervisor: Louise Smith

Animation: Edward Vosper & Iina Kuula

Production Manager: Nick May

FOR KENNY WAX FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT

Producer: Kenny Wax

Executive Assistant to Kenny Wax: Jennifer Amey

General Manager: Siobhan Higgins

General Manager (maternity cover): Emily McDonald

Press and Marketing Manager: Nat Habety

Business Operations Manager: Lettie Graham

Tour Booker: Kelly Bulled

Tour Booking Assistant: Tim Hennessy

Production Coordinator: Fiona Bradley

Marketing Coordinator: Sarah O’Hanlon

Marketing Coordinator (maternity cover): Zoe Jackson

Marketing & Production Assistant: Katie Wilmore

Marketing & Production Intern: Magdalene Dorling

Graphic Design: Amanda Sutton

Bookkeeping: Richard Brundle

Production Accountants: Michael Collins

& Lois Hargeaves for Collins & Company

Insurance: Michael Israel & Robert Israel

for Gordon & Co

Transport: CEG