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With the support of Arts Council England, Park Theatre presents the World Premiere of

Park Bench

By Tori Allen-Martin

WRITER I TORI ALLEN-MARTIN
DIRECTOR (Act 1: Digital) | CHRISTA HARRIS
CO-DIRECTOR (Act 2: Live) I SARAH HENLEY
CO-DIRECTOR (Act 2: Live) I TIMOTHY O'HARA
PRODUCER & ORIGINAL CONCEPT I DANIEL COOPER
VIDEOGRAPHY I BEN HEWIS 
SOUND I DYLAN WINN-DAVIES
LIGHTING I CONOR THORNTON 

Tori Allen-Martin 

Tori was named as one of the BBC'S New Talent Hotlist in 2017 and more recently was selected by Hat Trick and ITV to shadow Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton on the creation of Kate and Koji for ITV, as part of ITV’s 50/50 scheme. Her work as a writer for theatre includes THE HARDEST ONE (The Other Palace) and musicals STREETS (The Cockpit, Hackney Empire and The Vaults) and ANOTHER WAY (The Cockpit) among many others. She also worked on Flack Season Two (Oli Lansley/Hat Trick Productions) and has work currently in development with Duchess Street Productions, Kilimanjaro Productions, Mammoth Productions and Park Theatre. Tori was nominated for 'Most Promising Playwright' for 'Streets' (The Cockpit/The Vaults/Hackney Empire) and is co-founder of Burn Bright an organisation that aims to level the playing field for womxn writers in theatre. Tori is also an associate artist at Chiswick Playhouse. 

 
 
Christa Harris
 
Christa is a freelance theatre director and associate artist of Olivier-nominated theatre company Les Enfants Terribles. Christa trained at the Birmingham REP after being awarded the regional Leverhulme Arts Scholarship with the JMK Trust in 2015. Alongside JMK she has also trained with Tamasha Developing Artists, and was mentored by Michael Buffong (Talawa).
Her work with Les Enfants Terribles includes The Game's Afoot, Inside Pussy Riot and United Queendom and she has directed for the likes of Selladoor Worldwide, NYT, Birmingham REP, Les Petits Theatre and is currently in R&D for NASTY (put some clothes on) by Megan Prescott (Matthew Schmolle Productions) and Summer Camp for Broken People by Emily Beecher.
She has been nominated for a Broadway 'Best Show' and won 'Best Family Show' at the Vaults Awards 2018. Furthermore she was shortlisted for the Old Vic 12 2020-21.
Christa has worked as a director across Shakespeare Schools' Festival, Arcola Youth Theatre, ArtsEd, Oxford School of Drama and as a guest director for University of Birmingham and has experience of working as a Talent Agent for leading diverse agency Sharon Henry Management. She is a co-founder of arts organisation WildChild which champions new voices from disadvantaged backgrounds and aims to create social mobility in the arts. 
 
Sarah Henley
 
Sarah Henley is a writer/director who has worked with Tori professionally for over a decade, including most recently directing Tori's 'The Hardest One' at The Other Palace, also with Tim O'Hara. She co-founded Burn Bright with Tori - an organisation that aims to level the playing field for women and women identifying writers as well as collaborating with her on Interval Productions - a multi-award nominated company dedicated to new musical theatre. She’s also co-founder of NextUp - a subscription video platform for live comedy. Directing credits include: The Hardest One (The Other Palace), The Night Before Christmas (Different Breed), Rent (Interval Productions), InTents (Different Breed), The Booth (Bolton Octagon), Burkas and Bacon Butties (Vault Festival). Writing credits include: Burkas and Bacon Butties (published by Nick Hern books), Getting Out, Getting Away, After the Turn, Cinderella, From Where I’m Standing, Streets (Offie nomination for Best New Musical and Most Promising Playwright), Another Way (Offie nomination for Best New Musical), Muted (Offie nomination for Best New Musical), The Unblinding, InTents, Essence (Vault Festival). More info at www.sarahhenley.co.uk or @sarahhenleyuk 
 
 
Tim O'Hara
 
Timothy is an actor and director who's currently coming out of his creative covid cocoon. He has worked with Tori extensively, including collaborating on The Hardest One at The Other Palace and Carla Has a Voice at Park Theatre, as well as directing shows for Interval Productions (Rent, Interval So Far, After the Turn). Tim is a highly collaborative director/dramaturg who loves working in the room on new writing with talented actors. Acting credits include: Shakespeare in Love (Noel Coward Theatre), The Mousetrap (St Martin's Theatre), The Little Mermaid (Theatre Royal Bath), Chair Plays (Lyric Hammersmith).