by Herman Melville. Adapted by Paul Graves and Angharad Ormond with music by Colin Guthrie.
Directed by Angharad Ormond
Wednesday 2 – Sunday 6 July at 7.30pm
Matinées on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 July at 3pm.
At the Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington
One Man. One Whale. Guided by the Fates. Driven by Obsession.
Nantucket, 1839. The ‘Pequod’ embarks on a fateful voyage under the formidable Captain Ahab, a man consumed by his quest for vengeance against the White Whale who tore off his leg. Through the eyes of our narrator, Ishmael, we join the ship’s diverse crew as they plunge into perilous waters, relentlessly chasing the infamous Moby Dick, brought to life through our female chorus The Furies.
Blending puppetry, live music and dynamic physical theatre, this >gripping production explores timeless themes of trauma,obsession and prejudice, examining humanity’s fraught relationship with nature, and transforming Melville’s epic into a visceral theatrical experience.
Buy Tickets :
Wednesday 2 July at 7.30pm
Thursday 3 July at 7.30pm
Friday 4 July at 7.30pm
Saturday 5 July at 3pm
Saturday 5 July at 7.30pm
Sunday 6 July at 3pm
Sunday 6 July at 7.30pm
Cast
Ahab : Nick Hall
Starbuck : Paul Graves
Stubb : James Johnston
Ishmael : Tony Sears
Queequeg : Femi Davies
Tashtago : Dale Robertson
Pip : Mayank Adlakha
Shantyman : Richard Hague
Manxman : Peta Barker
Sailor : Tom Lafferty
The Furies : Feiyang Yang, Janet South, Cordelia Hennessy, Sangita Modgil, Emma Cornford, Ruth Sullivan, Flavia di Saverio, Julie Joubert, As Richards, Rosie Barwick
Musicians
Kate Conway (Violin)
Stan Stanley (Fiddle)
Colin Guthrie (Concertina)
Richard Hague (Guitar)
Peta Barker (Percussion)
Production Team
Director : Angharad Ormond
Musical Director and Sound Design : Colin Guthrie
Movement Director : Nevena Stojkov
Set Design : Isaac Insley
Costume Design : Roxanne Ivy Roberts
Lighting Design : Samuel Littley
Stage Manager : Ragan Keefer
Assistant Director : Ian Hoare
Assistant Director/Production Manager : Jess Staufenberg
Assistant Movement Director : Soirse Burns
Costume and Props Assistant : Angela Large
Assistant Stage Managers : David East, Alison Liney
Technical Coordinator : Laurence Tuerk
Pyrotechnic Consultant : Stan Stanley
Company Photographer : Allan Hart
 Moby Dick is Nick Hall‘s seventh full Tower show: earlier roles include Antonio in The Merchant of Venice, Captain Cat in Under Milk Wood and most recently Porfiry Petrovich in Crime and Punishment. As Macbeth he was one of Tower’s ‘King’s Players,’ performing Shakespeare à la Carte at the British Embassy in Paris. Previously, with Jumble Theatre Company, he performed in Pieces of Home (a monologues show), and as Jack Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest. |
 Paul Graves is an actor, writer and theatre maker who’s been with Tower since 2018 and is the co-founder of Liminal Space Theatre Company. He’s played an eclectic range of characters at the Tower including; a dog, an insect, a child, a Scotsman (twice), a man who goes up and down a ladder a lot, and a man trapped inside a polar bear outfit. Credits with the Tower include The Little Prince (Lamplighter/Co-writer), Metamorphosis in Lockdown (Gregor/Co-writer), Coram Boy (Meshak), Kensuke’s Kingdom (Stella puppeteer), Trainspotting (Renton) and 1984 (Winston). |
 James Johnston made his first appearance on the Minack and Tower stages in 1988 and 1989. This was admittedly because his mother Carmel was involved in productions at both theatres and pregnant with him at the time. After three decades of “resting” he returned to the Tower in September 2021 and has so far appeared as Richard in The Court Must Have a Queen, DC Moody in Maryland, Ralph in Bouncers, Henri in Mosquitoes, M in Play and Tommy in All That Fall. He was most recently part of the cast of The Little Prince. |
 Tony Sears‘ previous Tower credits include Sir Antony Wilding in Enchanted April and Clem in Improbable Fiction. Tony has also been in multiple shows at the Questors Theatre in Ealing including Charley’s Aunt, The Ghost Train and Table. |
 Moby Dick is Femi Davies‘ third production with the Tower Theatre, having previously appeared in Ain’t I A Woman? and The Dark Room last year. He trained with Identity School of Acting, Kingdom School of Arts, City Academy, Middleweek Newton Academy, and the Court Theatre Training Company. He also has a background including short films and stand-up comedy and for fun, “like(s) to be funny and work on music and stuff”. He hopes to contribute as much of a handsomely, formidable, electrifying, and pulsating performance as any adaptation of Moby Dick deserves. |
 Dale Robertson, originally from Australia, is a passionate actor with an international training background, having studied at 16th Street Acting Studio in Melbourne, at the Lee Strasberg Institute in NYC and RADA in London. He previously starred in Richard III with Shakespeare Downtown in New York and directed Pvt. Wars at The Theatre for the New City. After moving to London, he first appeared at the Tower in the 2021 productions of The Merchant of Venice and Kensuke’s Kingdom, marking the beginning of an exciting journey with the company. Since then, Dale starred in and co-produced Dead Animals, which debuted at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe and appeared in the Idols music video for Gift Horse. Dale is thrilled to return to the Tower; he will next play Count Skriczevinsky in Flare Path before taking on the role of Tashtego in Moby Dick. He is excited to be part of the adventure upon the ‘Pequod’, working alongside such a talented cast and crew. The opportunity to bring this iconic story to life is a true highlight, and he can’t wait for audiences to experience it. |
 This is Mayank Adlakha‘s third show with the Tower – he appeared last year as Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment and before that in Swipe (which went on to perform at the Camden Fringe to a sold-out run). He has been on the stage for as long as he can remember in the form of acting, dancing or occasionally even rapping. Mayank specializes in physical theatre – he trained at the Jacques Lecoq academy in Paris and has applied this to both classical and contemporary shows. He has played Fagin in Oliver, Ken in Red and most recently he toured with the Acting Gymnasium where he played Quintus in Titus Andronicus. In 2022, he was the recipient of the ‘best monologue award’ conferred by the Bombay Theatre Company. |
 Richard Hague first appeared at the Tower Theatre some 40 years ago, as a Broker’s Man in Cinderella. He then embarked on a theatrical career, having earned his Equity card on London’s alternative comedy circuit. A No.1 tour with David Wood’s Whirligig Theatre Company followed, and in 1988 he was offered a contract for two plays at the New Victoria Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme; he ended up staying for six years, racking up nearly 50 productions, and over 1,000 performances. Favourite roles included Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Bottom in the Dream, Willie Mossop in Hobson’s Choice, Reg in The Norman Conquests, and Ralph/Sexy Suzie in Bouncers. Other theatre work includes seasons at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Harrogate Theatre, Bolton Octagon, Worcester Swan, Coventry Belgrade, Scarborough Stephen Joseph, Mercury Colchester, and Oldham Coliseum. He was Mr Barraclough in The Archers for BBC R4. TV appearances include the 2,000th episode of Emmerdale, and ITV’s Battle of Britain drama, Piece of Cake. His most recent role at the Tower was as Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night, but he was also in the band for The Worst Witch as well as performing in our Gig Nights. |
 Peta Barker‘s acting credits include Ariel and Caliban (The Tempest), Iago (Othello), Mrs Yajnavalkya (Valmouth), The Voice of Audrey II – the Plant (The Little Shop of Horrors), Mbongeni (Woza Albert!), Scullery (Road), Ash (Dealer’s Choice), Jack Mullen (The Weir), John (Shining City), Derek (Brighton Beach Scumbags) Hoke (Driving Miss Daisy), Evan (Sweat), Joe (Port Authority), Coram Boy, Maurice (The Night Alive) and, most recently, Koch/Nikolai (Crime and Punishment). Directing credits include Blue Remembered Hills, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Burn This, Lysistrata, Brimstone and Treacle, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Arcadia and, most recently, Our Country’s Good. He adapted/directed Russell Hoban’s novel Kleinzeit, and played Snug the Joiner in the Tower Theatre Team in the RSC’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. |
 Tom Lafferty is an actor, director and Live Art practitioner and facilitator, having trained in the latter at Queen Mary University of London. This is his second show with the Tower Theatre, having previously appeared in Crime and Punishment. Tom is an Edinburgh Fringe regular, and has other acting and directing credits with Act 2 Company based in London. Before moving to London, Tom was part of a troupe of actors that performed Shakespeare productions in outdoor venues across the West Midlands, and most looks forward to taking this challenging adaptation of Moby Dick on tour to Brighton and to the Minack Theatre. |
 Feiyang Yang has been a member of Tower since 2021. She is very excited to be part of Moby Dick as her second time on stage to explore movement and vocalisation in an ensemble. Feiyang spent most of her time at Tower focusing on directing. Having assisted in four very different plays (Port Authority, Twelfth Night, No Room at the Inn and The Night Alive), she directed her first full length play How Do Disappear Completely And Never Be Found in 2024 and two short plays, Distant Early Warning and Homemakers in 2023. She also loves sound design and has worked on a few plays in that role. |
 Janet South has been involved with the Tower for many years during which she has taken roles both on stage and off. Acting credits include Countess Charlotte (A Little Night Music), Jenny (Company), Anna (Closer), Mme Dubonnet (The Boy Friend), Mrs Gainsborough (Gainsborough’s Girls), Mrs Turton (A Passage to India), Lady Ashbrook (Coram Boy) and, most recently, Miss Hardbroom in The Worst Witch. She has also appeared as co-puppeteer for a baby orangutan in Kensuke’s Kingdom and as part of the ensemble of The Little Prince . |
 This is Cordelia Hennessy‘s first show at the Tower Theatre, having joined as an acting member in October 2024. She studied acting part time at Rose Bruford College from 2020-22 whilst completing her masters in film and media curating. She is so excited to be beginning my acting journey at the Tower, especially in such a rich and dynamic piece like Moby Dick. |
 Sangita Modgil joined the Tower Theatre in 2018, first appearing in Henry V. She has since performed in a number of shows ranging from Twelfth Night and Kensuke’s Kingdom to most recently, the much loved The Mirror Crack’d. She can also be seen in short films including Public House and Hanging. Having recently broadened her experience as an Assistant Director for falling for (Liminal Space Theatre), she is delighted to be directed by Angharad again on this timeless voyage. |
 Emma Cornford has appeared at the Tower in Death and the Maiden, A Ten Minute Play About Rosemary’s Baby, All That Fall, That Almost Unnameable Lust, The Railway King and Crime and Punishment. She is also an assistant artistic director at the Tower. Emma has been teaching Drama in London comprehensives for many years and currently works in a secondary school in Walthamstow. |
 Ruth Sullivan has been a member of the Tower for 16 years and in that time she has acted, directed, choreographed, sound designed and was co-Artistic Director for three years. Her most recent production was the family show The Worst Witch, which was completely magical. Favourite roles as a performer include Winnie in Happy Days, Malvolia in Twelfth Night and Evelyn in Kindertransport, and she rather enjoyed puppeteering the baby orangutan in Kensuke’s Kingdom, also directed by Angharad. By day she is an award-winning Foley Artist with hundreds of TV and film credits to her name, including Peaky Blinders, Scrapper, Bodyguard, The Death of Stalin, Mamma Mia, Eyes Wide Shut, Downton Abbey, Killing Eve, One Day, Top Boy and The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (for which she has an Emmy). She regularly performs live Foley for theatre projects such as Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte/The Magic Flute, directed by Simon McBurney, which she has performed in opera houses in London, Valencia, Bergen, Amsterdam, Aix-en-Provence and New York. |
 This is Flavia Di Saverio’s sixth show at the Tower Theatre, after appearing in Antigone, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Under Milk Wood, The Little Prince and The Chimes. Flavia has been involved in amateur theatre on and off since childhood, and over the years she has combined her passion for foreign languages with the stage, performing in Italian, French, English and Spanish. Back in Italy, her main stage credits included roles in Cinderella, Pygmalion, Round Heads and Pointed Heads, Black Comedy and Our Town. Elsewhere in London, she has appeared in Treasure Island and in an adaptation of Three Men in a Boat, both for the Putney Theatre Company. |
 Julie Joubert is an actress and writer. She has directed and appeared in several French 20th century classics on the London stage (Isma, Camden People’s Theatre; Orphée, Bloomsbury Studio; Topaze, Etcetera Theatre). Moby Dick will be her third Tower production after The Fan and The Chimes (both 2024). As a performer who specialises in clowning and devising, she is delighted to take part in this ensemble work! |
 Moby Dick will be As Richards‘ fifth production at the Tower. She’s previously appeared in Under Milk Wood, Seagulls, A Dream Play and Crime and Punishment. She has been acting for over a decade, primarily as part of the Park Theatre Company and has appeared as part of the Chorus in the Park Theatre’s WhoDunnit Unrehearsed 3. Also with the Park Theatre she has appeared as Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (abridged) and as John Proctor in The Crucible (abridged). She has also acted in several of the collaborations the Park Theatre had with Martin Murphy (Bruised Sky Productions) including the award-winning Jury. She often does Front of House and stewarding for the Tower, so please feel free to say hello when you next see her there! |
 This Rosie Barwick‘s seventh production at the Tower. While normally a theatre director, Rosie is dipping her toe back into performing to remind herself of the specific joys and trials of being on the stage herself. She has trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, the Arthaus Berlin, Royal Academy of Dance, and most recently with Frantic Assembly. Rosie co-founded her theatre company, Shoddy Flora, with fellow Tower member, Lily Guy-Vogel to focus on uplifting new narratives around the imperfect woman. Together they sold out their first run at the Camden Fringe last summer, and have just wrapped their first short film, Carry. Rosie is represented by Lucinda Leon. |
 Colin Guthrie has acted, directed and musical directed for many Tower shows since joining in 1985. Directing credits include Crime and Punishment, A Chorus of Disapproval, The Voysey Inheritance, The Pictures of Dora Gray (Writers’ Room: December) as well as the last play to be produced at the Tower’s old home in Canonbury, Strangers on a Train. Musical directing credits include Return of the Marionettes, The Producers (which won the coveted Minack Trophy in 2014) and Coram Boy, for which he also composed the music. Colin has composed music for several other Tower shows, including David Copperfield, Lark Rise and Under Milk Wood. Acting credits include Kafka’s Dick, Her Naked Skin and Shining City. |
 Angharad Ormond is a Hackney-based Theatre Maker and Clinical Psychologist. She is interested in creating theatre that pushes the boundaries, both artistically and politically; she has a passion for multi-modal creations and specialises in ensemble work, visual storytelling, and dramaturgy. Credits include: an immersive production of 1984 (director); a modern reimagining of The Canterbury Tales (co-writer and director); The Little Prince (co-writer and director); Offie-nominated Metamorphosis in Lockdown (co-writer and director); and audio-play 5 Women: Now & Then (co-writer and director). As Co-Artistic Director of the Tower Theatre (2021-2023) she co-produced a three-week arts festival and jointly established a new writing programme. She is currently Artistic Director of Liminal Space Theatre Company, specialising in bringing new adaptations of classic tales to life and providing a platform for new writing. As a Clinical Psychologist Angharad believes that real change is created by breaking down barriers, challenging narratives and holding systems to account. She brings her trauma-informed practice into her theatre work, valuing collaboration, safety and playfulness. |