CAST & CREW
The Two Character Play
by Tennessee Williams
LARS JUNGREEN
Director
With an impressive acting career spanning more than 40 years in Danish film and TV as well as on the Danish stage, Lars Junggreen is a well-known name in Denmark. He has worked as a theatre director and taught drama continuously since 1974, at all three National Danish drama schools in Århus, Odense and Copenhagen, most recently in a 5-year position as associate professor at the Danish National School of Performing Arts DDSKS.
​A graduate of Århus Teater National Theatre School, Lars went on to play leading roles as an actor, including Hamlet at the age of 27, as well as the lead in Cabaret, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, La Cage aux Folles, A Christmas Carol, Gray, Night Creatures (Noreen), Three Penny Opera, Waiting for Godot, The Wild Duck, King Lear, Total Eclipse and more.
For significant periods Lars has been artistic director of Aarhus Theater, board member for both Aarhus Theater and Theater Plan B, a member of the National Danish Performing Arts Committee and resident dramaturgist at Ålborg Teater and Århus Teater, working at theatres such as Det Danske Teater, Svalegangen, Alle Scenen (Betty Nansen Teatret), Cafe Teatret, Banden (Odense ) , Filuren, Mungo Park Kolding and more.
As a theatre director, Lars has more than 35 theatrical productions in Denmark under his belt, including "Hard Times" by Charles Dickens ,"Blackbird", "Besættelse”, "Elling" , "Grounded" "Et Juleeventyr" " The Rocky Horror Picture Show" "Narnia" , Shakespeares samlede værker" "Gæld uden ansigt" and directing for Det Kolde Bord in 2017.
(Photo credit: Kasper Hellesøe)
MARIANA ARAOZ
Director of Choreography & Movement
Argentinian-born Mariana Araoz specialises in mask and puppetry, object theatre, performance and drama and has done so as performer and pedagogue as well as director and writer for over 30 years. She divides her time between Sweden and Paris, France.
In Paris Mariana runs her French theater company and theatre space affiliated to Collectif Masque: La Maison de l'équilibre, based on mask and puppet technique built on a gender-balance/gender fluid perspective and pro-ecology vision and world view.
In Sweden Mariana is Artistic Director of Theatre In-Balance (https://www.facebook.com/TheatreInBalanceSweden)
and has published a book on her ©In-Balance Method, which she teaches at some of the world’s leading theatre schools, including Teaterhögskolan Malmö, Paris National Conservatory, Ecole du Jeu Paris, Saint Olaf College in Minneapolis, Columbia University in New York, Boris Shchukin’s Institut in Moscow, Hong Kong Theatre Academy, Oslo National Academy of the Arts.
Mariana has directed more than forty productions in Sweden, France and the United States, including plays by Shakespeare, Moliere, Brecht, Sophocles, Chekhov, Genet, Duras, Strindberg. Her work has been performed at prestigious venues such as Guthrie LAB in Minneapolis, National Art Center of Chicago, Avignon Theatre Festival.
Directing in Sweden includes: The Threepenny Opera (Teater Halland), Antigone, The Maids, The Seagull, Dissection of a Snowfall, Katrin X (2021) , Lady Macbeth (2022), Fores(t)empest (2023) and as Director of Choreography & Movement for AMADEUS - all at Skillinge Teater (2024)024).
THE CAST
https://www.andreaslyon.com
Andreas Lyon plays Felice
Andreas Lyon is an American-Danish actor known for bringing emotional depth to often duplicitous and powerful characters. His on-screen work ranges from sketch comedy to high born drama, in both the US and Denmark. Andreas is also known as an acting coach - a career which began during his 10 years of working as an actor and studying with various coaches in LA - and he is a certified Chubbuck Technique teacher. He lives in Copenhagen and is represented internationally by DBA (Dryblue Agency).
Recent work on Danish TV includes Grundtvig (DR 2024), The Sommerdahl Murders (TV 2 Play 2023), Helt Ny (DR Ultra 2023) Elvira( Viaplay 2022); Grønland - 300 år ( Danmarks Radio 2021-22); Kastanjemanden (Netflix 2021 ); Klovn 8 (TV 2 play: 2021); Frederik IX: episode 3 (Danmarks Radio 2020) ; Julemandens Datter 2 playing Bedemand (2020).
Theatre in English:
OLD TIMES by Harold Pinter (HIT-House of International Theatre 2020) and Don’t Mention the War at Teatret ved Sorte Hest, Copenhagen.
(Photo credit: Adam Hills.)
https://www.vanessapoole.com
Vanessa Poole plays Clare
Vanessa Poole is a British character & stage actress who has made Malmö her home for over 20 years, trained for the theatre in Sweden, Denmark and the UK including master classes on voice, movement, drama and speech with Patsy Rodenburg, Judy Kuhn, Declan Donnellan, Barbara Houseman and more.
Vanessa played Max’s mother in the TV series “Max’s Movie” for Swedish television and has won acclaim for her performances in English-language theatre in Denmark as, among others, Virginia in The Clean House (2020), Stevie in The Goat or Who is Sylvia? (2019), Venus in Venus in Fur (2017).
Audiences in Malmö remember Vanessa as the comedienne Lesley in Talking Heads for Playmate, lead Edith in the drama Sunday in Sodom (2022) directed by Matthew Short, the laughing patient in HAP in Malmö and at the English Theatre of Hamburg (2021), directed by Paul Glaser, which sold out at prestigious Teatret ved Sorte Hest in Copenhagen (2024). Vanessa played the sister in HIT production VODKA TALKS (2023) directed by Lars Junggreen, in Malmö and at Teatret ved Sorte Hest, Copenhagen.
(Photo credit: Tomas Lissåker/ Smallfield Photo)
THE ENSEMBLE
Nathalie Drakemyr
ENSEMBLE
Nathalie Drakemyr is a Swedish actress with a bilingual French/Finnish background. She is a graduate of the prestigious Michael Chekhov International Academy in Berlin and studied script writing at Kvarnby Folkhögskola for two years. Nathalie is a certified teacher of the Michael Chekhov acting technique and teaches at her own acting studio in Landskrona. She is director for two amateur ensembles in Helsingborg, one for teenagers and one for adults.
Nathalie is recurring, permanent performer and producing member of Teater Punch Landskrona and Dododo Productions Malmö and has previously performed with Alla tiders teater, Teater över gränserna, Öresundsteatern, Potatopotato and more.
Earlier this year, Nathalie created and performed a lyrical piece for Landskrona's first TEDx as well as a solo performance on domestic violence at the multilingual theatre festival 'Forest under the water'.
www.drakemyr.se
Stefan Ridell
ENSEMBLE
Stefan Ridell has spent a lifetime in the theatre. He started out as a working actor at Riksteatern. He went to drama school, trained as a director from 1976 onwards at Dramatiska Institutet, has since then directed over 30 stage plays and 10 radio plays.
Stefan was Artistic Director of Teater Halland from 1996 onwards and has an innate love of physical theatre. In his capacity as Theatre Director he initiated different programmes and projects connected to Commedia dell’ Arte, including a lifelong collaboration with mask professor Mariana Araoz, whom he first brought over to Sweden.
In most recent years, Stefan has worked with Teaterrävar at Göteborgaktörernas Studio and at Esperantoscenen, Göteborgs theatre space also for performance, literature, music, dance and culture.
Evdokia Kelessidi
ENSEMBLE
Evdokia Kelessidi, now based in Malmö, gained her degree in performance, drama, voice, music and theatre studies in Greece, studied classical guitar for 8 years. She worked with music, performance, dance and movement on stage in Athens and Thessaloniki for more than 10 years. She has taught drama and music to all ages.
Since arriving in Sweden Evdokia has performed vocally on the classical guitar for Playmate’s monologues People in Shorts in 2023, directed “The Busy Business Lady’s Xmas” feminist fringe play in Copenhagen, played a role in tupcoming Gothenburg feature film Checklist, and directed her own performance for ’My site-my space” in Copenhagen with Assemble Theatre Collective, as well as at the Theatre In-Balance Festival, Lund.
Evdokia is director of Playmate’s staged reading of LULLABY FOR A GROWN MAN; part of the ensemble in AMADEUS at Skillinge Teater 2024.
(Photo credit: Joseph Sherlock)
Eva Söderquist
ENSEMBLE
Eva Söderquist, versatile highly experienced actress since 1981, director and playwriter since 1991, and producer, drama pedagogue, with many years working on stage and behind the scenes.
This includes working at - among other places - Drömmarnas Hus, Nya Klassiska Teatern, Forumteatergruppen PUMAN, Sölvesborgsrevyn On Stage, Teater Interakt, Simply Opera, Teater X, Nationalteatern, Skaraborgs länsteater, Mercuriusteatern, Proteus, Malmö Stad, Svedala kommun, SVT, Yellowbird Prod, Drakfilm and more.
Eva has played everthing from the curiuos little monkey, little prince, mother of trolls, servant girl Toinette to a Swedish sculptress.
Eva was winner of the Revy Rickard reward in 2010 for Blekinges bästa revy; and Artistic Director/CEO of MAF Malmö's largest collection of fringe performers from 2014 – 2024.
(Photo credit :
Andreas Paulsson)
ALEXANDRA CHRISTENSEN
Assisting/Consulting Director
Alexandra Christensen has since 2012 been something of an octopus in the field of Theater. What started as a dream of becoming an actress, quickly moved on to leaving the spotlight to explore multiple roles on, off and around the stage.
Alexandra has in recent years found her perfect role as stage director, with a flair for the scenic picture, the poetic story and the balance between comedy and tragedy.
Alexandra has a strong need to tell an honest story of humanity as both good and bad. She has worked on assisted direction at theatres such as Teater Grob (now Blaagårds teater), Folketeatret and Det Kongelige Teater.
And she has since 2016 directed her own productions.
The result is a close bond to her two theatrical partners in "crime” and the creation of Teater Mikado.Teater Mikado was founded in 2018, its audience-prize winning performance “Til sidste fjer” has been touring Denmark since then and still lives on today.
Other Mikado performances are “Du finder mig nederst i bunken” from 2021 and “Tævehjerte” from 2023.
NICOLINE GANDRUP THYRSTED
Dramaturg
Nicoline Gandrup Thyrsted (1993, Horsens) lives and works in Copenhagen, is a freelance dramaturg, actor, and performance artist. She holds a master’s degree in Dramaturgy from Aarhus University (2021).
She works in devising processes, especially immersive ones, where one collectively generates ideas and material. When acting she likes to analyse everything from complex and psychological characters to a role that is more of a facilitator, a bodily piece of installation art or something in between, such as dance or physical theatre forms.
Her work includes projects such as HEDDA (2021), an Aarhus based performance project that examined the immersive & side specific possibilities of Henrik Ibsens Hedda Gabler, Are we PISD? ,a devising project and performance at the University of Aarhus (2017), the development of educational material for use in public schools & gymnasiums for Theatre Mikado’s play Til sidste fjer (Until the last feather), and working as an actress in the museum Den Gamle By in Aarhus from 2016-2020, plus performances inThe Tempest, Love is colder than dead, and the movie Hvidstengruppen II.
Music composed by: BASIC BABY
www.instagram.com/basicbabyboom/
Scenography advisor: Marta Cicionesi
Crew: E. Söderquist
Stage manager: R. LeBlanc
Light & sound design: Andrew Christiansen
Soundscape & sfx: Olle Nielsen
Logistics & support: Kevin Benn
Graphics: Anna Brenda
Photography: Smallfield Photo/ T. Lissåker
PR: Opus Anglia