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The Script Readers in association with Park Theatre presents

No Reasonable Offer Refused

by Norma Cohen

Directed by
Hannah Chissick

Writer / Actor
Norma Cohen

Founder of Script Readers/Actor
Shenagh Goven

 

 

Hannah Chissick                                                                                                           

Hannah studied Drama at the University of Hull.

On graduating, she worked as Assistant Director on the play Art in London and New York. She then won a Bursary from the Channel 4 Directors’ scheme, spending 3 years at Derby Playhouse. Directing John Godber’s Perfect Pitch & The Blue Room by David Hare, Life in the Theatre by David Mamet and On The Piste by John Godber. During her time in Derby, Hannah was also responsible for developing new writing, working on over 15 world Premieres.

Hannah returned to London to direct Jamie Art by Jasmina Reza at the Whitehall Theatre and then to Manchester as Associate Director for the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. 

In 2003, Hannah became the youngest women to become an Artistic Director in the UK, when Harrogate Theatre appointed her at the age of 25. Directing the regional premiere & national tour of Art with Les Dennis, Christopher Cazenove and John Duttine. Teechers, transferred to The Globe Theatre in Warsaw Poland.

Other productions include Side by Side by Sondheim and Putting it Together, Bouncers, the Fats Waller Musical Ain’t Misbehavin, Ibsen’s Ghosts, Camping Cleo Emanuelle and Dick, The Fantastiks, the critically-acclaimed Steaming (performed in Harrogate’s Turkish Baths), Talking Heads and Alan Ayckbourn’s House and Garden.

Hannah went on to direct the critically-acclaimed West End revival of Side by Side by Sondheim at the Venue Theatre, Abigail’s Party at the Northcott Theatre Exeter and Teechers at the Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke, Dick Whittington at Salisbury Playhouse, a tour of Grumpy Old Women Live, The Snow Queen at Derby Theatre, the world premiere of Horrid Henry – Live and Horrid! Tour and West-end, Kiss of the Spiderwomen for Hull Truck, The Tempest Guildford Shakespeare Festival, Wind in the Willows Derby Theatre and The World Premiere of Pushing up Poppies at Theatre 503. The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Hull Truck and tour, and Much Ado About Nothing for Guildford Shakespeare festival.

In 2011 Hannah founded ‘Norf and Sauf’ with actor Les Dennis.  Their first project, the World Premiere of a new play ‘Jigsy’ , played to critical acclaim in London, Bristol and Liverpool. Hannah was Associate Director on Matthew Warchus’ production of Boeing Boeing, directing 4 casts in London, 2 on Broadway and 1 in Melbourne.

 

Norma Cohen

Born into a vivid, radical, Liverpudlian Jewish milieu, Norma’s new play: No Reasonable Offer Refused is inspired by her grandfather, a self-made ganze macher (bigshot) who fled the stetl on a cattle boat to run a small-time tailoring dynasty in Liverpool (Two Branches) until…..

Her other plays include Sympathetic Magic; Oy Vey, Fung Shway; Giulietta’s Feast; The Deeper Well; The Unbroken Line; Toot, Toot; Does It Come With Ketchup? & That's Up To You, Comrade. Short stories include: The Last Resort & sketches (BBC Radio 4), A Violent Tale (Loki Books), Out of Focus (Women's Press), John Lennon is dead: in memoriam (Pandora). Funding includes Arts Council England, British Council Lithuania & Society for Women Writers & Journalists. She is a founding member of The Script Readers.

ACTING: Co-founder of Sidewalk & Ship of Fools theatres with a rich acting career including stand up comedy and diverse character roles, she plays Joan in Marriage of Inconvenience & Mrs Ellis in The Fitzroy (upcoming feature films) & is a member of Visible Theatre ensemble (www.visibletheatre.co.uk). Other acting credits include: Willy Russell's One for the Road, Ken Campbell’s School for Clowns & Pushkin's Queen of Spades (Max Hoehn/Arcola).                               

www.castingcallpro.com/uk/norma.cohen

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Shenagh Govan

Shenagh trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School & has worked extensively in theatre, TV, film & radio, including national tours & seasons in regional repertory theatre & many fringe productions in London.

Recent work this includes ‘Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ by Edward Albee & also ‘Frozen’ by Bryony Lavery at The National Theatre Studio for Fingersmiths Theatre Company. Rehearsed readings of ‘The Star In The Cross’ at The Bush & ‘Truckstop’ at The Gate & own 1 woman show ‘War Crimes for the Home’ currently in production.

TV film credits include Aunt Gritty in “The Mill on the Floss” with Emily Watson & Bernard Hughes  , Sally Masey in Peter Kosminsky’s “Innocents” with Tim Pigott Smith, Bookish Woman in “Stuart A Life Backwards” with Benedict Cumberbatch & Tom Hardy  and “Summer in The Suburbs” & “The Vascillations of Poppy Carew”.

Shenagh’s TV extensive credits  include 8 years as Joy, S.O.C.O in The Bill,  & episodes of “Murder in Mind”, Sea of Souls, “Holby City”, “Doctors”, “Casualty”, “Midsomer Murders”, “Without Motive”, “Eastenders”, “Taking Liberties, “Dear Dilemma” & “Inside Victor Lewis Smith”

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