Katy Brooke-Bullard - Agave/Storyteller/Woman/Nymph

Katy also made her storytelling roles highly interesting and engaging, and her and Joe formed a good on-stage relationship that enabled the audience to relate more with these characters. As Agave, her madness was palpable, and again, her pairing with Joe helped greatly. Katy is wonderfully committed and a truely great person to work with.

Katy has acted in "Oleanna" (Directed and Produced by Hannah and Katy) and is a third year English Student.

Joe Watson - Pentheus/Storyteller/Man

Joe mastered his storytelling roles wonderfully - bringing real character to what could be very dull and passionless roles. As Pentheus he wa one of the highlights of the performance, wowing audiences with his bombastic speach and his attention grabbing antics. He was a daring and adventerous member of the team, and a real proffessional.

Joe has also acted in "The Crucible" and "Othello" for Warwick Drama. He is a third year English and Creative Writing student.

Rose Biggin - Myrrha/Echo

Rose made the perfect schoolgirl. And the perfect Echo. She's a brilliant actress, and is really able to grab the attention of the audience for her absurdly long speeches! She's a busy girl, but she worked so hard, and was a brilliant member of the team!

Rose is a first year English and Theatre Studies student. She has also acted in Warwick Drama's "My name is Rachel Corrie".

Tom Steward - Midas/Cynras/Opheltes/Pandion

Tom plays so many parts in this play, and makes them all his own. He is a truely proffessional and highyl talented actor, and it is an absolute honour to work with him. He is wonderful at keeping everyone organised, and can be trusted to always work his absolute hardest. His parts may be fairly small, but they are many, and the grasp that he has on every single one of them is nothing short of genius.

Tom has acted and work at Edinburgh for several years. He acted in "Oleanna" (Directed and Produced by Katy and Hannah). He is a Film Studies PhD student.

Sam Kinchin - Smith - Narcissus/Acoetes/Silenus

Sam is Narcissus.

He is very able to relate to the trials of his characters, and to understand their dilemas. His speach at the end of the play is one of the most moving points of play, and the situation in which he has to give it, is a great show of his acting abilities and his easy grasp of language means he speaks his lines with a gracious ease. He is highly entertaining to work with, and is a dedicated member of the team.

Sam is a first year English and Creative Writing student.

Bruce Dean - Tiresias/Nurse

Bruce played the all knowing, all seeing, blind Tiresias. And the Nurse. He presided over the mythical tales, taking over a great deal of the storytelling. He made what could be quite a tedious character highly interesting and entertaining. As the Nurse, he got the biggest laughs from the audience, and constantly had the cast in fits of laughter in rehearsals!

Bruce is also in many ways a member of the crew - we simply would not have got through this production without his help, and his patience with the shower curtaina dn his knowledge of lighting!

Bruce is a first year Chemistry student.

Sam Smith - Bacchus/Hermaphroditus/Itys

Sam played the menacing, fun loving and debauched God of wine and actors - Bacchus. He presided over his scenes stood high on the bed in a glaring spotlight, his shadow cast dangerously onto the back wall of the set. He spoke his lines with a chishish humour and manipulative innocence, bringing a truely dark side to this often comic figure. Then, as Itys, he got his head ripped off by his Aunt. It is disturbing how quickly Sam could change from playing the God Bacchus to playing a two year old, sucking at his plastic dinosaurs and needing a cuddle from his Mummy!

Sam is a second year English student.

James Marvin - Ted Hughes/Jupiter/Tereus/Lycabus

James played the lead role in "Ovid" to great acclaim; people throughly enjoyed being intimidated, shocked, and moved by his character, who loved his wife, but just couldn't keep his hands to himself, and had a tendancy to turn into a raunchy sailor (as Lycabus!). James treated Hughes' character with great respect and had a very clear understanding of the poet's mindset and motivations in the play.

James has previously been in Warwick Drama's production of "Othello", and is presently starring in "The Winslow Boy", also for Warwick Drama. Interestingly he is seeing another side of the "Ovid" story by playing a character in an Art Centre production of Timberlake's "Love of a Nightingale". James is a second year English and Theatre Studies student.

Gwen Kent - Arachne/Salamacis/Ino

Why hello! I'm Gwen and I'm studying English and Creative Writing. In this particularly delicious production I am transformed into a spider, assist in ripping a man who has been transformed into a boar into pieces, and try to seduce a boy, but end up merging with him and turning into a hermaphrodite - not the best end to a date.

I've been in a number of productions prior to Ovid - mostly ensemble work adapting literature to the stage.

Sandra Schira - Semele/Philomela/Autone

Hi, I am Sandra and I am at Warwick University as an exchange student from Germany. Having been part of this play has definetely been one of the most exciting, interesting and unforgettable experiences of my year in England.

I have also been in "No Man's Land" at the Warwick Arts Centre.

Katy Whitehead - Director/ General Thinktank

I have been acting since the age of three and have performed in several venues including The Everyman and Bacon Theatres, Cheltenham; The Bristol Old Vic, and Mountview Theatre Academy, London. Since attending university I have acted in a varied selection of productions, including The Crucible and Othello, and have been workshop coordinator for weekly drama sessions for groups of between 15 and 30 students across disciplines. This is my second production at Warwick as director, the first being Oleanna which played to successful audiences in May 2006. I am currently pursuing my varied interests in literary and cultural theory, sex journalism, board game manufacture and novel writing. I share a house with six other creative writers including four members of the Cast and Crew, and no cats.

Claire Trevien - Sylvia Plath/Juno/Procne/Minerva

Heya, I'm Claire and my character tremedously enjoys: swinging, having sex, having more sex, transforming Myrrha into a tree, being a lewd sailor, ripping Pentheus to shreds and eating his entrails, burning Semele, weaving, transforming minerva into a spider, being various dirty old women, ripping my lovely son and cooking him, and finally, dying.

I was also in Edinburgh last year with Slingshot Theatre's "The 'It' Girls".

Crew List

Katy Whitehead - Director
Hannah Pidsley - Producer
Martha Greengrass - Costume Designer and Maker
Karl Niklas, Joe Lawson, Joe Phipps, Tim Franklin - Special Effects Team
Tim Leach - Stage Manager
Niki Seth - Smith - Musical Director
Sholeh Johnston - Singer
Paul Tavner - Publicity
Joe Tait, Adam Wilbourne - Lighting and Sound

Cast List

James Marvin Ted Hughes/Jupiter/Lycabus/Tereus

Claire Trevien Sylvia Plath/Juno/Minerva/Procne

Bruce Dean Tiresias/Nurse

Sam Smith Bacchus/Hermaphroditus/Itys

Gwen Kent Arachne/Salmacis/Ino

Sam Kinchin-Smith Acoetes/Narcissus/Silenus

Sandra Schira Semele/Philomela/Autone

Tom Steward Midas/Cinyras/Opheltes/Pandion

Rose Biggin Tiresias(female)/Myrrah/Echo

Joe Watson Pentheus/Storyteller/Man

Katy Brooke-Bullard Agave/Storyteller/Nymph/Woman

Hannah Pidsley - Producer

I'm Hannah, the producer of Ted Hughes' Ovid. I found the script to this play in the "reduced items" bin at the RSC shop in Stratford, and bought it for 99p. I've always loved Ovid's Metmorphoses, and so when I read this script, I adored it straight away! I asked if any of my friends were interested in directing it, and Katy said she would... One night, very late when we'd both been at a party, she told me she had a concept: frame it by telling the story of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath... I knew immediatly it would work, and that if anyone could pull it off, it was Katy...

I've loved doing this play; we have a wonderful cast and a great crew, and we've just had so much fun!

I have also produced Othello and Oleanna for Warwick Drama.