RACHELKATHRYN LLOYD

(Di)

 

RachelKathryn Lloyd moved to Luxembourg in 2011 whereupon she attended the Athénée de Luxembourg and immediately took part in the annual Kolléisch in Concert production. Since then, she has participated in various English theatre shows in Luxembourg, mainly with Pirate Productions and BGT. Her first non-school show was Oliver! the Musical in 2015 in joint production with Pirates Productions and New World Theatre. She then did Harlem Hotel in 2016, Showtime and Lost in the stars in 2017, Young Frankenstein in 2018 and Melusina the Pantomime in 2019. She first worked with BGT doing makeup and hair for A Christmas Carol in 2016 and then acted in June Lowery’s Best of Men, Worst of Men in 2020 followed by the mid-Covid show The Coronavirus Chronicles in 2021Most recently she played “IVY” in We Happy Few at Neimënster in December last year. She recently finished a Bachelors of Arts and Humanities in Creative Writing and Music as well as received her Première Mention with distinction in Opera at the Conservatoire de Luxembourg. She is currently studying at the University of Amsterdam. 

 

CÉLINE PLANATA

(Viv)

 

Classically trained, Céline has worked on pieces ranging from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to the contemporary play Permanent Collection.

Céline is proudly a Luxembourgish-Americanactress who is completing her education at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in
New York and Los Angeles. Through the production of her own short films, she is also finding her voice as a screenwriter.

Céline is thrilled to be in her fourth BGT production after having also appeared in Wolves Are Coming For You,

The Last Word In Murder and Picnic at Hanging Rock.

 

LINA PELLER

(Rose)

 

Lina Peller is a Luxembourgish actress who is currently working in Münich, having graduated in Drama and Sociology from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität there. Her interest in theatre found its beginning during her first drama lessons, led by Tony Kingston. Soon after, she applied for the Conservatoire de Luxembourg, where she took part in acting, improvisation and diction classes. Notable spoken theatre and film performances include: WITCH HUNT by Stuart Arden and SELFIE by Bradley Hayward directed by Tony Kingston; LADY WINDERMERE'S PHONE at the Theatre National du Luxembourg, DIE PLANETEN at the Philharmonie Luxembourg and her film work in LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS (Dividante Films).

Alongside her acting experience, Lina was able to gain operating and design experience during her internship in the Münchner Kammerspiele, where she assisted in the costume design for both TIEFER SCHWEB by Christoph Marthaler and MITTELREICH by Anta Helena Recke.  In 2019 she designed the first BGT summer project, WOLVES ARE COMING FOR YOUwhich was  her first commission as the sole costume designer for a show. In 2020 she returned to the stage, co-starring in  DAVID'S REDHAIRED DEATH and last year performed the one-woman show THE ROAD TO HUNTSVILLE, both for the BGT.

 

TONY KINGSTON

(Director)

Tony did his M.A. at St Andrews University in the mid-1980s. Since starting work as a director with Foundation Theatre on the London Fringe in 1986, he has directed over 100 shows. He moved to Berlin in 1989 with his wife June, where they co-founded the BGT English Theatre Company in 1991. The BGT became a regular feature on the off-theatre circuit there, performing a wide range of plays by English-language authors. In the early 2000s the company began visiting Luxembourg on a regular basis and since 2006  has been based exclusively in Luxembourg. Tony splits his time between running multiple theatre classes in schools around Luxembourg and directing for the BGT. Through his work in schools here, he has become convinced of the high level of theatrical ability among young people and is committed to promoting new and promising talent through the BGT.  In 2018 he co-founded the “Festival of English Language School Theatre” (FEST)  and is currently chair of the organising committee for the event (https://www.fest.lu/). In recent years, he has also become a strong advocate of putting women centre stage, promoting work by women writers and producing plays which feature mainly or exclusively female actors. Recent examples of this are Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Best Of Men - The Worst Of Men,  David's RedHaired Death, The Road to Huntsville and  We Happy Few. Di and Viv and Rose is the latest show on this theme and he is excited to be working again with such a talented team of female performers.   

 

FERELITH KINGSTON

(Assistant Director)

Ferelith studied at the European School, Luxembourg, did her BA  in Musical Theatre at Portsmouth in the UK and has just completed her MA in Theatre Practice, focusing on Directing, at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin. She has worked as both director and Assistant Director on a variety of projects such as the musical “All Shook Up, the operetta “Orpheus In The Underworld”, and the recent BGT productions of “The Coronavirus Chronicles” and "The Road To Huntsville". As the co-founder of Swell Theatre Company she had hoped to bring the original musical Double Date! The Musical, which she co-wrote, to the 2020 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, but thids was cut short by COVID. She wrote and directed the short online play “Rehearsal Etiquette” for the virtual version of the Edinburgh Festival in 2020n and this piece was revived for The Corona Virus Chronicles in February 2021. More recently she has directed "Pizza" for the UCD drama festival, "The Good Guy?" (which she also wrote) at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin and was Assistant Director for "Showering" at the Tara Theatre in London. She plans to return to Dublin to continue theatre directing this autumn.

 

CATRIONA GILLHAM

(Lighting)

 

 

Catriona first got a taste for the world of theatre not long after her arrival in Luxembourg, in 2015, when she played a desperate cockney strawberry seller in 'Oliver!', with Pirates Productions. There was no getting rid of her after that: she has been elbowing her way into pretty much everything she can since then, whether onstage or backstage in the lighting booth, with the BGT, Pirates Productions, or NWTC. Her first show with the BGT was June Lowery's adaptation of 'A Christmas Carol' in December 2016, in which she played Scrooge's nephew's wife. She subsequently playyed a multitude of roles in and was Musical Director for the BGT production of "We Happy Few". She relishes the chance to surround herself with more creative people.

Her favourite aspect of designing lighting is reading through the script to analyse the deeper subtleties of a given play's mood, setting and dynamics, and pick out ideal places for random strobe lighting. She also enjoys having the privilege to watch a given production six times in a row from the very back of the hall. She has designed and operated lights for several shows, including the BGT's "The Road to Huntsville" in 2021 and has just finished doing lights for "The Names I Know You By" for 13 Theatre  at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

 

MARC KAYSEN

(Sound)

 

 

An engineer by education, Marc has been working at the junction between technology and the creative arts ever since he moved to New York in 2015 to carry out filming, video editing and website design for various dynamic, young entrepreneurs. Having established a client base there, he then capitalised on the nomadic (online) possibilities provided by that work by travelling through Europe and Asia, before coming back to settle in his native Luxembourg. Since coming back home, he has been involved in the local arts scene as a lighting/sound technician for several shows. He has worked on both "The Best of Men, The Worst of Men" and  "The Road To Huntsville" for BGT Theatre has just completed doing sound for "The Names I Know You By" for 13 Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  He recently worked with SAMSA Films on the subtitles for a documentary film and is on the creative committees of the Rollingergrund Wind Orchestra and the Festival of English Language School Theatre (FEST). 

 

JOSIE HATCH

(Stage crew)

 

Josie is a student at the International School of Luxembourg, where she has performed in several musicals, including Les Miserables and West Side StoryShe also acted in the play Monsters, which was performed at the 2022 FEST (Festival of English-Language School Theatre). Josie is enrolled in IGCSE theatre and has recieved multiple LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art) awards with distinction. She is currently rehearsing the role of "Audrey" for the ISL production of Little Shop of Horrors which will be perflormed in December.

 

CAELI COLGAN

(Stage crew)

 

Caeli first got involved in theatre in the chorus of Pirates Productions Oliver Twist and Scrooge the Musical. As a member of New World Youth Theatre she featured in shows such as Bertie’s War. In 2021 Caeli was a stagehand for the BGT’s The Road to Huntsville. She performed in March at FEST 2022 with the European School drama group, playing the lead in Dark Road by Laura Smith. Caeli was also part of a workshop directed by Alexander Zeldin at the Grand Theatre developing his new play The Confessions.