Regrets, I've Had a Few

Her mum’s tendency to cover her dad in ketchup, accidentally becoming an actor and writing a song about racism that went viral. All of this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few, featuring Olivier nominated singer, songwriter, actor and playwright, Anoushka Lucas.About Anoushka LucasAnoushka Lucas is a singer, songwriter, actor and playwright. With a debut album championed by Jamie Cullum, Anoushka has built a career that successfully straddles the worlds of music and theatre. To date she has been nominated for an Olivier Award (Best Actress in a Musical, 2023), an Evening Standard Award (Best Playwright, 2023) and she is a recipient of a Stage Debut Award (Best Writer, 2023). Her second album, Make Believe, will be out in 2026. 

Sleeping in her dad’s guitar case as a child, being inspired to become an actor by Eddie Murphy’s performance in Beverley Hills Cop and the importance of not having something to fall back on. All this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few with stage and screen actor, Amaka Okafor.About Amaka OkaforAmaka is one of the UK’s most exciting rising stars. She recently filmed the female lead in Black Rabbit, a limited series for Netflix starring Jason Bateman and Jude Law. Directed by Bateman, Justin Kurzel & Laura Linney, it will be released in late 2025. It has also been announced that Amaka will star in Secret Service for Pot Boiler and ITV opposite Gemma Arterton. In 2023, Amaka led the cast of Netflix/Moonage Pictures hit drama Bodies, opposite Stephen Graham; and 8-time BAFTA nominated BBC drama The Responder. In film, Amaka starred as one of the four female leads in Coky Giedroyc’s Greatest Days, the glorious Take That movie-musical. She has also built a fantastic reputation in the UK with an incredible range of standout theatre. Working with some of our finest directors and dramaturges including Robert Icke, Lyndsey Turner and Rufus Norris. 

Being star struck by Les Dawson, realising you ‘re not as good an actor as you thought you were and following in the footsteps of legendary figures Mike Bradwell and John Godber All this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few with Hull Truck’s Artistic Director, Mark Babych.About Mark BabychMark is the Artistic Director of Hull Truck Theatre where he has directed: The Borrowers, Pinocchio, Pop Music, Ladies Unleashed, Teechers Leavers 22’, 71 Coltman Street, The Railway Children, Romeo and Juliet, Prince Charming’s Christmas Cracker, Two, Peter Pan, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, Paragon Dreams, Oliver Twist, Mighty Atoms, A Christmas Treasure Island, The Gaul, Educating Rita, Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis, Sleeping Beauty, Dancing Through the Shadows, The Ladykillers, Cinderella and A Taste of Honey. He has directed a wide range of classic and contemporary theatre, new plays and Shakespeare, and his work has been seen throughout the UK, Republic of Ireland and Europe, including the Vanemuine Theatre in Estonia. He has twice won Fringe First Awards at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and several Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards for Best Production. Between 1999 and 2009, Mark was the Artistic Director of the Octagon Theatre, Bolton, where he directed over 47 productions, including work by Arthur Miller, Shakespeare, Martin McDonagh, Conor McPherson and new plays by Tanika Gupta, Alan Plater and Les Smith. He has held senior posts at several theatres, including Community Director at Oldham Coliseum, Associate Director at Worcester Swan Theatre, and Associate Artist at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, and Theatre Absolute, for whom he directed the award-winning Street Trilogy. Other theatre credits include: To Sir With Love (Royal & Derngate, Touring Consortium and UK tour); Cooking With Elvis (Derby Theatre); Blonde Bombshells of 1943 (Hampstead Theatre and UK tour); Wuthering Heights (Aberystwyth Arts Centre and Welsh tour); The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (LAMDA); Auto (Vanemuine Theatre, Estonia); All the Way Home (Library Theatre in association with the Lowry); Associate Director of the 2011 production of the Olivier Award-winning The Railway Children; co-creative director of The Complete History of Drinking in the Northern Quarter for Northern Quarter Stories and Co-creative Director of Littlebigman Films. Film and television credits include: Blackburn (Littlebigman Films); Burner and Bedlam (ALRA North); and Coronation Street (ITV). 

Sliding down bannisters at Bristol Old Vic, throwing snowballs at his headteacher and his journey from The Wardrobe Ensemble to becoming Artistic Director of Royal & Derngate, Northampton. All this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few with celebrated director Jesse Jones.About Jesse JonesJesse Jones joined Royal & Derngate as Artistic Director in July 2023. Jesse co-founded the multi-award-winning company The Wardrobe Ensemble, has been Associate Artistic Director at Paines Plough and first worked with Royal & Derngate in 2015 as Resident Assistant Director supported by a Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme bursary. In 2011 Jesse founded The Wardrobe Theatre where he was Co-Artistic Director until 2015 and is currently a trustee of Shoreditch Town Hall. Most recent directing credits include The Jolly Christmas Postmanand Simple8’s Moby Dick in association with Royal & Derngate. Other notable directing credits include Mog the Forgetful Cat, a co-production between Royal & Derngate, the Old Vic and Wardrobe Ensemble, West End hits Death Dropand its sequel Death Drop Back in the Habit, Sorry You’re Not a Winner for Paines Plough, and the world premiere musical adaptation of Pippi Longstocking, for Royal & Derngate and Wizard Presents. Other collaborations between Royal & Derngate and The Wardrobe Ensemble include Education, Education, Education and The Last of the Pelican Daughters. Productions for The Wardrobe Ensemble also include 1972: The Future of Sex and WINNERS. Other credits include The Wind in the Willows for The Core at Corby Cube, The Grandfathers with the National Theatre and Bristol Old Vic, For the Record at Pleasance Theatre, This Perfect World for Theatre Royal Bath, Exceptional Mercy for The Old Vic, Building the Wall at The Bush Destiny at Tobacco Factory Theatres and Guttermouth, Wildbore and Scumbag for Wardrobe Theatre. 

Watching Blood Brotherson stage every year, hurtling down a mountain together and embarking on their first UK tour; The Intrusion. All this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few with international Lecoq-trained ensemble and Told by an Idiot associate company, Bric a Brac Theatre. About Bric à Brac TheatreBric à Brac Theatre are a Lecoq trained devising company that champion feminist theatre to address taboo subjects. Unafraid to push the boundaries, their collaborative practice aims to tackle challenging current affairs and showcase stories that deserve to be seen onstage. Combining various theatre mediums, Bric à Brac creates work that causes their audiences to become proactive and ask questions, all whilst maintaining the desire to develop meaningful connections. 

Playing numerous roles within the same production, early ambitions of becoming a surgeon (before he realised the amount of work it involved) and reaching number 46 in the UK music charts. All of this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few, featuring celebrated performer and seasoned Idiot, Nick Haverson.About Nick HaversonHis Theatre credits include: The Cat and the Canary (Told by an Idiot & Chichester Festival Theatre);The Yeoman of the Guard (The Grange Festival); Charlie & Stan (Told by an Idiot); Loves Labour’s Lost & Won (Much Ado About Nothing) (RSC Stratford & Haymarket London); Too Clever By Half (Royal Exchange Manchester, Told by an Idiot); Ben Hur (Watermill Newbury); The Devil and Mr.Punch (Improbable, Philadelphia USA/ Barbican UK); ‘1984’ (Northern Broadsides); Low Pay, Don’t Pay (Salisbury Playhouse); The Lost Voice (Southbank Centre); The Venetian Twins (Bolton Octagon); Ruby Moon (Northern Stage); Satyagraha (Improbable at London Coliseum/Metropolitan Opera House, NY); Theatre Of Blood (Improbable at The National Theatre); The Hanging Man (Improbable US tour & Sydney Opera House); And The Horse You Rode In On, Beauty & The Beast (Told by an Idiot); The Pirates of Penzance (Orange Tree, Richmond); The Solid Gold Cadillac (Garrick); By Jeeves (Duke of York /Lyric); The Magic Carpet (Lyric Hammersmith).TV credits include: Scott & Bailey; Tales from the Old Bailey; The Mimic; Thank God You’re Here (series); Ashes to Ashes; Spooks; New Tricks; Casualty; Head Over Heels (series, for which he also recorded the title song ); Murder Rooms -The Dark Beginnings Of Sherlock Holmes; Sunday; A Fatal Inversion; Last Days of Ashenden; The Bill; Redemption; Devices and Desires; Absolutely True; Wyrd sisters (The Worst Witch 2).Films include: Matriarch; Muppets Most Wanted; Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd; Hilary & Jackie; Susie Gold; The Tales of Despereaux (animation); Gulliver's Travels; Men Who Sleep in Cars.; Original Skin (BBC short); Gli Zii (short); Sherman (Short).Radio: Hilda, The Barchester Chronicles, Two to Tandem, Men Who Sleep in Cars, By Jeeves (BBC Radio 4); The Edge (BBC Radio York). 

Making her stage debut at 4 years old with Cirque Du Soleil, time away from the limelight studying social sciences, and the responsibility of playing iconic figures on stage. All of this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few, featuring Olivier award nominated performer, Audrey Brisson. About Audrey BrissonAudrey trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She also studied Classical Singing at Cegep St-Laurent, Canada. As a child and teenager, Audrey worked extensively with the Cirque Du Soleil as a vocalist and acrobat. She performed in their international tours of Reinvente and Quidam and the Cirque Du Soleil 30th Anniversary Concert.Theatre includes: The Land of Might-Have-Been (Buxton Opera House); Jekyll and Hyde (Reading Rep Theatre); Into The Woods (Theatre Royal Bath); The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk (Live Stream) (Bristol Old Vic Theatre/ Wise Children); Nominated for Best Actress in a Musical for the Olivier Awards 2020 and Best Performance in a Musical for the UK Theatre Awards 2019 for her performance in the title role in Amélie The Musical (The Other Palace Theatre/ Hartshorn-Hook/ Selladoor/ Watermill Theatre); Marina in Pericles (National Theatre); Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio (National Theatre); she reprised Bella Chagall in The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk (Bristol Old Vic Theatre/ Edinburgh Festival) which Won the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award, Gelsomina in The Strada (UK Tour & The Other Palace); Dea in The Grinning Man (Bristol Old Vic); Bella Chagall in The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk (Kneehigh); Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (Rose Theatre, Kingston); Dead Dog in a Suitcase & Other Love Song (Kneehigh); The Elephantom (National Theatre); Miss Hedgehog in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Kensington Gardens); The Wild Bride and Midnight’s Pumpkin (Kneehigh).

Banging trays in family performances, the role of theatre in instigating social change, and the comfiness of Rufus Norris’ chair. All of this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few, featuring the National Theatre’s Director of Public Acts, Emily Lim. About Emily LimEmily Lim is a director whose work explores theatre making as a form of community building and radical joy. She works with professional and community artists in settings ranging from schools and theatres to community centres and international festivals. Directing credits include The Enormous Crocodile (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre & Leeds Playhouse), Pericles (National Theatre), Brainstorm (co-director, National Theatre & Park Theatre), We're Here Because We're Here (with Jeremy Deller & Rufus Norris, 1418 Now) and Yoko Ono's Bells for Peace (Manchester International Festival). Since 2017 she has been the Director of Public Acts, the National Theatre's flagship community programme, leading on the creation of large-scale community productions. Most recently she directed The Odyssey: The Underworldat the National Theatre, the fifth instalment of a five part nationwide production, which featured a company of 160 people drawn from all across the country. She is a trustee of The Koreo Foundation and an Associate of the National Theatre where she was awarded the inaugural Peter Hall Directing Award in 2016. 

Opening cans of Lilt at inappropriate times, auditioning to play himself, and adapting John Willard’s The Cat and the Canary for the Idiot’s brand new co-production with Chichester Festival Theatre. All of this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few, featuring celebrated writer Carl Grose. About Carl GroseCarl Grose’s plays include Grand Guignol, Superstition Mountain, Gargantua, Horse Piss For Blood, The Kneebone Cadillac, 49 Donkeys Hanged and The No-Brainer. For twenty four years he worked with the internationally acclaimed Cornish theatre company, Kneehigh, as both actor, writer and co-artistic director alongside founder Mike Shepherd. Writing for Kneehigh includes Tristan & Yseult (with Anna Maria Murphy), Blast!, Hansel & Gretel, The Wild Bride, The Tin Drum, based on the novel by Gunter Grass, Ubu! a singalong satire and Dead Dog In A Suitcase (and other love songs). Other writing includes Wormy Close (Soho Theatre), Faust (Vesturport/Young Vic), The 13 Midnight Challenges of Angelus Diablo (RSC at Latitude), The Hartlepool Monkey (Gyre and Gimble), Oedipussy and The Frogs for Spymonkey, and Robin Hood for Regent’s Park. He has also worked with Told By An Idiot on various shows including The Dark Philosophers (National Theatre of Wales), Never Try This At Home (Birmingham Rep / Soho Theatre) and, most recently, the comedy thriller, The Cat and the Canary (Chichester Theatre).    He also wrote the book and co-authored lyrics for Bristol Old Vic’s cult musical, The Grinning Man as well as writing Princess & Peppernose, a musical fantasy short film for Samsung, produced by Ridley Scott Associates and directed by Joe Wright. Coming soon… Insidious – The Further You Fear, a theatre show based on the Sony / Blumhouse hit horror film franchise, which will tour America next year.

Early days as the Artful Dodger, landing their first professional theatre job in Cowbois ahead of graduating from LAMDA, and confusion over prices at Betty’s Tea Rooms. All of this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few, featuring the exciting actor Lee Braithwaite.  About Lee BraithwaiteLee is an actor originally from Harrogate in Yorkshire. They made their debut in Cowbois at the RSC which went on to transfer to the Royal Court and have since been in Laughing Boy at Jermyn Street Theatre. They are currently rehearsing for The Other Place by Alex Zeldin at the National Theatre. They also have an exciting role in a new film We Live in Time, directed by John Crowley starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield coming out in the UK on 1st January 2025. 

Making oyster costumes for her primary school classmates, giving Tilda Swinton her first job, and hiding behind gym mats when visiting Simon McBurney at Lecoq. All of this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few, featuring acclaimed director, performer and co-founder of the International theatre company Complicité; Annabel Arden.About Annabel ArdenAnnabel Arden’s  career encompasses opera, theatre and broadcasting as well as acting and devising new work. In 1983 Annabel was a co-founder of the International theatre company Complicité. In 2020 Annabel made her debut at the Schaubühne, Berlin co-directing - with Simon McBurney - a new adaption of the Kleist novel Michael Kohlhaas and she stepped behind the camera to direct a film of Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale for the Hallé Orchestra with Sir Mark Elder. Her most recent Opera production is Aïda for The Royal Danish Opera and she will direct a radical version of Wagner’s Flying Dutchman this winter at Opera North. In 2023 she was associate director for Omar Elerian’s As You Like It at the RSC and she was also associate for The Merchant of Venice or Merchant 36 starring Tracy Ann Oberman. Annabel teaches in a variety of contexts, for Complicite, in drama schools, Opera Houses and in the corporate sector. She studied at Cambridge and in Paris with Monika Pagneux, Philippe Gaulier and Jacques Lecoq. 

Growing up in a west Yorkshire village with an annual lantern making festival, resisting putting herself in a box, and directing The Duchess of Malfi, the first show to utilise creative captioning in the Sam Wanamaker at Shakespeare's Globe. All of this and more is discussed in this month's episode of Regrets, I've Had A Few with award winning Director and Unicorn Theatre Artistic Director, Rachel Bagshaw.About Rachel BagshawRachel is an award-winning stage director.  She was recently appointed Artistic Director of Unicorn Theatre having been their Associate Director from 2018 to 2023.  She is also an Associate at the National Theatre as a recipient of the Peter Hall Bursary for 2023/24.Recent productions include The Duchess of Malfi (The Globe); The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse (Unicorn Theatre); A Dead Body in Taos (Bristol Old Vic/ Wilton’s Music Hall); Augmented by Sophie Woolley (Royal Exchange/Told by an Idiot); Philip Pullman’s Grimm Tales and Greek Myths Unplugged, Let Loose (with Choreographer Arielle Smith, co-produced with English National Ballet); for Unicorn Theatre Online. Other theatre credits include Midnight Movie (Royal Court Theatre); The Bee in Me and Aesop’s Fables (Unicorn Theatre); Resonance at the Still Point of Change (Unlimited Festival, South Bank Centre); The Rhinestone Rollers and Just Me, Bell (Graeae).  Her critically acclaimed work The Shape of Pain won a Fringe First at Edinburgh and was revived at Battersea Arts Centre in 2018.  Film credits includes Let Loose (Unicorn Theatre Online/ENB) and Where I Go (When I Can’t be Where I Am (BBC/China Plate).

The magic of the ‘drama barn’, collaborating with a pre Blasted Sarah Kane, and the joys of being a Fulham fan - All of this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few, featuring acclaimed director, Sean Holmes.About Sean HolmesSean is currently Associate Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe. Before this he was the Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith. Sean was an Associate Director of the Oxford Stage Company from 2001 to 2006 and has also worked at the National Theatre, RSC, Tricycle, Royal Court, Donmar Warehouse, Chichester Festival Theatre and the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.Theatre includes:  Cowbois (RSC); The Comedy of Errors, The Tempest, Hamlet, Metamorphoses, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Henry VI, Richard III (Shakespeare's Globe); The Cherry Orchard, Death of a Salesman, Fortune (PARCO Theatre Tokyo/Japan tour); The Seagull, Terror, Shopping and Fucking, Bugsy Malone, Herons, Secret Theatre Shows 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7, Cinderella, Desire Under the Elms, Morning, Have I None, Saved, Blasted, A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky, Three Sisters, Comedians (Lyric Hammersmith); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lyric Hammersmith/UK tour/Manchester Royal Exchange/Brisbane Festival/Dublin International Festival); Ghost Stories (Lyric Hammersmith/Duke of York’s/Liverpool Playhouse/Panasonic, Toronto/Arts Theatre); The Plough and the Stars (Abbey, Dublin/Irish/USA tour).Awards include: Have I None, Saved, Blasted was winner of the Olivier Award in 2011 for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre.

A shared love of Aston Villa, the joys of improvisation and a late submission to the prestigious Bruntwood Prize which proved very fruitful. All of this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few, featuring actor and award winning writer, Nathan Queeley-Dennis.About Nathan Quelled-DennisNathan is an award winning writer and actor from Birmingham, as a writer he is the winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2022 with his Debut play Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe 2023 to widespread critical acclaim with Nathan being chosen by The Stage as one of the Fringe Five, Off Fest nominated, Playbill, WhatsOnStage and TimeOut's best shows of Edinburgh Fringe before transferring to the Royal Court Theatre in London. As an Actor Nathan's credits include Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz (Royal Court); As You Like It (@sohoplace); Black Love (Kiln); A Taste Of Honey (National Theatre); Really Big and Really Loud (Paines Plough/UK Tour); Rebel Music (Middle Child); Little Baby Jesus (Birmingham REP); Pinocchio (Orange Tree); An Oak Tree (Francesca Moody Productions) and Doctors (BBC)"  

The inspiration of Footsbarn on his early theatre making, getting arrested at the end of the first ever Kneehigh show and not being a great believer in giving advice. All of this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few, featuring founder and former Artistic Director of the celebrated Kneehigh, Mike Shepherd. About Mike ShepherdMike Shepherd founded Kneehigh in 1980 and remained “roughly in the middle of things” for 40 years. As an actor, teacher and director, Mike has toured the world and is a pioneer of the Asylum; a large-scale mobile venue dedicated to a good night out! 

Almost embarking on a boxing career, wanting to be the Artful Dodger as a child and their recent critically acclaimed production of 'Cowbois' (which stars our AD Paul Hunter). All of this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few, featuring celebrated writer and actor Charlie Josephine. About Charlie JosephineCharlie is a writer, director and actor. Charlie’s 2023 work includes: Cowbois (Royal Shakespeare Company); I, Joan (Shakespeare's Globe); Flies (Shoreditch Town Hall); Birds and Bees (Sheffield Crucible); One of Them Ones (Pentabus). Amongst Charlie’s previous work, Bitch Boxer won the Soho Theatre Young Writers Award 2012, The Old Vic New Voices Edinburgh Season 2012, the Holden Street Theatre’s Award 2013, and the Adelaide Fringe Award 2014. Charlie’s play Blush enjoyed a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it picked up The Stage Edinburgh Award 2016, before touring nationally.  Their play Pops enjoyed a successful run at the Edinburgh Festival 2019 and then High Tide Festival. Charlie spent 2019 as a member of The Old Vic 12, and also wrote a new play Moon Licks for Paines Plough and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, which was performed at The Yard in June 2022.For screen work, Charlie won the inaugural BBC Screenplay First Award, and in March 2017 was named on the BBC New Talent Hotlist. They are currently writer-in-residence at Headlong Theatre.

From their first encounters as a ‘dude’ of a teacher with a trademark leather jacket, a ‘sophisticated’ student joining Middlesex Poly en route from a summer working in France and a ‘short bloke from Birmingham’, our three co-founders John Wright, Hayley Carmichael and Paul Hunter recount the last 30 years of Told by an Idiot. In this Christmas special of  Regrets I’ve Had A Few, expect discussions on the Idiot approach to theatre making, the importance of never being boring and Hayley recalling various hilarious stories involving issues with doors. 

Learning to do flips in the playground at school, his choreographic inspirations and playing Agent Smith in Danny Boyle's mind blowing stage re-boot of the Matrix. All of this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few, featuring dancer and choreographer, Mikey Ureta. About Mikey UretaMikey Ureta is a dance artist based in London. He has been working professionally around the world for the past 11 years and has been active in the industry as a performer, choreographer, teacher and mentor. His theatre credits include: Groove on Down the Road, The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, and Into the Hoods: Remixed (all ZooNation); Get Happy (Told by an Idiot, Beijing Comedy Arts Festival and Barbican); Blaze The Show (Expo 2016, Turkey); Chase The Dream: The Reboot (Flawless); and Pied Piper (Boy Blue). Other credits include: Finalist on Got To Dance with Boyband (Sky One); Finalist on Britain’s Got Talent with Boyband (ITV); appearances with Stormzy (Reading and Leeds, BRIT Awards, Glastonbury); and adverts for Google Pixel 4 and Gucci x GQ China. 

An unmatched admiration of Cats the Musical, the role of persona in her work and “having a good idea and doing it”. All of this and more is discussed in this month’s episode of Regrets I’ve Had A Few, featuring one of the UK’s most charismatic performers and theatre makers, Lucy McCormick. ABOUT LUCY MCCORMICK:Lucy McCormick makes nightclub interruptions, cabaret interventions and extravaganza theatre shows, marrying interests in absurdity, feminism and the grotesque.  Her practice is cross-genre, taking inspiration from theatre, performance art, comedy and dance. Lucy is a Research Fellow at Queen Mary University, an associate artist of Hackney Showroom and the current artist-in-residence at Soho Theatre. She teaches and mentors regularly at universities and arts organisations including Central School of Speech and Drama, Roehampton University, Soho Theatre and National Theatre Studio.  Lucy works as an actor and has appeared in several theatre plays and on screen. She recently starred as Catherine in Emma Rice's Wuthering Heights and the RSC production of Titus Andronicus at The Globe Theatre. She is currently in rehearsals for the RSC production of Charlie Josephine’s Cowbois.   www.lucymccormick.com

The beginning of his career as Alan Rickman’s follow spot operator, being referred to as a grubby thruster by an Equity councillor and his tenures as Artistic Director at both the Bush Theatre and Theatre Royal Plymouth. All of this and more is discussed in our 30th episode of Regrets I've Had A Few, in our 30th year, featuring celebrated Director, Simon Stokes. About Simon StokesSimon became an Artistic Director at the Bush Theatre in London from the mid 1970s to the late 1980s. A new play specialist, he developed and directed many of our now celebrated playwrights and performers.The Bush also worked with a wide range of independent theatre companies including such as the People Show, Phantom Captain, Paines Plough, Hull Truck, the Women’s Theatre Group, Gay Sweatshop and Black Theatre Co-op.In the 1990s he was Artistic Associate and Director of Development for Howard Panter’s Turnstyle Group, developing new plays for production in the West End.As a freelancer, he directed in Germany, Switzerland, Israel and the USA as well in the UK.As a director some of his most highly profiled work has included Manuel Puig’s Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Bush with Simon Callow and Mark Rylance, When I Was A Girl I Used to Scream and Shout by Sharman Macdonald at the Bush; the Edinburgh International Festival and the West End with, variously, Celia Imrie, Julie Walters, Geraldine James and Dawn French; A Slip of the Tongue by Dusty Hughes with John Malkovich and Ingeborga Dapkunaite; The Green Man by Doug Lucie with Phil Daniels and Danny Webb; and Monster Raving Loony by James Graham at the Drum Theatre Plymouth and Soho Theatre.As Artistic Director at the Theatre Royal Plymouth from 1998 to 2018 he turned the Drum, a large studio space, into another nationally noticed theatre, winning many plaudits. He again followed a programming strategy of mixing Drum productions with visiting companies and developed several distinctive coproducing relationships with companies like Frantic Assembly, Ontroerend Goed, Paines Plough and Told by an Idiot.