In and Out of Chekhov's Shorts at Southwark Playhouse Borough

After studying for a degree in English Language and Literature at Christ Church, Oxford, Eliot trained as an actor at the Guildford School of Acting. Over the past 30 years he has worked as an actor in Theatre, Film, T.V. and Opera while also creating his own work, devising and developing projects as a Theatre-maker and working as a freelance Theatre Director. As Artistic Director of Dragonboy Productions, he brings this experience together to focus on creating and developing new work for the theatre. Recent work for Dragonboy Productions includes national tours of Tales from a Thousand and One Nightswhich he wrote and directed and In and Out of Chekhov’s Shorts which toured to 27 theatres across the country. Eliot also played the role of Prospero in The Tempest - which he adapted and created with the Spanish company, Le Tendre Amour. The show opened the International Festival of Theatre in Malaga and subsequently played in France at the Théâtre de L'Oulle, Avignon and the Palace of Versailles as part of Festival Mois Moliere. It was performed at the Abbaye de Neumünster in Luxembourg as part of the British Council's Shakespeare Lives programme and at the International festival of theatre in Alaca, Madrid, the Teatro Real Coliseium Carlos III in El Escorial, the Auditori l´Atlàntida in Vic and at the Auditori Sant Cugat in Barcelona. The production was subsequently nominated for the Gran Premio de España de Artes Escénicas. Eliot directed Blackeyed Theatre's productions of Frankenstein, The Great Gatsby, Dracula and Not About Heroes, all of which toured nationally. For Armonico Consort he directed Baroque Around the Block and Monteverdi's Flying Circusas well as a production of West Side Story that played at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry. Other directing credits include The Imperfect Pearl for Latimer Productions about the life of the Baroque composer Domenico Zipoli, the world premier of Knackerman by Rosanna Negrotti (White Bear Theatre) and Stephen Sharkey’s minaturist piece Retrospective (Arcola Theatre).

Tom is an artist and producer based at Prime Studios in Windsor, UK. He is delighted to be revisiting his music for In And Out Of Chekhov's Shorts. As a composer, his recent work includes 'Sports Change The World' film Mighty Penguins, which made the BAFTA long list for Best British Short Film. His original score for Oh What A Lovely War is currently on a national tour with Blackeyed Theatre, in a production nominated for four Off West End awards, making the final in one category. His other work includes two albums of original jazz, The Winter Giant (Beautiful Creatures and Battle Festival), The Other Side Of Me (Alleyne Dance), Call Of The Bells (Reading Borough Council), pro-EU fanfare The Schuman Declaration (Onyx Brass), Henry V and The Tempest (South Hill Park) and Three Songs Of Charlotte Mew. Tom's audio production work has received BBCand Jazz FM airplay; clients include Florence + The Machine support artist Sophie Henderson, an EP for Thomas Heppell which charted in the UK Blues Top 20, and recently singer-songwriter Jez Gent. Other recordings include Time To Talk (Sue Ryder and Circus Scene) and Old Heads On Young Shoulders (Greg Mayston’s Folk, Blues & Americana). Upcoming work includes narrating Stan Tracey's Under Milk Wood Jazz Suite, writing a new play The IPCC Report, and managing The EHP Barnard Poetry Prize. www.tomneill.ltd

Claire studied Mathematics at Oxford before starting her career as a lighting designer. Her credits include Tales from a Thousand and One Nights (Dragonboy Productions/UK Tour), the UK and international tours of Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Blackeyed Theatre), and the UK tours of I Am Beast, Killing Roger and The Girl With No Heart (Sparkle and Dark), The Snowsmith, Boulder and Under the Frozen Moon (Half a String), The Tempest (Thick as Thieves), Revenge(Crime and Comedy Theatre Company), The Shipwrecked House(Penned in the Margins) and The Just So Stories (Red Table Theatre). Other lighting designs include 100 Years and Push (Popelei Theatre), Humane (True Name Productions), Kaj Nazar (London Armenian Opera), Invisible Me (House of Stray Cats), As One and Imoinda (Lontano), Zaryab (Toos Foundation), Mozart vs Machine (Mahogany Opera Group), Robin Hood (The Opera Story), Rudolf (Pins and Needles), Iolanthe(Charles Court Opera), The Barrier (Earwig Arts), 1000 Songs (Pinch Punch), Venus/Mars (act up) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Cornucopia). Lighting designs for dance productions include Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Alice - Wonderland Through the Looking Glass and Dracula - Welcome to D's (Chantry Dance Company) and NowHere and Forgot Your Password? (Divya Kasturi).

Victoria trained at Bretton Hall where she received a first class honours in Theatre design and technology. Over the last 25 she has been lucky enough to work on various theatre productions for both touring companies, outdoor theatre, youth theatre, in house productions at South Hill Park, and a variety of Pantomimes in various theatres around England, - winning best Set design at the Great British pantomime awards. A small selection of productions she has designed ranging from plays, musicals and pantomimes are : Dragonboy Productions: In and Out of Chekhov’s Shorts and Tales from a Thousand and One Nights. For Others: Just So, Calendar Girls, James and the Giant Peach, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Noughts and Crosses, Brassed Off, Fantastic Mr Fox, Oliver!, Henry V, House and Garden, The Wizard of Oz,The Adventures of MrToad, Summer Holiday, and Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, Jack and the Beanstalk, Dick Whittington, Cinderella and Snow White. The Great Gatsby, Teechers, Frankenstein, Dracula, Not About Heroes..... There are many others but the list will get dull to read! I have loved them all and am forever thankful people ask me to design their productions.