Claire Farrington (artistic director)
 
Claire Farrington trained at The Oxford School of Drama. She founded Net Curtains Theatre Company in July 2001 and is the artistic director, commisioning and managing the new writing projects. Her theatre credits include Cousin Basilio at The Greenwich Playhouse, Skyscraping at The Soho Theatre and The Southwark Playhouse, Three Hard Blasts at The Tricycle Theatre, Flood at the Arcola and 'One, Nineteen' at the Arcola and New Wolsey Theatre. Television work includes The Last Secret of Dr Crippen for Channel 4 and Narnia, Behind the Game for Bravo. She also presents on web television. At present, she is still continuing producing and acting work with Net Curtains Theatre Company.
 
Alan Caig Wilson (associate artistic director)
 
Alan originally trained as an actor at the Royal Welsh College of music and Drama, and the Ecole Lecoq. He has directed in England, Scotland, Austria, Finland and Japan. His work has covered text-based theatre, physical theatre, community and youth theatre and opera. He is a Fringe First award winner on the Edinburgh Fringe and was a freelance associate director at Theatre Workshop Edinburgh from 1995 to 1998. In 2004/5 he was Resident Assistant Director to Gareth Machin at Southwark Playhouse, where he was also Literary Associate. In 2005, he graduated with distinction from the first MFA in Theatre Directing at Birkbeck University of London. He joined Net Curtains in 2005 to lead workshops, and was associate in overall charge of Flood at Arcola Theatre in July 2006. In late 2007 he directed One, Nineteen at Arcola Theatre.
   
Keiko Sumida (company manager)
 
Keiko graduated from the European Theatre Arts course BA(Hons) at Rose Bruford College in 2007. She has since worked for Tell Talla theatre company, ChoppedLogic theatre company, Metis Arts, LOT Teatro (Peru), Ontroerent Goed (Belgium) and Station House Opera. She became one of the Young Apprentice Directors at the King's Head Theatre in January where she worked as an assistant director for 'Darlings, You Were Wonderful', 'British Soil' and the new musical 'Betwixt!'. Most recently she worked for Live Wire Theatre for 'That Moment' at the King's Head and its South West England tour. For Net Curtains theatre company she assisted on 'One, Nineteen' before she became a company member. Her first production as a director 'What comes out of women?' was performed at the King's Head this summer and is now under further development. She also works as a pianist at restaurants and hotels, and a rehearsal pianist for opera singers.
 
James Woolf
 
James read English at Nottingham University. Theatre work includes: House on the Promontory, Arcola Theatre; Single Fare to Zurich; Chicken and Mushroom Pie and Chips, King's Head Theatre; "Bitter-Sweet and VERY Sexy…", shortlisted in the International Playwriting Festival (Croydon Warehouse), By the Balls, Etcetera Theatre; Isle of the Departed (written with Christina Katic), Man in the Moon Theatre and Questors Theatre; and Hitting Home, Man in the Moon Theatre. James also co-wrote the musical City Lights with composer Edmund Jolliffe, which was showcased at the Old Vic Theatre. James has also written for radio: Kerton's Story, (Radio 4 & shortlisted for the Richard Imison Memorial Award); Speak Out, (LBC). James worked for 2 years as Writer in Residence at Onley Young Offenders Institution with Philippa-Michelle Carr. He was recently awarded his second grant by the Peggy Ramsay Foundation. His website is www.jameswoolf.com
 
Sue Lenier
 
Sue Lenier has an international reputation as a poet: “an important writer” – Sunday Times; “a musician poet, wholly in love with rhythm and sound” – Washington Post. Her plays have also attracted widespread acclaim: “the stuff of greatness, moving between slapstick, high satire and high spirituality” – Irish Times; “a very attractive play … which has so much to offer in comment about our own time” – BBC Radio Three. A screenplay by Will Davies (Twins) about the writing of her first book whilst a student at Cambridge has been optioned by Universal Studios to be produced by Curtis Hanson (L.A.Confidential) and starring Ewan McGregor.
  
Tim Stimpson
 
Having been tutored by such writer’s as Mark Ravenhill and David Edgar, Tim graduated from the University of Birmingham with a BA (Hons) in English and Drama and an MPhil in Playwriting Studies. A few months later he joined the writing team for The Archers as their youngest writer ever and has since written more than one hundred episodes. Previous theatrical work includes The Eighth Day (Allardyce Nicoll Theatre) in which Tim explored the idea of a cult of scientists who seek their own salvation through genetic engineering. In 2003 he teamed up with Net Curtains Theatre Company for Breathing Space (Soho Theatre) and Skyscraping (Southwark Playhouse), a play that looked a young man’s obsession with the alleged faking of the moon landings and our loss of 1960s idealism. Tim’s involvement with the company was re-established in 2006 with Flood (Arcola Theatre), an evening of short plays exploring the great flood of 1953. In 2007 he became an associate writer with the company. Tim also writes for the medical drama Doctors on BBC1.
 
  Toria Banks (director - End of the Line)
 
Toria is a freelance director and teacher. She has previously worked with Net Curtains, for the FLOOD project at the Arcola Theatre in 2006. Other credits include: 'Baggage', 'Quin Shih Yin Hesitates', 'A Good Investment', 'Schubert and Me', all for writers' co-operative Joinedupwriters at the Old Red Lion; 'A Christmas Carol' at the Greenwich Playhouse, and 'Brighton Beach Scumbags'/'Lunch' at the Pleasance both for Flat Pack Productions; 'Steam' at The White Bear; 'Touched' at the Edinburgh Fringe and recently Clare Bayley's new play 'Safekeeping' (King's Head). She is also joint Artistic Director of The Ugly Tree. For them she has directed 'Not Knowing Who We Are' (Blue Elephant), 'Dreams of an African Child' (Bolton Octagon and touring). Toria has worked as associate and dramaturg with John Wright (Trestle, Told By An Idiot) on 'Doctor Faustus' and 'Fair Maid of the West', and in 2009 will be working with him on 'The Fragility of X' (a devised show at the Manchester Royal Exchange), 'Hamlet' and 'King Lear'. Work with young people includes directing a main house youth theatre project, involving more than 60 young people in Wolverhampton.She teaches acting at Trinity College of Music, where she recently directed scenes from 'Cosi Fan Tutte' as a final year performance project. In summer 2009 she will direct 'The Magic Flute' for Severn Opera.
 
Mel Cook (director - Bed and Breakfast Burglar)
 

Artistic director of Snakebit, associate director of SPID, colleague of Coney, and founding member of The Performance Lab, Mel is an experiential theatre maker working in site-specific, cross-media, devised, improvised, and physical theatre, as well as creating installations and pervasive games. Mel has directed work for the Courtyard (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Finborough (The Beautiful People), Lyric Studio (Remember the Name), New Wimbledon Studio (Burying Your Brother), Theatre 503 (Telltales), Southwark Playhouse (A Christmas Carol), and several start night productions for Hampstead Theatre. Mel has assisted Greg Doran on The Giant, Fiona Laird on Woyzeck, Anthony Clark on Life After Scandal, and AC Wilson on The Viewing Room. A 2008 graduate of Birkbeck’s MFA in Theatre Directing, Mel has been a finalist for the JMK, ITV, and Leverhulme Directing awards.

A graduate of RADA’s three year acting course, her work as an actor includes productions with Punchdrunk (Red Death Lates), Arcola (Bill Gaskill’s Carver), Radio 4 (Cabin Pressure), and Channel 4 (Space Cadets). Mel has performed in a third of Shakespeare’s cannon, including the roles of Katherine (National Tour) ,Caliban (GRAEAE), Boyett (Drill Hall), and Lady Macbeth (National Tour) Mel has also developed and toured improv shows around the world, from Chicago to Auckland via Glastonbury, and for the BBC and ITV.
 
Jamie Allan (director - First Impressions)
 

Jamie started his career as the Associate Director of Young Blood Theatre Company, for the company he has written and directed numerous performances in the studio spaces at Riverside Studios and the Lyric. He trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama on the Drama Education Course. After graduating he worked as an actor, and was Artistic Director of Thinking Out Loud, a company producing tours of issue-based plays and the highly successful primary school Shakespeare project, directing the children to create Shakespeare productions. Jamie has also lead workshops and directed readings for Foresite/Hindsite, a company based at the Site at the Royal Court. Foresite/Hindsite is a writers company made up of graduates of the Royal Courts young writer’s programme. Jamie holds an MFA in theatre directing from Birkbeck University of London. As part of his time working at the Arts Educational Theatre School, he was Associate Director on As You Like It, Directed by James Tillit, and also Assisted Raz Shaw on the UK Premier of Radium Girls. Jamie worked at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith as the Resident Assistant Director, he assisted David Farr on Filter’s Water, and was staff director on part of its National tour; he assisted Paul Hunter on the Lyric’s Christmas Show, Beauty And The Beast. Also at the Lyric Jamie was assistant director on Metamorphosis, again he was the staff director on its national tour. Jamie’s final assist at the Lyric was with David Farr on Arturo Ui. He also directed two scratch performances, In The Penal Colony by Steven Berkoff using four of the actors of the Ui cast, and a revised version of David Farr’s Crime and Punishment in Dalston. Since graduating from Birkbeck Jamie has worked as Assistant director on Frantic Assembly’s Othello, directed The Best Way by Nikki Williams at the Jacksons Lane Theatre, and Scratched Out at Oval House & Riverside Studios.
 
Will Train (designer)
 

Will is a final year Drama and Theatre Studies (MDrama) student at the University of Kent, specialising in Design for Performance. This is his first time working with Net Curtains theatre company. Previous works include designs for Spring Awakening, Dr Faustus and A Streetcar Named Desire at the Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury, Professor Taranne, Nine Parts of Desire, Look Back In Anger and Confusions at the University of Kent, The Mystery of Edwin Drood at the Theatre Royal Margate (Really Promising Company) and The Sever'd Tale of Bloody Hill, also at the Theatre Royal Margate. Will is also a founding member of puppetry company Avalon Foulmouth, with interests in puppet performance, storytelling and object manipulation.
 
Chris Withers (lighting)
 

Chris trained at Rose Bruford College on the BA(Hons) Lighting Design course. He now works as a freelance lighting designer and production electrician. Recent credits as lighting designer include: The Killing of Mr Toad (Finborough Theatre), Estranged (Courtyard Theatre), Edges (Union Theatre) and The Canterbury Tales (Battersea Arts Centre)
   
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