The Byre Theatre


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Comic Potential

Scottish Premiere by Alan Ayckbourn

Love is an illogical concept, but Alan Ayckbourn puts the logic back into love in this hilarious romantic comedy.

When you fall in love, you lose grip of all common sense and your emotions are irrational and illogical. So, when your 'emotions' are programmed into you, falling in love for real becomes a whole new experience that no-one can control. Set in the 'foreseeable' future where television actors have been replaced with 'actoids' we visit the set of Hospital Hearts. The 'actoids' are programmed to remember the lines and movements and not bump into the furniture. But when one of the robots starts to reveal 'human' responses and feelings, and injects her own emotions into the proceedings, she captures the heart and imagination of a young aspiring comedy writer who spots her great comic potential. The unlikely lovers then embark on a journey of epic soap opera proportions and real life adventure.

Sir Alan Ayckbourn, one of the Byre's patrons, is renowned for writing comedy that makes you laugh out loud and leaves you with something to think about. We are delighted to present this insightful exploration of human nature in the Scottish Premiere of one of his most recent plays. "An astute, big-hearted play that even as it makes us laugh, asks us why we do so." Financial Times "Like all serious comedies Comic Potential hurts you with the sheer exuberance of its laughter and liberates you with its seriousness." The Sunday Times

Time(s) of Production: 8pm; Saturday Matinees: (15th, 22nd & 29th June) 2.30pm

Location of Production: AB Paterson Auditorium

Production Biogs

Richard Addison - Lester Trainsmith/Hotel Desk Clerk/Hotel Waiter 1
	Richard is Kentish born and bred, but has now settled in South Lanarkshire. He trained at Drama Centre, leaving in 1973.
	Most recent theatre has included Shakespeare seasons in London´s Regent´s Park, three shows at the Almeida Theatre - School for Wives, Galileo, and Ivanov (which also toured to Moscow) - and, at the National Theatre, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Absolute Hell, Wild Oats, The London Cuckolds and The Winter´s Tale. Television credits include: The Vice, Trial and Retribution, The Bill, Casualty, Eastenders, Birds of a Feather, Rude Health and Number 73.
	As a writer, he has contributed to various children´s TV programmes, most recently writing stories for Storyhouse and Furry Tales. He also devised the BAFTA- Award-winning BBC children´s music programme, What´s That Noise. He has taught acting at the RSAMD and at Langside College in Glasgow, as well as at several London drama colleges.
	Richard is becoming a regular at the Byre having played Marley´s Ghost and Mr Fezziwig in the Byre´s sell-out production of A Christmas Carol, and more recently Kipps in the supernatural thriller, The Woman in Black. Richard is delighted to be back in St Andrews and is looking forward to some sun this time round.

Graham Crammond - The Doctor/The Farmer/Man in Dress Shop/Turkey
	Graham trained as an actor at Queen Margaret College in Edinburgh.
	Theatre credits include: Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty, Adam Smith, Kirkcaldy; Midsummer Nights Dream, Nottingham Playhouse; Dissent, 7.84 Theatre Company; The Magic Flute, Blue Tiger Theatre Company; The Wizard of Oz, and Sleeping Beauty, Dundee Rep; Worzel Gummidge, The Byre Theatre; Bouncers, Live Wire; A Place With Pigs, Communicado; Pearl Fishers, Edinburgh Grand Opera Company.
	TV credits include: Murder Rooms, Monarch of the Glen and Frontline Scotland, for the BBC; Snoddy, The High Road, Rab C. Nesbitt and the Baldy Man for Scottish Television and Sword of Honour for Channel Four. Film credits include: A Shot at Glory and The House of Mirth.
	Graham is delighted to be back at the Byre particularly in such a beautiful building.

Valerie Cutko - Carla Pepperbloom
	Valerie Cutko recently appeared in My Fair Lady at the Royal National Theatre and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Prior to this she played Mm.Giry in the UK tour of The Phantom of the Opera and featured in Martin Charnin´s 9½ Quid Revue at the King´s Head Theatre. Trained at Boston Conservatory, she appeared on Broadway as Rafaella in Grand Hotel and in London as Nimue in Camelot for the Covent Garden Festival.
	In Europe, she toured in Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar and My Fair Lady and spent a season in Monte Carlo as a featured soloist in the Sporting Club´s Radio Days revue. Off-Broadway she was in The Cherry Orchard, Love´s Labour´s Lost and - at the Papermill Playhouse - Nine and Fanny. On the fringe she has appeared in new work at the Battersea Arts Centre, Wimbledon Studio and Canal Cafe.

Susie Dumbreck - Trudi Floote/Girl in Dress Shop
	Susie was born in Kirkcaldy, schooled in Edinburgh and studied in London at the Royal Academy of Music. On graduating she headed home to Fife to join the company of Whistle Down the Wind at the Byre Theatre. She went on to play Olga/Sarrighina in Nine at the Donmar Warehouse, Madame Thenardier in Les Miserables and Ellen in Royal National Theatre´s, Oklahoma. Susie returned to Scotland in 1998 to play Eliza in My Fair Lady.
	Recently she created the high heeled, leather bedecked 'Harley Davidson, gothic, rock chic' audience member in the workshop of Jerry Springer the Opera at the BAC.
	Susie is delighted to be back at the new Byre and to be home for the summer. She will also be performing in the Byre´s productions of Master Class and Honk! this summer.

Dominic Gray - Adam Trainsmith
	Dominic's theatre credits include: Hamlet, Regent's Park; The Rehearsal, A Flea In Her Ear, Joking Apart, and Jane Eyre, Pitlochry Festival Theatre; A View From The Bridge, A Madhouse In Goa (MEN Best Actor), and Salt Of The Earth ,Oldham Coliseum; Ring Round The Moon, Kings Head.
	As an Associate Artist of Eye Theatre (1991 to present day) he has appeared in amongst others: Pygmalion, The Woman In Black, Much Ado About Nothing (EAP Best Actor), The Taming Of The Shrew, Torch Song Trilogy (EAP Best Actor), Happy Jack, September In The Rain, The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, and Two (EAP Best Actor).
	Television appearances include: The Bill, My Summer With Des, A Wing And A Prayer, Shades and Wire In The Blood. As a director Dominic's credits include: Teechers (EAP Best Comedy), The Killing Of Sister George, A Passionate Woman and The Woman In Black, Eye Theatre; The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, Wolsey Theatre.
	Dominic recently played the part of Adam Trainsmith in the Byre Theatre´s production of Comic Potential by Alan Ayckbourn. He will also be performing in the Byre´s production of Honk!

John Paul Hurley - The Son/Marmion/Hotel Waiter 2/Technician
	Theatre credits include: Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Dundee Rep; The Anatomist, Lyceum, Edinburgh, The Scaldi House, Theatre Workshop, Hamlet, Twelth Night and Junk, Brunton, Edinburgh.
	Television and film credits include: Harry and the Wrinkleys for ITV, and for film Hold Back the Night and Family.
	John Paul´s also worked for BBC radio on Mcleary, Baltizar and Blimunder, So Much Blood and The Wide Open Sea.
	John Paul is delighted to be playing in Comic Potential and hopes it will be the first of many working visits to the Byre Theatre.

Nicola Keen - Jacie Triplethree
	Nicola´s West End credits include: On your Toes, the original cast of Phantom of the Opera, Cats, The Hunting of the Snark, Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and most recently The Shakespear Revue.
	In Rep she has appeared in The Sound of Music, Charleys Aunt, The Boyfriend and Divorce me Darling and has toured the UK and Europe with Song and Dance and Shall We Dance which opened the Winter Olympics in Oslo.
	As part of the BBC Radio 2 Musicals series she has played Dolly in Bitter Sweet and Helen in Half a Sixpence and has also completed a new recording of Sandy Wilson´s Goodbye to Berlin playing Sally Bowles.
	Nicola is thrilled to be returning to the Byre, where she appeared as Cinderella in Into the Woods, the inaugural production of the new theatre.

Claire Knight - Prim Spring
	Claire trained at Queen Margaret University College. Theatre credits include: Come on Feel the Noise and Junk, Brunton Theatre Company; The Gruffalo, Tall Stories; Sisterly Feelings and Great Expectations, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and The Jungle Book, Dundee Rep.
	For Visible Fictions past productions include: The Pearl, Henry and the Seahorse, and The Red Balloon which toured the USA, Canada and was resident at Seattle Children´s Theatre for 5 months.
	Claire has recently appeared in and recorded a song for Billy Bongo a BBC tartan short. She is delighted to be performing for the first time at the Byre.

Edmund Kente - Chandler Tate
	Theatre works include: in London: Absolute Hell and LA Grande Magia, The Royal National Theatre; The Streets of Dublin, Brixton Shaw; Otherwise Engaged, Comedy Theatre; The Provoked Husband, The New End; and The Strongest Man In The World, The Open Space. She's In Your Hands, The Candidate and The Odd Couple, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and All The Arts of Hurting, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
	Films: Beethoven´s Nephew and To Catch A King. Television: Eastenders, We The Accused, Harry´s Game, Ladykillers, Brookside, Great Expectations, The Lost Language of Cranes, The Racing Game, Out of Town Boys, One by One, Nancy Astor and Wreath of Roses.
	His most recent appearances are as Henry and his feisty 76 year old Aunt Augusta in Graham Greene´s Travels With My Aunt and has just completed filming Sick in the Head, part of the DOGMA TV series for Channel 4 to be screened later this year.

Sophia Wylie - The Mother/The Farmer's Wife/Dress Shop Assistant/Prostitute
	Sophia has performed in the West End in Master Class at the Queens with Patti LuPone and in Sam Mendes´ production of Company which transferred from the Donmar to the Albery Theatre.
	Sophia´s other credits include: the National Tour of Phantom Of The Opera; Hot Ice, the Bridewell Theatre; Jubilee, Her Majesty´s Theatre also broadcast on Radio 3; The Challenge, Edinburgh Festival; and covering Sis in Sir Peter Hall´s production of Albert Herring, Glyndebourne.
	Sophia has also produced several shows including productions she has co-written including Bach to Broadway and a series of her one-woman cabarets.
	Sophia is very happy to be working at the new Byre Theatre and is performing in all this seasons productions.