Cast & Creative Team
Emily Essery
Frog
Emily is very hoppy to be playing Frog. She trained at East 15 Acting School. She is a puppeteer with skills in aerial silks.
Emily is very hoppy to be playing Frog. She trained at East 15 Acting School. She is a puppeteer with skills in aerial silks. Credits include The Gruffalo’s Child, Tall Stories, International tour. Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 440 Theatre, UK tour. Red Palace, Shotgun Carousel, The Vaults. Dr Dolittle, Music & Lyrics, UK tour. Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs, Les Petits Theatre, UK tour. The Lost Leigh Goose, Wild Story Theatre. Bobbin, Tea Break Theatre, Little Angel Theatre & UK Tour. Alice’s Adventures Underground, Les Enfants Terribles, The Vaults. Plan B, The Globe. Boris & Sergey, Flabbergast Theatre, International tour.
Sarah Palmer
Frog
Sarah is from the West Midlands. She received a BA(Hons) degree in Writing, Directing and Performance at the University of York, before training in Acting at Drama Studio London.
Sarah is from the West Midlands. She received a BA(Hons) degree in Writing, Directing and Performance at the University of York, before training in Acting at Drama Studio London. Sarah has been working internationally for the last 3 years with the English Theatre Company, performing all over Europe with various productions that include: A Bit of A Hitch, The Curious Adventures of Jack Todd & Stand Up. UK Theatre credits include: The Giant’s Loo Roll (Arts Theatre West End, UK Theatre Tour), Father Christmas Needs A Wee! (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Don't Dribble On The Dragon R&D (Nick Lane & The People's Theatre Company), Anne of Green Gables (Midlands Arts Centre), Much Ado About Nothing (Ludlow Assembly Rooms), Jekyll and Hyde (The Barons Court Theatre) Screen credits include: Billy Fibber (Short), Kelly & The Curious Pink Rabbit (Short), 40 Odd Days (Limited series) Sarah also works regularly as a Voice Artist, and has provided the narration for Commercials on TV and radio: Cillit Bang, Fisher Price, Badi UK. She has also voiced internationally distributed documentaries. Sarah is delighted to be playing the role of Frog, especially after reading the story to her niece. She can't wait to hop into action!
Rebecca Ayres
Cat
Rebecca is looking forward to bringing her purr-spective to the role of Cat. She trained at The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama.
Rebecca is looking forward to bringing her purr-spective to the role of Cat. She trained at The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama. Theatre credits include: Oi Frog! & Friends as Understudy/ ASM (West End and UK Tour 2019/20); Dick Whittington as Tabby the Cat (The Wilde Theatre); Teletubbies Live as Facilitator/Understudy Sam (UK tour); Animalphabet 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.
Jake Addley
Dog
Jake couldn’t resist the op-paw-tunity to play Dog. He trained at The Brit School Of Performing Arts.
Jake couldn’t resist the op-paw-tunity to play Dog. He trained at The Brit School Of Performing Arts. Credits include: Aladdin, Snow White (South Hill Park), Mother Courage (UK Tour), Teechers (UK Tour), One Fine Day (5*- nominated for the Actors Excellence Award; Edinburgh Festival), Animalphabet (UK Tour/Edinburgh Festival), Cartoon Network (International tour), The Gruffalo’s Child (West End, UK & International tour), The Gruffalo (West End, UK & International tour). TV credits include Oliver Powell in BBC’S Doctors, PC Chaplin in Deep Cuts. Jake has also appeared in an array of commercials.
Christopher Dobson
Cheetah
Christopher also struggles having a full name that doesn’t rhyme particularly well, and is still trying to work out where he should sit! Christopher trained at the University of East Anglia.
Christopher also struggles having a full name that doesn’t rhyme particularly well, and is still trying to work out where he should sit! Christopher trained at the University of East Anglia. Credits include the UK No.1 tour of In The Night Garden Live (Minor Entertainment), Shaun The Sheep's Mossy Bottom Farm Show (Aardman and SGA Productions), NewsRevue (Canal Cafe Theatre), Shakespeare for Breakfast (C Theatre), Boris and Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure (Flabbergast Theatre) and Bobbin (Tea Break Theatre).
Chloe Wilson
Company Stage Manager
Chloe is a recent Stage Management graduate from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Chloe is a recent Stage Management graduate from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Her previous credits include Company Stage Manager on Straight White Men (Southwark Playhouse), Stage Manager on Liminal, Clean @ 17 and Death & Death (Kings Head Theatre) and Juliet & Romeo (The Gatehouse), Assistant Stage Manager on L’Enfant Prodigue and Passion, Poison & Petrifaction (Susie Sainsbury Theatre, Royal Academy of Music). While studying, her credits include: Stage Manager for The Wolves/Colossal Double Bill and Deputy Stage Manager on Spring Awakening. Chloe is very excited to be touring for the first time with Oi Frog & Friends Live.
Luke Bateman
Director of Remount, Composer & Adapter
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.
Emma Earle
Original Director & Adapter
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.
Richy Hughes
Lyricist & Adapter
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
Zoe Squire
Designer & Adapter
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
Yvonne Stone
Puppet Designer
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 signifi cantly 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 Mer maid (Theatre Royal Bath); Mr Popper’s Penguins (Seattle, Minneapolis, New York City). For Kenny Wax Family Entertainment: What the Ladybird Heard (International Tours).
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 2018.
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 5th 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. Based on the books by Kes Gray and Jim Field published by Hachette Children’s Group
THE COMPANY
Frog: Emily Essery/Sarah Palmer
Cat: Becky Ayres
Dog: Jake Addley
Cheetah: Christopher Dobson
Company Stage Manager: Chloe Wilson
Technical Assistant Stage Manager: Cormac O’Brien
Director of Remount, Composer and Adapter: Luke Bateman
Original Director and Adapter: Emma Earle
Lyricist and Adapter: Richy Hughes
Designer and Adapter: Zoe Squire
Puppet Designer: 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
General Manager (Maternity Leave): SIOBHAN HIGGINS
General Manager: EMILY MCDONALD
Acting General Manager: FIONA BRADLEY
Head of Marketing: NAT HABETY
Senior Marketing Coordinator: SARAH O’HANLON
Marketing Coordinator: ZOE JACKSON
Social Media and Content Designer: ELIZA LARKEY
Production Assistant: SUSANNAH JACOBS
Tour Booker (Maternity Leave): KELLY BULLED
Tour Booker: TIM HENNESSY
Graphic Designer: AMANDA SUTTON
Interim Financial Controller: ZULY BAEZ
Management Accountant: ROB LEWTAS
Accounts Assistant: NATALIE GIES
Accounts Assistant: VICENTE CASANA
Production Accounts: MICHAEL COLLINS & LOIS HARGREAVES on behalf of Collins & Co
Financial Consultant on behalf of RCNA Partnership Ltd: RICHARD BRUNDLE
Consultant: SACHA BROOKS