Say my name: DA-run SEE-d

Originally from Cornwall, Darren trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating with the Peter Ackerman Award for Outstanding Comedy Performances. He has toured nationally and internationally and regularly collaborates with new writers, co-devising productions for Oxford Playhouse, Tobacco Factory Theatres and Bristol Old Vic. In 2020, Darren co-founded Jam First Theatre, writing and devising original work that has toured the South West and been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Previous credits with Tall Stories include: Room On The Broom (UK Tour)

Theatre credits include:
Oi Frog & Friends! (West End/UK Tour), The Koala Who Could (UK Tour), We’re Going On A Bear Hunt (USA/UK Tours), Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales (West End/Leicester Square Theatre), Bedtime (Oxford Playhouse), The Massive Tragedy Of Madame Bovary (Southwark Playhouse), Superstition Mountain (Minack Theatre), A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to The Forum (Tobacco Factory), Pericles (Redgrave Theatre), Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats Of Loneliness (Alma Tavern Theatre), 140 Million Miles (A Play, A Pie and A Pint, Òran Mór/ Traverse Theatre), Oh No Isn’t! (Barbican Theatre), The Last Days Of Mankind (Bristol Old
Vic)

Television credits include:
Father Brown (BBC), The Lost Honour Of Christopher Jefferies (ITV), Poldark (BBC)

Voiceover credits include:
The New Force (Netflix), Asterix & Obelix (Netflix), The Glass Dome (Netflix), The Swedish Connection (Netflix), Kleks Academy (Netflix), Tore (Netflix), Football Parents (Netflix), His Dark Materials (BBC/HBO)

What have been your favourite projects to work on?
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt USA tour. It was a real pleasure bringing the show to 35 states as the audiences we’re so diverse and different. Plus it was a real adventure road trip! I enjoy the creative process of making theatre shows and love working with puppets so Oi Frog was a lot of fun to help create. I also recently enjoyed helping to make The Koala Who Could and working out some of the puppetry for ‘Elmer The Elephant’ for Tall Stories involving a huge puppet! Discovering how things can move in a realistic way is a lot of fun!

What was your favourite story as a child?
Fantastic Mr Fox and Peter Pan

What possession would you really not want to lose?
My daughter’s first romper suit

Say my name: VEH-rih-tee WAH-ker

Originally from Blackpool, Verity studied at Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts & Arts Educational Schools. She is currently training at Associated Studios
London where her credits include playing Vince in The Wonderful World of Dissocia directed by Adam Megiddo and has worked with directors such as Ian Good, Michael Attenborough
and Ian Talbot

Credits Include: Elf the Musical (UK Tour); Laurel & Chaplin the Feud (WestEndl)

What was your favourite project you’ve worked on?

“Twelfth Night” when I studied at LIPA, it turns out William Shakespeare it pretty cool!

What was your favourite story as a child?

I was a big book nerd as a little girl. I used to read all the Jaqueline Wilson, Roald Dahl and David Walliams books. I loved adventure stories as my imagination would run wild.

What is a possession you wouldn’t want to lose?
My grandma’s brown wallet. It’s falling to pieces, but it comes with me everywhere I go. It has a little napkin inside with a song I wrote for my grandad about how much I love him.

Grew up and based in South East London, Lucinda trained at Rose Bruford College on the BA(hons) Acting. She is also the fiddle player in contemporary folk band Evolution of
Fishermen.

Other theatre credits include: The Little Mermaid (Watermill Theatre), One Man, Two Guvnors; Beauty and the Beast; Alice in Wonderland; The Nutcracker (New Vic Theatre), Hamlet; Twelfth Night; a Midsummer Night’s Dream; Richard III (Stafford Gatehouse Theatre), As You Like it (Garden Shakespeare), Romeo and Juliet (Quarter Too Ensemble), Pepi and Me (Camden Peoples Theatre), The Ferry, The Dog and the Fading Folk (Glass Moose Theatre), Cinderella (Royal Ballet)

Television credits include: Blindboy Undestroys the World (BBC Three

What have been your favourite projects to work on?

I love working on shows for all ages, Christmas projects are always magical because there are so many children and young people who have never been to the theatre before and it’s a so joyful hearing their response to their first live theatre/storytelling experience.

What was your favourite story as a child?

The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I was a massive daydreamer as a child and I loved the simplicity of it and the pictures!

What possession would you really not want to lose?

My violin. I would be heartbroken to lose it!

Say my name: Jess-ih-ka

Jess is a Company Stage Manager and Production Manager with extensive experience in touring theatre, family entertainment, and live events across the UK and internationally. Her credits include Dear Zoo Live (NLP Productions), Tales from Acorn Wood (NLP Productions), Milkshake Live (MT Productions), Horrible Histories Live (Birmingham Stage Company), Stickman Live UK Tour (Freckle productions). Jess is a graduate from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, graduating in 2019 with a degree in Stage Management and Technical Theatre. Since graduating Jess specialises in family theatre and absolutely loves being able to provide family’s and young children their first experience of theatre, and watching their faces as their favourite stories are brought to life, is something Jess finds the most rewarding part of her career. Jess was the recipient of Stage Manager of the Year in 2022 & 2023 with Women in Live Music (WILM) for her contribution to women in the live events industry.

What has been your favourite projects to have worked on? 

My favourite project i have worked on so far would have to be Dear Zoo Live! It’s such a popular book and such a magical show and I feel very lucky to have been involved in this show, and with it being my nephews favourite book; being able for him too see it live was something really special and a core memory.

What was your favourite story as a child?

That would be a very hard question, but my two favourite books as a child would be The Owl who was afraid of the dark & the Jolly postman books

What possession you would really not want to lose?

I would have to say a soft toy, called monkey (who is a monkey…a unique name i know) but he is very special and holds a lot of good memories.