I’m Not Being Funny

Piers Black

Writer

Piers Black is a writer and director, and Artistic Director of award-winning Ransack Theatre. His play My Dad Hunts Bears was a finalist for the Papatango Prize and developed on attachment at the National Theatre Studio. His show Catching Comets was nominated for a Fringe First, won an OffComm Award, and toured nationally following its Edinburgh Fringe premiere. He won the BBC Alfred Bradley Bursary Award with his radio play Human Resources, later broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as Drama of the Week.

Other work has been staged at HighTide, the Royal Exchange, HOME and the Bolton Octagon. He has been invited to the Soho Theatre Writers’ Lab and BBC Northern Voices, shortlisted for the Kudos Writers’ Award, and named a finalist in the Shore Script Short Film competition.

As a director, Piers has worked at the National Theatre, Almeida, Royal Exchange, Lyric Hammersmith, HOME, The Yard and Theatre503. He is currently developing new work with the National Theatre Studio and The Lowry, and will direct at Soho Theatre later this year.

Bryony Shanahan

Director

Bryony Shanahan is a freelance theatre director. Between 2019-2023 she was Joint Artistic Director of the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, and was recently Associate Director at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh.

Her directing credits for the Royal Exchange include: Bloody Elle, No Pay? No Way!, Beginning, Let The Right One In, Nora: A Doll’s House, Wuthering Heights, Queens of the Coal Age, Weald, and Nothing. Bloody Elle transferred to the Traverse Theatre, Soho Theatre and the West End (Lyric).

Other directing credits: Standing in the Shadows of Giants, Same Team, Enough (Traverse); Keli (National Theatre of Scotland); Beauty and the Beast (Northern Stage); Trade (Young Vic); Chicken Soup (Sheffield Crucible); Operation Crucible (59E59 NYC, Sheffield Crucible, UK Tour); Bitch Boxer (UK Tour).

Prentice Productions

Producer

Founded by producer Rebecca Prentice, Prentice Productions develops bold new writing across theatre, film, and audio. Often focusing on queer and female-led storytelling, the company is driven to innovate within the arts at a time of limited resources, creating work that is both socially relevant and commercially ambitious.

Theatre credits include: How I Learned to Swim (Paines Plough’s Roundabout, Bristol Old Vic, Brixton House), Jobsworth (Pleasance, Park, with TV development at Brock Media), 30 and Out (Soho, Pleasance London & Edinburgh, Omnibus) and Mermaid (Theatre503).

For screen, credits include House Hunters (screened at BFI Flare and multiple BIFA and BAFTA-qualifying festivals), The Pirate (winner of four awards including Best Story), Driving with Tim (starring Simon Callow), and Game Over (in post-production), alongside two features in pre-production and three scripts in development.

Rebecca Prentice is supported by the MGCFutures Bursary and the Stage One Bursary for New Producers.

Amelia Jane Hankin

Set and Costume Designer

Set & Costume Designer | Amelia Jane Hankin

Amelia trained in Architecture and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art then RSC. Amelia has designed a variety of theatre ranging from new writing, devised, touring theatre, immersive, site-specific, community and theatre for young people. Amelia is an Associate Lecturer at the RCA and co-founded the Office for Speculative Spatial Design in 2020.

 Design includes: Standing in the Shadow of Giants (Traverse); The Crucible, Othello (The Globe); Wolves on Road (Bush); Red Pitch (Soho Place & Bush); Limp Wrist and the Iron Fist, Cinderella (both Brixton House); Mlima’s Tale (Kiln); Richard III (Liverpool Playhouse); Holes (Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds); Let The Right One In, Mountains (Royal Exchange); Drowntown (Barbican), The Night Before Christmas (Leeds Playhouse); The Wave, (This Isn’t) A True Story (both Almeida); Christmas in the Sunshine, The Wolf The Duck and The Mouse (Unicorn); Unknown Rivers (Hampstead); Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads (Chichester Festival); One Under (Graeae), Blue Orange (Birmingham Rep); The Comedy of Errors (RSC); The Fishermen (Trafalgar Studios); Gastronomic (Curious Directive); PowerPlay (Historic Royal Palaces); Good Dog (UK tour); Rudolf (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Fake It ‘Til You Make It (UK & Australian tour); We Are You (Young Vic).

Studio AJH is based in Hackney, London.

Lucía Sánchez Roldán

Lighting Designer

Lucía Sánchez Roldán is a lighting designer working in theatre. She trained in Technical Theatre and Stage Management at RADA after completing a degree in Natural Sciences. She is the joint winner of the 2019 ALD Michael Northen Award for Lighting Design and received the MGCfutures bursary in 2021.

Theatre includes: The Waves; The EU Killed My Dad (Jermyn Street); Vincent in Brixton (Orange Tree); The Manningtree Witches, The Importance of Being Earnest (Mercury, Colchester); Petty Men, Dear Martin, Black el Payaso (Arcola); Angels on the Underground, Girl in the Machine (Young Vic); Radiant Boy, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Walworth Farce (Southwark Playhouse); Bad Lads (Live Theatre / tour); Sisters 360 (Polka); Mog’s Christmas (Royal & Derngate); Bedroom Farce (Queens); Kill Thy Neighbour (Theatre Clwyd & Torch); Papercut (Park); Under Milk Wood (Sherman); The Wonderful World of Dissocia (Theatre Royal Stratford East); Forest Awakens / Code and Dagger, A New Beginning (Kiln); Orpheus Descending (National Theatre of Tirana).

As Associate Lighting Designer: Evita; Hello, Dolly! (London Palladium); The Lehman Trilogy, Stranger Things: The First Shadow; Amélie (West End); Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (International tour); Cabaret (Playhouse); two palestinians go dogging (Royal Court).

Asaf Zohar

Sound Designer & Composer

Asaf studied composition at the Royal College of Music. 

Theatre includes: Ballet Shoes (National Theatre, nominated for Olivier Award – Outstanding Musical Contribution); Victoria (Watermill); The Estate (National Theatre); Measure for Measure (RSC); The Shitheads (Royal Court); Macbeth (Wessex Grove, UK & US tour); My Mother’s Funeral: The Show (Paines Plough, UK & US tour); God of Carnage (Lyric Hammersmith); The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights (Papatango Prize Winner), Disruption, The Shape of Things, Farewell Mister Haffman (all Park Theatre); The Bleeding Tree, Captain Amazing; Here (Papatango Prize Winner), The Bit-Players; Romeo and Juliet (all Southwark Playhouse); Nanny (Bristol Old Vic); Some Demon (Arcola, Papatango Prize Winner); Waiting for Anya (The Barn); Bright Half Life (King’s Head); Dennis of Penge (Guildhall School of Music and Drama); SORRY, YOU’RE NOT A WINNER (Paines Plough / Bristol Old Vic / Theatre Royal Plymouth); Wild Country (Camden People’s); SESSIONS (Paines Plough / Soho Theatre); The Silence and the Noise (Papatango Theatre Company); Peter Pan Reimagined (Birmingham Rep); Whitewash (Soho); Dennis of Penge (Albany Deptford / Ovalhouse); Peter Pan and the Battle for Neverland (Ruined Theatre); The Goose Who Flew (Half Moon); The Shadowpunk Revolutions (Edinburgh Fringe). 

Television includes: Reggie Yates: Extreme Russia, Race Riots USA, Reggie Yates: Extreme UK, Dispatches: Taliban Child Fighters, Reggie Yates: Extreme South Africa, in addition to in-house work for Virgin Media and various media companies.

Previous film work was shown at Cannes, BAFTA, Edinburgh and Encounters festivals.

Tommy Ross-Williams

Intimacy Director

Tommy Ross-Williams (they/them) came to intimacy direction through their extensive experience in developing safer spaces in the arts and their commitment to embodied practice. They are a BECTU IC Registry Level 2 Intimacy Coordinator and former chair of the IC BECTU branch.

Theatre includes: Broken Glass (Young Vic); Brokeback Mountain, Little Big Things (both @SohoPlace); Two Gentlemen of Verona (RSC); Positive (Southwark Playhouse); Tender (Bush); Glass Menagerie (Rose Theatre Kingston / UK tour); Just For One Day (The Old Vic); As You Like It (Shakespeare’s Globe); Salty Irina  (Roundabout @Summerhall). 

Television includes: Love Is Blind UK; Married at First Sight UK; Honey; Knight of the Seven Kingdoms; I, Jack Wright; Sweetpea; Juice; Slow Horses; Citadel; Outrageous; Human.

Film includes: The Fantastic Four: First Steps; Black Church Bay; Ish; Love and Rage: Munroe Bergdorf.

Fran Cattaneo

Casting Consultant

Fran Cattaneo is a London-based casting director, who has assisted in the offices of Rory Okey, Dan Hubbard and Heather Basten for screen and Harry Blumenau, Lotte Hines at the Donmar Warehouse and Stuart Burt for stage. She recently worked as an Associate with Charlotte Sutton on the New York premiere of Wild Rose.

Theatre includes: 

As Casting Director: Maggots (Bush); Fxfest Readings (Soho); Selina Thompson’s Twine (Yard); The Bleeding Tree directed by Stage Debut-winning Director Sophie Drake (Southwark Playhouse); The Great Privation: How To Flip Ten Cents Into A Dollar (Theatre503).

As Casting Consultant: I’m Not Being Funny; Blackbird Hour; This Might Not Be It (Bush).

Alice Linnane

Associate Producer

Alice Linnane works as Senior Producer at the Gate. Alice is passionate about platforming theatre that speaks to different communities in London. She strives to produce work that is inclusive, accessible and that examines the cross sections between the personal, political, global and local. Previously she was Producer at Cardboard Citizens and has produced work with organisations like the National Theatre, Graeae Theatre Company, The Coronet, Barrowland Ballet and more.

Producer credits include: Bootycandy, Hot In Here, Brassic FM, Wish You Were Here, Scenes from the Climate Era (Gate); Ruff Tuff Cream Puff Estate Agency (Cardboard Citizens); As You Like It (National Theatre – Public Acts).

Harry Fearnley-Brown (New Wolf Productions)

Production Manager

New Wolf Productions are theatrical architects that specialise in harnessing the power of an idea and transforming it into a spectacular and immersive experience. As visual storytellers, New Wolf thrive on pushing the boundaries of traditional Theatre production. Serving the Theatre and Immersive experience markets, New Wolf masterfully connects the dots of a vision to create powerful and compelling stories.

Theatre includes: Diary of a CEO Live (Tour); Allegiance (Charing Cross); Tally’s Blood (UK Tour); Operation Mincemeat, Preludes, Walworth Farce (Southwark Playhouse); Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare North Playhouse); Captain Sandy Live, There’s No Place Like Home (Lyric); Disruption (Park); Education Rita (Perth Theatre and Concert Hall); Snow Queen (Trinity).

Roni Neale

Company Stage Manager

Roni Neale is a stage manager & theatremaker from Dorset, working nationally. 

Theatre includes:

As Stage Manager: Consumed (Lyric Belfast / Park); Romeo and Juliet (Theatre Royal Stratford East); After The Act (Royal Court); My Mother’s Funeral: The Show (Edinburgh Fringe Festival / UK tour / NYC / The Yard); Shanghai Dolls (Kiln); English (RSC / Kiln); Cowbois (RSC / Royal Court); Manic Street Creature (Southwark Playhouse); Housemates Festival (Brixton House); Hungry (Soho / Edinburgh Fringe Festival); Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Hedwig & the Angry Inch (Leeds Playhouse).

Writing credits include: Cinderella (Rose); Laika (rehearsed reading, Camden People’s).

Liza Evers

Stage Management Placement