It won’t be long now before METRO BOULOT-DODO bring their unique brand of creative flair and quirky sense of humour to the infamous story of Hansel and Gretel, as we countdown to the premiere of our first, in-house production; The Twisted Tale of Hansel and Gretel. 

The Twisted Tale of Hansel and Gretel is the first in a series of four Twisted Tales which will be developed over the coming four years, in which learning disabled actors are at the centre of creating and performing in high-quality theatre productions, made for mainstream audiences. After our initial West Midlands tour this spring, Hansel and Gretel aims to tour nationally in 2019. 

 In our latest blog, we get to know the faces behind this colourful and inventive re-staging of the classic fairy tale. Introducing our fabulous cast of The Twisted Tale of Hansel and Gretel. 

Rishard Beckett (Hansel)

People say Rishard is a people magnet and a natural connector. Rishard graduated with a Diploma in Performance from the Central School of Speech and Drama. He played the role of Mikey Wade in the Channel 4’s series ‘No Offence’, has performed his own one man show, ‘Yellow Post It Notes’, and recently co-wrote and co-created ‘Instrumental’ alongside playwright Richard Walls.

His passion for becoming a performer has brought him more than he could ever have imagined: a community in which to grow and flourish. Rishard says: “We need to help people connect, people with and without disabilities, on stage and in life.”

Kimisha Lewis (Gretel)

Kimisha trained at Rose Bruford. Her recent theatre credits include Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (Guildford Shakespeare Company), 4×15 (Sheffield Crucible Theatre), Last Dream (On Earth) (National Theatre of Scotland), Freeman (Strictly Arts Theatre) Three Wise Monkeys (Bush Theatre & RB). Kimisha is also a workshop and movement director at EGO performance company working closely with Alter EGO, an ensemble for young people with learning disabilities.

Jake Jarvis (Witch/Mother)

Jake is an actor, director and practitioner who has recently finished an apprenticeship at Birmingham REP at the Learning & Participation department, having previously completed a Community Arts Apprenticeship with Open Theatre Company. Jake is an accomplished physical theatre performer in both theatre and film, and is developing his skills as a director and story writer. He has performed in several short films including ‘Time Watch’ and ‘Nobody Nose’. Jake is also a skilled drama practitioner and currently works two days a week leading sessions in an SEN unit in a Birmingham school.

 

Luke Greenwood (Father/Chef)

Luke is a skillful actor and physical theatre performer, and is a founding member of Spectra, a performance company that draws on the diverse creativity of its mixed professional and learning disabled community cast to devise multi-sensory theatre. Luke trained in Performing Arts at Queen Alexandra College and Litchfield College and is thrilled to be making his professional debut in Hansel and Gretel. Creative people are often known as thinking outside ‘the box’; Luke believes that for people with learning disabilities, ‘the box’ just doesn’t exist!

Vicki Taylor (Duck)

Vicki loves rainbows! She is studying a Masters of Education in Inclusion and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities at the University of Birmingham. Vicki graduated from Newman University in 2009 with a First Class Honours degree in Drama and Education Studies specialising in Inclusion and Creativity. She is interested in all creative art forms, but her background is drama and poetry. She has vast experience in writing and performing poetry helping her to share experiences with others and helping them relate to different perspectives.

Charles Craggs (Mockingbird)

Charles is a Midlands based Freelance actor-musician and also one of the Artistic Directors of Noctium, a Coventry based Theatre Company. Charles’ interests lie in the creation and development of music and sound. He has worked with companies such as KILN, Stan’s Café, The Fabularium, Talking Birds, Wild Rumpus, Theatre Absolute and Teatr Biuro Podróży.

Nicky Priest (Storyteller)

Nicky is a stand-up comedian, actor and voice actor, public speaker, and Autism advocate. In his own words, he is ‘absolutely batty who has a mild form of Asperger’s Syndrome, which is cool in its own way when you think about because, let’s face it: weird is the new normal! That is of course, if normal exists anymore…’. He recently landed the part of Danny in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of The Seven Acts of Mercy, and is being mentored by Janice Connolly (a.k.a Barbra Nice) in stand up comedy.