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Common Ground Theatre Co. Directors

Pat Whymark trained as an actor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She worked as and actor/singer for ten years, during which time she helped start Eastern Angles Theatre Company. She devised and composed music for seven shows and continued as their Musical Director even after leaving the company. She then began working more extensively as a MD for Wolsey Theatre, Hornchurch Queen’s Theatre, Chester Gateway, Northampton Touring, New Perspectives, Suffolk Youth Theatre, Wolsey Youth Theatre, Romany Theatre Co. (The Ursitory, 2006. Killimengro, 2007), New Angles (Eastern Angles youth theatre - The Hostage, 2005, The Sleeping King, 2007) and Croydon Youth Theatre; with Julian Harries (see below) she has created a hugely successful series of Christmas shows for Eastern Angles. In all, she has been involved in constructing some 40 new plays, dramas, musicals and comedies. Pat now works from home as a voice-over artist; her voice work has included talking books for Dorling Kindersley, Ladybird, Mr Men and Little Miss; TV documentary narration; TV and radio commercials; in-flight TV; corporate narration; and voice prompts and recorded message systems for BT, Onetel, Barclaycard and more. Pat says her best voice-over to date is as the BT landline Operator. She is also the voice of the NHS Swine Flu Helpline.

Julian Harries has worked as actor, writer and director with Eastern Angles, Southwold and Frinton Theatres, besides acting at Hornchurch, old and New Wolsey (most recently in Chorus of Disapproval, and this Christmas as Widow Twankey in Aladdin), Mercury Colchester, Palace Westcliff, Norwich Playhouse, Royal Northampton, Palace Watford and many others.

High points include playing Albany to Ian McKellan’s King Lear (RSC), St. John Rivers/Brocklehurst/Pilot in Jane Eyre (Shared Experience/West End), Pericles in Pericles (NT), “Bel Ami” in The Sensualist (Arts, West End) and working with Arnold Wesker on the world premiere of his Blood Libel (Norwich Playhouse).

TV: Broadside, EastEnders (twice), Doctors, Night & Day, Undercover Heart, London Bridge, To Play the King, Bomber Harris, Strife. Film: Before You Go, King Lear, Leave to Remain, The Kid (Directed by Nick Moran. Released soon).

Writing: several plays for Eastern Angles, most recently The Haunted Commode. For Romany Theatre Co. - The Ursitory, an adaptation of the first ever Romany novel.