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James Yarker (artistic director)
Gained a first class theatre degree at Lancaster University. He co-founded Stan's Cafe in 1991 and has directed all the company's productions since then.
As a result of this work he has been invited to guest lecture at Universities across the country as well as to present papers and demonstrations at
conferences in a range of contexts. James was an attached writer at Birmingham Rep but failed to reconcile himself to the notion of sitting at home
writing a play – he is now detached.
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Charlotte Martin (general manager)
Charlotte started her journey to Stan's Cafe with a degree in Business Law and postrgraduate diploma in Museum Studies.
She first worked for rock promoters Clear Channel Entertainment, before working in various capacities for the Arts
Department at Birmingham City Council, Fierce Earth, Cambridge Film Festival and Audiences Central.
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Craig Stephens (associate director/performer)
Craig graduated from Warwick University and gained an M.A. at Lancaster University. He has performed with a number of companies including Insomniac Productions, Plane Performance,
Talking Birds, The Playhouse. He has also written for amongst others; BBC Radio 4, Talking Birds, Hamfisted! and Ludlow Assembly Rooms
He first worked with Stan's Cafe devising Simple Maths in 1997 since when he has been at the heart of most of the company's activities. Craig became Associate Director in
2006, a move that acknowledges his direction of numerous small-scale projects and his lead of the company on tour in Jame's absence. |
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Nick Sweeting (advisory producer)
Though not technically salaried staff, Nick has been on a retainer with Stan's Cafe since 2003. His first contact with the company was in the
mid '90s doing consultation work for the Arts Council, since when intermittent contact has developed into a committed ongoing relationship.
He is a founder member of and Producer for Improbable
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| ASSOCIATE ARTISTS AND OTHER COLLABORATORS |
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Amanda Hadingue (deviser / performer)
Gained a first class theatre degree at Lancaster University in 1988. Amanda has been a key member of Stan's Cafe, helping to shape the company and its work since
1993. She has worked as a performer and deviser with many of Britain's most respected experimental theatre companies including: IOU Theatre, The People Show,
Station House Opera, Scarlet Theatre, Pete Brooks's Insomniac Productions, Gary Stephens, Graeme Miller and David Gale.
Selected Stan Work: Canute the King, Bingo In The House Of Babel, Voodoo City, Simple Maths, It's Your Film, Good and True, Lurid and Insane,
Space Station, Framed, Of All The People In All The World, Be Proud Of Me, Home Of The Wriggler. |
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Graeme Rose (deviser / performer / education leader)
Founded Stan's Cafe with James in 1991. They worked closely together until late 1995 when Graeme joined the company's
board and formed a new company, The Resurrectionists, with Richard Chew. He returned as an Associate Artist in
1999, devised Lurid and Insane in 2001 and took a post as half of the education team in 2005. Graeme continues to perform
with a range of companies including Bodies In Flight and Talking Birds as well
as directing his own work and producing projects with The Resurrectionists.
Selected Stan Work:Perry Como, Memoirs Of An Amnesiac, Canute the King, Voodoo City, Framed, It's Your Film (touring), The Carrier Frequency,
Lurid and Insane, Of All The People In All The World (touring), The Cleansing Of Constance Brown |
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Sarah Archdeacon (deviser / performer)
Studied performance at Dartington College of Arts. She joined Stan's Cafe in 1994 and was integral to the devising of crucial run of shows through until
late 2000 when personal commitments led her to reduce her Stan commitments. She is director of
Corali Dance company
Selected Stan Work:Bingo, Voodoo City, Simple Maths, It's Your Film, Good and True, Space Station, Framed,
Of All The People In All The World |
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Jake Oldershaw (deviser / performer)
Studied at Dartington College of Arts. Worked as a freelance performer/deviser for Wendy Houstoun, Kaos Theatre, Reckless Sleepers and BBC Radio.
Jake’s own work ranges from one to one performance (Intimate History) to street intervention (The M5 Talent Squad) to photographic work
(Midland Aquaphiliacs, Re-Inventing the Wheel). Jake's Website
Stan Work: Simple Maths, The Carrier Frequency, It's Your Film (touring), The Black Maze (touring),
Of All The People In All The World (touring), City Adventure, The Cleansing Of Constance Brown |
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Karen Stafford (production manager)
After working principally in project management and marketing for a series of organisations including: Monteverdi Choir & Orchestra, Birmingham Repertory Theatre,
Be In Birmingham 2008, Birmingham City Council and Fierce, Karen was given a one-off contract as production manager for Of All The People In All The World in
Stuttgart. She fitted perfectly into the team and was asked to return as the company's full time production manager with additional input into show marketing. With less
touring in 2008 Karen's full time job with the company came to an end in Spring but hopefully she will continue to work regularly on a freelance basis in the future.
Karen's travel lust makes her the ideal person to take the Stan's Cafe off on tour. She takes photographs and is too modest about her skills in this area. |
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Simon Ford (graphic designer)
One of the gang of Lancaster University graduates on which Stan's Cafe is based, Simon and James have been collaborating since 1988, when Simon did both stage
and graphic design. Simon now has his own graphic design business F22 Design and works in
collaboration with Eamon Feeney.
A rough guide to Simon’s work with Stan’s Cafe is that he is behind any graphic design that looks any good, including this website.
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Heather Burton (deviser/performer)
Heather studied at Warwick University. Worked as a performer with Third Angel, Plane Performance and Talking Birds. She has also worked
with Gary Stevens on the group project Pieces of People. For Stan’s Cafe she has mixed devising with stepping into existing roles.
Stan Work:The Carrier Frequency, Lurid and Insane, It's Your Film (touring), Framed, Of All The People In All The World, Be Proud of Me (touring),
Home of the Wriggler |
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Jon Ward (composer)
Jon's interest in manipulating music, voices and ambient sounds started with jumble sale tape machines and is currently pursued using computers, samplers and esoteric
electronic devices. His occasional work for BBC News enables him to make field recordings from around the globe. Jon's Site - ditdotdat
Stan Work:Voodoo City (engineer), Bingo (Engineer), Simple Maths (composer), Pieces for the Radio Volume 1, Of All The People In All The World (signalnet composer) |
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Nina West (composer)
Nina was tracked down after a demo track was heard on a compilation CD at a party. With Jane Webster she recorded a rich, evocative soundtrack for Ocean of Storms;
a section of which was later appropriated as the soundtrack to It’s Your Film. Her skills as a performer and live musician were key to Lurid and Insane and later
she demonstrated her instinctive understanding of how sound works in theatre when composing for Be Proud Of Me. Most recently she composed the soundtrack for The Cleansing
Of Constance Brown. You can discover more about her other work by visiting Nina's SiteRead Nina's essay |
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Paul Arvidson (lighting designer)
Paul has designed and toured lighting with companies to France, Israel and the United States. He has lectured in lighting at Lancaster University and now
runs his own company Mulberry Grove doing large and small scale corporate work. He is a qualified pyrotechnician who has been lighting and blowing up Stan’s Cafe
since 1994.
Stan Work:Bingo, Voodoo City, Ocean of Storms, The Carrier Frequency, Good and True, The Black Maze, Lurid and Insane, Be Proud Of Me, Framed,
The Cleansing Of Constance Brown |
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Bernadette Russell (deviser/performer)
Bernadette first worked with Stan's Cafe on the short film 'Framed' in 2000. Since then she has become a regular collabrator on shows and workshops. Bernadette is always
seemingly impossibly busy with a host of other projects. She is a regular with The People Show and has worked with a range of other companies including David Gale, The Donmar, Penny Dreadful.
Bernadette collaborates with Chris Entwistle on Wonderhorse and has also worked in journalism and styling for Smash Hits. Her style advice has proved invaluable.
Stan Work:Framed, Home Of The Wriggler, The Cleansing Of Constance Brown, Of All The People In All The World. |
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Andy Watson (deviser/performer)
The charismatic front man for Lurid and Insane and a reliably committed touring man. Andy has a background in experimental performance working with a range of companies
including Insomniac and Eddie Ladd, alongside his own work, much of which is now legendary. Andy continues to create his own music and performance work, including collaborations
with Nina. Read Andy's essay
Stan Work:Lurid and Insane, The Black Maze (touring), It's Your Film (touring), The Cleansing Of Constance Brown |
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| Ana Rutter:Ana is a Fine Art Graduate of U.C.E. and more recently a Master Of Art. Ana is a
sculptor and video artist with considerable experience of working in education settings and a history of work in carnival. She first worked
with Stan's Cafe on the animated film Head to Head and took a half time post as part of the education team in January 2005. This post came to an end
in September 2007 but we hope that Ana will continue to work with us on projects in the future. She continues to produce and exhibit her own work in both
group and solo exhibitions. |
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| Richard Chew:Birmingham born composer, pianist and singer Richard was an integral element of Stan's Cafe
in the formative years, composing a series of stunning soundtracks for Perry Como's Christmas Cracker, Memoirs Of An Amnesiac, Bingo In The House Of Babel
Voodoo City and Still. Since then he has formed The Resurrectionists with Graeme Rose and The Shout with Orlando Gough. Rick is a trained opera singer
and now lives in Australia and is working as a full time composer. |
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| Nick Walker: Nick devised and performed in Simple Maths and Good and True and has toured with
Of All The People In All The World. Nick is a member of Coventry based TALKING BIRDS. He is also an
acclaimed writer with two published novels an a range of work broadcast on BBC Radio. Read Nick's essay |
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| Mike Kirchner: Mike is a performer and producer and was a regular with Talking Birds. For Stan's Cafe he
gave a fantastically committed performance in The Carrier Frequency and has been a stalwart touring with It's Your Film and Of All The People In All
The World. Read Mike's essay |
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| Mark Anderson:Mark created The Black Maze with Craig and James as an equal partner in aesthetic
discussions and as leader of the engineering, in both its first flat packed incarnation and then in the lorry. He played a similar role in Broadway Hertz and was commissioned as designer/builder for
Home of the Wriggler along with Helen Ingham. He also worked on the construction of the set for the restaging of The Carrier Frequency.
Mark is a member of the acclaimed multi-media performance groupBLISSBODY alongside creating his
own visual and sound art. |
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| Helen Ingham:Helen designed the set and made the set and costmes for Lurid and Insane and with Mark Anderson
designed the costumes, set and power generating machines for Home Of The Wriggler. Helen has also led a number of workshops for us and
worked on The School Rulers project. |
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| Ed Dimsdale:Ed has taken all Stan's production photographs since our restaging of The Carrier Frequency
in 1999. He also took all the slides that provided the backdrop to Be Proud Of Me. Ed has worked on a number of education projects including School Rulers,
Fruit and Veg Cities, Take It! and A Delicate Balance. Some of Ed's non-Stan photography can be found HERE |
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| Charlotte Goodwin: Charlotte is a writer and teacher of writing. For Stan's Cafe she has been a reliable workshop
leader and valued member of many touring teams. Her work with us includes: It's Your Film (touring), The Black Maze (touring), Of All The People (touring), Education Work and City Adventures |
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| Brian Duffy:Described by Mute magazine as a "national treasure" Brian is the artist leader of the
acclaimed MODIFIED TOY ORCHESTRA and member of the Sinclair Spectrum Orchestra. Brian
is a NESTA Fellow and impossibly clever. He first worked for Stan composing the soundtracks for two of the company's youth theatre shows,
No Walls, Just Doors and Adult Child/Dead Child before moving onto the radio piece So Bring Me Down and the coundtrack to Good and True. Brian did
an exceptional job as musical director for Lurid and Insane. Most recently he worked alongside composer Giles Perrin on the music and sound design for
SONIC JOURNEY |
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| Giles Perrin:Giles is a composer and musician. His first work with Stan's Cafe was creating the soundtrack
for the film Framed. Since then he has wokred on Carnival education projects and was musical director for SONIC JOURNEY
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| Chris Dugrenier:Chris is a graduate of Dartington College Of Arts. She first
worked with Stan's Cafe invigilating The Black Maze. Since then she has worked on a number of education projects and is a regular
on tour with Of All The People In All The World. Read Chris's essay
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| Gerard Bell:Gerard devised and performed in The Cleansing Of Constance Brown. He has perfomed
with a number of the country's most respected companies including Punchdrunk, Improbable, David Gale, The Orange Tree, Sadlers Wells and Pentabus.
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| Jan Pearson:We brought Jan back to her native West Midlands to devise and perform in The Cleansing Of Constance Brown. Jan has worked with most of the country's
most respected theatre companies and organisations since the mid 1980s, including amongst others Insomniac Productions, Rose English, Gary Stevens, Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey
The R.S.C., The Royal Court, Paines Plough, The National Theatre Of Scotland and Scarlet Theatre. She is also a very successful TV actor with appearances in Silent Witness, The Bill, Where The Heart Is and, most famously,
Holby City.
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| Ray Newe:A graduate of Lancaster University. Ray devised and performed in key shows in the early days
as the company was finding its voice. His work for Stan's Cafe includes: Bingo In The House Of Babel, Voodoo City and Dead Body. Ray has gone on to
perform on TV and with The Liverpool Playhouse and The National Theatre.
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| Jack Trow:Jack first appeared with Stan's Cafe as a boy in a mac youth theatre production of
Adult Child/Dead Child, adapted and directed by James. After training at Rose Bruford Jack is now a freelance actor and has become a regular touring with
Of All The People In All The World (together with trying to file amongst the clutter of our office).
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| Benny Semp:A graduate of Dartington College Of Arts and founder member of Hamfisted! Benny first worked
with Stan's Cafe creating People's Radio Freedom for Lurid and Insane with Jonny O'Hanlon. Benny has subsequently left hamfisted and is a freelance teacher and performer. He has toured
with Stan's Cafe on The Black Maze, It's Your Film and Of All The People In All The World.
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| Jonny O'Hanlon:Co-founder and now artistic director of Birmingham based theatre company
HAMFISTED!. Jonny first worked with Stan's Cafe creating People's Radio Freedom. He has also toured with The
Black Maze and worked on Of All The People In All The World and City Adventure Days.
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| Simon Webb:A musician and visual artist Simon played the drums and so much more in Lurid
and Insane.
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| Alison Carney:Once Birmingham based before going to that London, Ali is a regular performer
on Radio Four and for a number of different companies in the Midlands including The Birmingham Rep, Leicester Haymarket and Women and Theatre. She first worked
with Stan's Cafe on the world version of Of All The People In All The World and has toured with the show on a number of occasions since then.
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| Gareth Brierley:Gareth is a People Show Regular together with work with a number of other companies including Station House Opera and
The Royal Exchange. Gareth stepped bravely into the breach on the opening day of The Cleansing Of Constance Brown when Andy Watson was taken ill.
He performed the show in Warwick and Vienna. |
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| Nick Tigg:Another People Show Regular Nick took over from Gareth for the Cork and Edinburgh runs of
The Cleansing Of Constance Brown. He also performed for us in a secret corporate launch event. |
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| Louisa Pearson:Louisa has toured with Of All The People In All The World. She is currently working
on a PhD which includes working with LIFT.
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| Jessica MacKinnon:A member of Birmingham based Kindle Theatre
Jess has worked on Of All The People In Al The World and on education projects with Ana. |
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| Jony Easterby:Musician, sound and visual artist Jony Easterby
worked with Brian creating So Bring Me Down and composed the soundtrack to the Head to Head video. |
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| Helen Kelly:Video and visual artist Helen made props for Ocean Of Storms and has worked on a number of education
projects including A Delicate Balance |
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| Charlotte Vincent:Artistic Director of Vincent Dance Theatre Charlotte
performed in the Stan's Cafe restaging of The Carrier Freuency and led the cast in vigorous physical warm ups |
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| Cait Davis:Performed in our restaging of The Carrier Frequency |
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| Joseph Potts:Birmingham film make Joseph did on the hoof editing for Framed and has
worked with us on a number of film education projects. |
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| Simon Gowan:Did a heroic job designing and installing lighting for Canute the King in
Moseley Road Baths. He then designed the lighting for and toured with Simple Maths. |
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| Mark Taylor:Stan's photographer from 1995-1998, responsible for amongst other things
great pre-production shots for Voodoo City and Ocean Of Storms |
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| Lottie Leedham:Made props for Framed and for the IETM Courtesy Car. |
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| Phil Coy:Visual artist Phil made props for Ocean Of Storms. Phil's Website
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| Anupam Singha:Production photos for Voodoo City |
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| A HISTORY OF ADMINISTRATION:
Maya Kristina Paul:Administrator (2004)
Emily Dawkes:Administrator (2001-2003)
Paulette Terry Brien:Administrative Manager (1997-2001)
Mick Yates:Tour Booking (Ocean Of Storms)
Jane Ward:Marketting (Canute The King), Tour Booking (Simple Maths)
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THE STAN'S CAFE BOARD:
Alan James:Chair
Sadie Plant
Sid Ewart
Gerv Havill
Peter Fletcher
Heather Taylor
Andy Parsons
David Sefton:Company Secretary
PREVIOUS BOARD MEMBERS: Rob Elkington, Katherine Anderson, Jaki Booth, Gwen Van Spijk, Jayne Surman, Mr Taylor, Dorothy Wilson, Mole Weatherall
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Stan's Cafe is funded by Arts Council England  |
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