Arcadia: Meet Paul, Down to Earth

It’s our final Meet the Actor – and that must mean it’s nearly Christmas! We’ve been rehearsing for twelve weeks and showcased twelve actors, who will be spending their Christmas break learning lines between bits of shiny wrapping paper.

Paul, last but not least, is playing the part of Richard Noakes. He has big gardening plans for Sidley Park, much to the chagrin of Lady Croom. He has made appearances in multiple Monstrous Productions’ performances, as well as our first production, ‘The Truth’.

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Arcadia: Meet Josh, Quietly Brilliant

Josh will be taking up the role of Gus Coverly as well as his ancestor, Augustus Coverly, in ‘Arcadia’!

Josh is no stranger to the stage, performing as many a panto villain with St. Peter’s Players, as well as well-received performances in Monstrous Productions’ ‘Going Postal’,‘Guards! Guards!’, ‘The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents’ and in Peculiar’s first production, ‘The Truth’, as Goodmountain the dwarf.

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Arcadia: Meet Tony, a Poetic Soul

Tony Beard is our featured actor this week, playing the curiously naive Ezra Chater.

Tony has graced the stage before in Peculiar Production’s ‘The Truth’.Beyond this, we have seen him with Monstrous Productions in various roles and performances, from ‘Witches Abroad’ to ‘Guards! Guards!’, in the Whovians and as part of Newport Operatic Society’s ‘Chess‘, ‘A Christmas Carol’ and others!

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Arcadia: Meet Terrance, Butler in the Know

Our featured actor this week is lovely Terrance, playing eyes and ears of Sidley Park, the butler Jellaby, in ‘Arcadia’.

With Monstrous Productions Terrance played roles such as Mr Vitoller in ‘Wyrd Sisters’, and in our August show ‘The Truth’ was the shady Lord de Worde. He also uses his talents behind the scenes with Watchers Productions, writing and producing for them in addition to occasional on-screen acting.

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Arcadia: Meet Ellen, Regal Powerhouse

The days are getting colder and the evenings are getting darker, so get cosy and read about Ellen, Arcadia’s powerhouse Lady Croom. Ellen directed our first Peculiar show, ‘The Truth’. Previously she has been seen on stage with Progress Theatre in Reading, before moving to Cardiff and performing in several Act One Drama Society and Monstrous Productions shows.

One of her more memorable roles with Monstrous Productions was no-nonsense Granny Weatherwax – for ‘Arcadia’ Ellen has lost a lot of the wrinkles, but none of the attitude!

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Arcadia: Meet Chris, Dashingly Dignified Captain

Last night we had our first weekday rehearsal, and our first workshop. We did lots of character work and learnt a lot about Captain Brice, played excellently by Christopher Maxwell.

Chris is a very talented gentleman who can be seen on both stage and screen: he was in Sketchy AF with Watchers Productions, took part in Dramatic Moose’s first production ‘Abandoned’, and he joined Monstrous Productions as Corporal Carrot in ‘Guards! Guards!’ – he clearly enjoys a military title!

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Arcadia: Meet Katya, No-Nonsense Academic

We are halfway through our introductions to our cast – that means we are halfway to the Christmas break! Today we meet our Russian wonder Katya, playing feisty feminist author Hannah Jarvis. Katya played Angua in our production of ‘The Truth’ in August, as well as joining Monstrous Productions for six shows.

The question is, was she cuter as Nourishing in ‘The Amazing Maurice’, or as “Egyptian Girl No. 3” in her year 6 school production of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat?’ Perhaps we could find some photos...

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Arcadia: Meet Lowri, Social Butterfly

This week, meet our Hamilton-loving half-pint Lowri. She will be playing Chloë, a young woman fascinated with dressing up, socialising, and ruling the roost. You are likely to have seen Lowri as Magrat in ‘Wyrd Sisters’ and ‘Witches Abroad’ with Monstrous Productions, with whom she also leapt around the stage as the Librarian in ‘Guards Guards’. Children the world over love her energy, which is great since she will be starting Early Years teacher training next June! We couldn’t be prouder.

Although Chloë and Lowri are very alike, we fully believe Lowri is a million times sweeter and more caring – will Chloë make a monster out of her?!

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Peculiar Slice: Arcadia’s Stage Manager

Meet the team kneading and proving Peculiar’s next production, Arcadia, ready to rise to the stage in February 2019!

Who are you and what you got cookin?

I’m Vicki, Stage Manager, and I’ll be cooking up anything the crew want to keep them working hard! I’ll be lurking backstage making sure that everything onstage runs smooth as butter.

What ingredients do you need as Stage Manager and what gets your taste-buds tingling the most?

I will be running backstage making sure the actors are where they should be and props are all in order. You need a lot of sugar to get things done, a pinch of salt in case they aren’t, and a glob of sticky toffee for when there’s too much noise backstage!

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Arcadia: Meet Loz, Charming Intelli-Gentleman

This week meet lovely Loz, the delightful man playing charming Septimus Hodge in Arcadia. Also known as Lawrence Quilty in his more creative pursuits, Loz has astounded us with his many acting roles in the past with Act One (the Cardiff University Drama Society), Monstrous Productions, and many, many others.

On top of the ten acting roles he has filled in the space of five years, Loz also occasionally directs – we have found that he is just as talented as the character he is playing.

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