by | Oct 14, 2017 | Citizens Theatre, Glasgow
Once again, this “zeitgeist-capturing evocation of hope” was a big hit in Glasgow garnering 4 and 5 star reviews.
“a zeitgeist-capturing evocation of hope”
– The Herald
“Jack Nurse’s production delivers an evening worth remembering”
– The Scotsman
“an intense experience”
– The Times
“powerful”
– Reviews Hub
“a nuanced performance and a powerful one”
– Wee Review
The production was directed by Wonder Fools’ AD Jack Nurse, with acclaimed Scottish actor Andy Clark playing Stefano and me reprising my role as Denise. The design by Alisa Kalyanova included a ton of sand and the sound design was made up of original music played live by Stuart Ramage.
It’s been a privilege for me to experience the journey of this play and explore this role in different parts of the country over the past 2.5 years. The sad fact is of course, that its themes remain as relevant and awful as ever.
Click for event information
by | Jul 14, 2017 | Unicorn Theatre
Singing again! An exciting week of vocal experimentation developing 2 musical pieces with musician and composer Pete Wyer and playwright Mia Chung. Pete and I first worked together back in 2002 on a play called Sea of Silence. This time we looked at a blues version of the Red Riding Hood tale and a sung version of a Korean folk tale.
Click for website of composer Pete M Wyer: http://pmwmusic.com/
Click for New Dramatist website: http://newdramatists.org/mia-chung
by | Apr 1, 2017 | Big Finish, Dr Who
I’m in Dr Who! What an honour. I’d not quite realised how popular a topic of conversation this would be at parties…
A joy to be working with Sylvester McCoy again. The last time we worked together was at the RSC in 2001 with him playing a beaver and me a mermaid. This time he’s the Doctor and I’m the Director of the Eastern Bloc as the world teeters towards nuclear holocaust – unbeknownst to us that there’s a bigger threat from the Silurians.
It was a pleasure to become part of the Dr Who story and to be welcomed into the Big Finish family.
Click for Big Finish: The Silurian Candidate
by | Feb 14, 2017 | Dirty Girls, Musical
Singing! And what an amazing group of people to be singing about. The Dirty Girls of Lesvos is a real NGO doing amazing work and literally cleaning up the mess left behind as a result of the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean.
This musical by Tess Berry-Hart, founder member of advocacy group for refugees Calais Action, explores the work of the Dirty Girls as well as perceptions of humanitarian crises in the Western media through the eyes of those who are going through it and those working at a grassroots level.
The beautiful score incorporates Western musical theatre and pop tunes with pentatonic harmonies and songs sung in Neo Aramaic. Learning the harmonies was a wonderful challenge, and when we got them right they sounded out of this world! We previewed scenes and songs from the piece at the Lush Annual Conference.
Click for link: Tess Berry Hart
Website link: here
by | Dec 14, 2016 | BBC Radio 4, Radio
At last, a chance to play opposite my dear friend Jamie Zubairi! I listened avidly to the first season of the Inspector Chen novels in 2015 so it was exciting to have my own storyline as an old flame of Chen’s in the mystery A Case of Two Cities.
Another secret ambition fulfilled – I was absolutely chuffed when the amazing David Hunter asked me to put on my best Radio 4 voice and read the credits! I felt like Charlotte Green…
BBC Radio 4: Link
by | Jul 14, 2016 | BBC Radio 4, Radio
The Good Listener is a drama created by Fin Kennedy following the lives of GCHQ operatives. This season’s episodes were written by 3 different writers; Fin Kennedy, Hassan Abdulrazzak and Anders Lustgarten with each passing the story baton onto the next.
This season’s plot explores the very real threat of a cyber attack in the UK disrupting the whole country’s infrastructure. I play Katie, an investigative journalist in episode 2 and then Chinese Teacher Fay Yu in episode 3. I felt very star struck playing opposite Owen Teale and teaching him Mandarin!
Episode 2 – ‘Private Lives’ – BBC iPlayer Link
Episode 3 – ‘Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes’ – BBC iPlayer Link
by | Apr 14, 2016 | Aldeburgh, Arcola Theatre, HighTide
March – April 2016 Arcola Theatre
August – September 2016 HighTide, Aldeburgh
This epic play spanning over 60 years of Chinese history from the Maoist revolution to the present day is the culmination of nearly a decade of study and tells the story of the real people.
“A big, ambitious and thought-provoking production” The Guardian
I play Tang, the no-nonsense communist soldier who brings grassroots change to Rotten Peach Village. It is a very moving piece about how people were empowered to create real change for themselves but how corruption and the struggle for power and results led to the famines of the Great Leap Forward and eventually set the nation on the road to extreme capitalism. I felt very humbled to tell these women’s stories and honoured to be part of a production that had so much heart and humour.
The Arcola Theatre and later the Jubilee Hall in Aldeburgh were transformed by Lily Arnold into a Chinese Temple. Take a look at the stunning cast photos by Nobby Clark on the HighTide website.
Thank you to Michael Billington for this breathtaking review: “Louise Mai Newberry is outstanding” (Link)
by | Jan 14, 2016 | Nottingham Playhouse, Play
Nottingham Playhouse (Link)
Continuing my work in topical, political plays I’m thrilled to be part of the cast of this new play exploring the story of the undercover cops deployed to infiltrate political activist groups. The story hit the headlines in 2010 when police officer Mark Kennedy/Mark Stone was unmasked by environmental activists following the aborted protest at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station. Since then, despite the Met police’s policy of ‘neither confirm nor deny’ in relation to the undercover officers (part of the SDS and NPOIU) over 40 years, in November 2015 the Met issued an outright apology to the women who were tricked into having relationships with them. A full inquiry into what happened began in January 2016 and is likely to continue for the next 3 years. (Link)
Any Means Necessary is a fictional account of one of these stories. It is a privilege to be part of such an important piece of work. It is also a joy to be working with a female writer in a cast dominated by women!
I play Leanne, police officer Dave Cross’s wife; at home with kids and unaware of what his job actually involves… (BBC News Link)
by | Dec 19, 2015 | Film, Rabid Dogs
This is a French action remake of the 1974 heist-turned-road-movie.
It was previewed at Cannes in 2015.
In the English language version I voice the character Maria.
You can watch the official trailer for the French film here
And read a review of it here: here
by | Oct 19, 2015 | Play, The Blue Bird, Theatre
Lightbox Theatre R&D (Link)
I spent a week as part of an ensemble with Emma Faulkner, Artistic Director of Lightbox exploring how Maurice Maeterlinck’s classic text could be adapted as a small-scale touring piece for families. The whole cast played various roles. The production is scheduled for Christmas 2016.
