I Am No Bird - Meet the Cast & Creatives
Get to know the wonderful team bringing I Am No Bird: A Modern Brontë Story to the stage this year!
Sophia hatfield
CHARLOTTE BRONTË
Sophia Hatfield is a North West based Actor-Musician and Theatre-Maker, originally from West Yorkshire. As an actor and musician, Sophia has worked extensively with companies across the UK including New Perspectives, RSC Education, The New Vic, Derby Theatre, Potboiler, Northern Broadsides, M6, Birmingham Rep and Bolton Octagon.
In 2016, Sophia founded Stute Theatre, an award winning multidisciplinary theatre company, creating touring theatre and live art across the UK. She has since gone on to create and tour theatre all over the UK, specialising in taking inventive live work to library and community spaces. Her 2018 show Common Lore won 'Breakthrough Performance of the Year' at the National Rural Touring Awards & her live Telephone Theatre experiences with Stute Theatre & New Perspectives performances reached over 400 people during lockdown 2020 and during 2021.
CLAIRE-MARIE SEDDON
Emily BRONTË
Claire-Marie Seddon is a creative from West Yorkshire, Leeds.
As an actress she has worked for companies such as, The Royal Lyceum, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Storyhouse Theatre, The Georgian Theatre Royal, Leeds Playhouse, Red Ladder Theatre, Mikron, and many more. She co-composed & was musical director for the Guardian's top pick 2021 Christmas show The Not So Ugly Sisters by Wrongsemble which tours again this year.
She is Freedom Studio's 2022 Associate Artist. Claire-Marie is absolutely delighted to be revisiting the role of Emily Brontë for Stute Theatre.
EMMA SWAN
ANNE BRONTË
Theatre Credits include: The Merchant of Venice (Royal Shakespeare Company), Horrible Histories (Birmingham Stage Company), Sparky the Elf and the Secret Toyshop (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch), Some Place Better (Red Rose Chain).
Film Credits: Sweet Sue
Other Credits: Doctor Who: The Diary of Riversong, Doctor Who: Ghosts (Big Finish), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (BBC Education) and Me and My 10 Kids (Channel 5).
Emma's musical comedy duo 'Hadfield and Swan' were awarded Best Newcomer at the Musical Comedy Awards 2019. Recently, Emma was nominated for Audible’s audiobook narrator of the year. Emma trained at Drama Studio London and the University of St Andrews.
LISA CAGNACCI
DIRECTOR AND CO-WRITER
Lisa Cagnacci is a director and dramaturg who has worked as Associate Artistic Director at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Associate Artistic Director at Theatre503, London and Associate Director at Southwark Playhouse.
Directing includes: Fox (Pleasance), The Nightclub, Fucking Feminists (Sphinx / Hampstead Theatre), We Wait In Joyful Hope, Animals, Dog Days (Theatre503), Billy Chickens Is A Psychopath Superstar (Theatre503 / Latitude), Anansi: An African Fairy Tale (Southwark Playhouse), Hannah_27: Valiant Adventures in Online Dating (Made From Scratch / Latitude).
Lisa is Associate Director of Sphinx Theatre Company and has taught at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Mountview and Morley College.
Farhaan Shah
Musical Director
Farhaan Aamir Shah (Faz Shah) is an actor, composer and musician based in Manchester. His passion is working with refugees and asylum seekers in collaboration with Music Action International and developing youth projects for social change.
Credits include: Beauty & the Beast 2022 (MD), Coppelia 2021 (MD) Saturday Mashup 2021 (CBBC), The Prince and the Pauper (New Vic Theatre), Astley’s Astounding Adventures (New Vic Theatre), Eid With the Neighbours (collaboration with Brimero Entertainment), The Awakening (original piece for UK Tour), Common Lore (Stute Theatre), Yolanda’s Band Jam (CBeebies), British Muslim TV, BBC Radio, Liverpool International Music Festival (Garage Classical Orchestra in collaboration with the Royal Northern College of Music) and The Hallé Orchestra.
He has also been the violinist in the award winning Northern String Quartet since 2013.
SOPHIA SIMENSKY
SET AND COSTUME DESIGNER
Sophia Simensky is a multi-disciplinary artist and designer, based in Amsterdam and the UK. She studied Design for Performance at Wimbledon College of Art and completed a masters in Art and Design from Dirty Art Department, Sandberg Institute.
As a theatre designer, Sophia works predominantly with new writing and drama. Her designs for stage include: Chicken Soup (Sheffield Crucible), Moormaid (Arcola London), Operation Crucible (Sheffield Crucible and 59E59, New York), Waiting for Waiting for Godot (St James Theatre), It Never Ends (Theatre 503), Dog Days (Theatre 503), The Tailor-Made Man (Arts Theater) and An Incident at the Border (Trafalgar Studios).
Sophia has designed costumes for: The March On Russia (Orange Tree Theatre), King Kong (Vaults), The Grand Tour, Carthage, Events While Guarding the Bofors Gun and Lost Boy (Finborough), Cape and Burning Bird (Unicorn Theatre).
In film, Sophia has recently worked as Production Designer on: Liverpool Ferry (directed by Lee Armstrong), Robin (directed by Tristan Shepherd) and The Fight (directed by Jessica Hynes).
Sophia’s credits as Art director include the Emmy award winning film The Serengeti Rules (directed by Nicholas Brown) and The Good Drug (directed by Joe Stephenson).
BECCIE ALLEN
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Beccie is an actor and theatre maker from Wakefield in West Yorkshire.
They trained at LIPA and graduated in 2021.
Prior to that she was a member of the National Youth Theatre, attended classes at Leeds Playhouse Youth and wrote her first short play 'Speechless' after attending the New Views writing course, where she was mentored by the playwright Stef Smith.
She is passionate about creating new work within the north and engaging communities from low socio/economic backgrounds.
Ever since a friend lent her Jane Eyre in her teens, Beccie has been a Bronte enthusiast, regularly returning to their writing for inspiration.
SHANNON DAVID
CASTING DIRECTOR
Shannon is a freelance Casting Director and Writer from the West Midlands.
Elise Casting was formed in 2020. Alongside her freelance practice Shannon works for the Royal Shakespeare Company in the Company & Stage Management department and prior to that in Production for Derby Theatre. She is a an Alumni of Tremough Follies Musical Theatre Society with a BA in Creative Writing.
She is passionate about showcasing Midlands and Northern based stories.