Meet the cast

Marak

Founder/ Producer

I started life singing at the age of 8 in a choir. From there I joined the National Youth theatre. I did a few productions over the years that followed on to drama school. After leaving drama school I did musicals for many years and also some TV and film. My favourite role I would have loved to play would be the phantom as I find the whole character intriguing.

I started this group up after being out of theatre for many years and reaching a certain age I wanted to do something where my heart lies instead of the usual mundane day to day routine.

I decided to start a group of singers up initially to raise funds for our local church in Hethe that was facing closure. I called it Stages as it is for people of many different ages singing songs from the stage and who are at different stages of their lives. 

Matt 

Producer/ Performer

I have been a long admirer in music since a little lad. Helped by being surrounded in vinyl and NOW albums and a brother who was integral in experiencing live music at every possible opportunity! 

Throughout school I was a self-confessed drama geek and, in this subject, obtained my highest marks than any other and took part in all school productions. In the meantime, I took up guitar, created a few bands and started writing my own original music.  

 University came and went and I moved to Bicester in 2012. I married my beautiful wife Claire and we have two amazing boys together, Harry and Jack.

I am a Regular performer at local Open Mics and I perform my own acoustic sets at many pubs/festivals and other special events.

 My dream part to play would be Jean Valjean from my favourite musical 'Les Misérables' and I knew Stages would be for me when 'One Day More' was the first song Marak asked me to sing in! 

Stages came out of nowhere but one I'm extremely happy to be part off.

Anne

Performer

Music has been a part of my life since I was a small child, my first solo performance being at about the age of 6. I was lucky enough to be able to perform in a Welsh National Opera Youth Production at the age of 15 and have also performed at the New Theatre in Oxford as part of the Oxford Gang Show. 

Becoming a Mum meant that the performing took a bit of a back seat, until I met my husband and about 7 years ago we became a duo. We now travel the country performing at Steam Rally’s, 1940’s events, Classic Car Shows to name a few.  Re-igniting my love for music has led to looking for other opportunities to perform, as a result, I am also a part of a 4 part a cappella act, specialising in music from the 1940’s.  However my first love has always been Musical Theatre so finding Stages has given me the chance to perform the music that I truly love.  

Deb

Performer 

For my 14th birthday, I asked for a guitar. Mum and Dad also added a copy of Burt Weedon’s “Play in a Day” – 

a decision they regretted after the 24-hour Bobby Shaftoe-athon which ensued once I’d mastered C and G. I joined 

a ‘youth’ folk group, and with a bigger repertoire of songs and a few more chords under my belt, 

I attempted to get my brothers to sing along so I could “do the harmony” but my vision of a Von Trapp Family singing ensemble turned to dust before my eyes. 

Over the years I dabbled with local musical theatre, choirs, and choral performances, but mainly sang for pleasure. 

I still play guitar, and the ukelele – never at the same time though.

I discovered Stages when a friend saw them performing and said “Deb - I saw this group -  they’re right up your street - I can see you singing with them”.

She was right – they are, and now I am!!

I'm very excited to see what this year brings!!

Tyana

Performer 

Performance has been a part of my life since the very beginning. I have been raised around music and appreciate all different sounds and genres. Acoustic guitar, piano, violin, I have had my hands on them all. Although drums and bass guitar are probably my favourites. I was around 9 or 10 when I realised I could sing and this drew me to musical theatre. I have performed at weddings, festivals and other events and find it such a fulfilling experience. Stages was recommend to me by a friend after she saw a video of me singing. I have had some small roles in television and have always enjoyed the buzz of being on set. Some dream roles of mine are Mimi Marquez - Rent, Heather Chandler - Heathers and Cathy Hiatt - The Last Five Years. Stages is a brilliant opportunity to build on skills and technique and is also a lot of fun. Each rehearsal is packed full of laugh out loud moments.

Greig

Performer

Fell in love with the theatre at age 11 when I performed in my first pantomime. Since then I have been lucky enough to play some amazing roles including Cosmo Brown in singing in the rain, (twice), King Arthur in Spamalot, Fred Graham in Kiss me Kate and my favorite, Javert in Les Miserable for the Jersey Amateur Dramatics Club. I have been part of a Jersey boys tribute act and have been lucky enough to perform some fabulous songs from Frankie Valli and the Overtones. I have performed on stage with G4, Johnny Labey, (Eastenders) and Georgie Mottram, (Soprano with the Ida girls).

My dream role has always been to play Javert from Les Miserable on a more permanent basis :-). My family moved from Jersey to Bicester as my very clever teaching wife Mo got a new job. We have 2 kids, Alby and Evie and Evie also got bitten by the theatre bug at an early age and performs regularly. There may not be much call for a 6ft 3 tap dancer but i'm around if required :-)

Perri 

Performer

Ever since I was a little girl I have loved to sing and dance, if you can imagine, a small child in the early 90s going bonkers to MC Hammer 

‘You Can’t Touch This’ and participating in neighbourhood karaoke parties, you can imagine childhood me and the joy music brought me. 

Music was always my way of escapism and deeply connecting with my emotions. However, I have never had the confidence to pursue any singing 

or dancing in a more formal sense, as I have always been an incredibly shy and introverted person. The closest I have ever come to performing in 

public is being a munchkin in the Wizard of Oz when I was 11 [hidden amongst many other munchkins] and in later life in my career as a Primary School 

teacher I started being asked to run singing assemblies and choirs in schools by others who had overheard me singing while setting up my classroom and marking!

We have now reached the year 2023 and I have now finally become a more self-assured person - after years of personal growth! I am now in a career

 I love, working as a Special Needs Teacher, I am secure in my self-worth and friendships I have and am now looking to expand my social network and 

extra-curricular activities – enter Stages! With the encouragement of my beautiful friends Alice and Sweeney, I am amalgamating my love of musical 

theatre with the joy singing gives me and pushing myself outside my comfort zone to now and try and become a bit of a performer!

I am excited to see what this wonderful group of people has to offer and feel on that I get to be part of Stages.

Caz

Actor 

I have been brought up with music from a very young age. In the past I have played 2nd tenor horn in a silver band, along with learning piano and violin up to grade 3.

 I have been in the choir throughout my school days and had my first taste of acting in secondary school performing in “The Sound of Music”, 

mostly chorus, with a few minor parts. I have always had a passion for musicals, with “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” being my top pick. 

I was part of a local comedy group for a short while, then wished to follow my ambition to find a group with a musical and theatrical background. 

With a quick recommendation, I found myself auditioning here! I have always wanted to entertain, but have just been too shy. 

I am looking forward to being a part of Stages, where I hope my confidence will grow, so I can achieve my goal and bring smiles to many faces! .

Alex

Actor

Having fallen in love with theatre at a young age, I’ve enjoyed acting with many groups in and around Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

I’m a huge fan of Shakespeare and I’ve been fortunate enough to play some of his wonderful roles as well as great parts in both classical and contemporary plays. I’ve also worked with a Murder Mystery company taking their shows to venues around the UK.

I was a professional voiceover artist for over a decade and voiced national TV ads as well as radio ads, TV documentaries, promos, computer games and cinema campaigns alongside corporate, educational and multimedia scripts.

Sarah Manuel

Actor/ Dancer

I was bitten by the performance bug at a young age, making my stage debut at the tender age of three in a ballet recital during my dance school’s yearly show.

I have performed and achieved grades in ballet, jazz and modern theatre dance throughout my childhood.

My dream role would be as a Children’s Television Presenter. I even went as far as to film a showreel with a local Oxfordshire TV channel at the age of 16, travelling up for the day from my home at the time in Sussex.

These experiences turned my attention to acting. I had acted in various school productions and the Gang Show, but really fell in love with the theatre while studying GCSE Drama. I also returned to one of my earlier loves by re-joining a dance school, where my teacher also asked me to teach a drama class to younger girls in order to expand our repertoire into a “Variety Show” production.

Following on from my Drama GCSE, I continued to expand my knowledge of the theatre, acting and stage production with an AS-Level in Theatre Studies. I combined this with a Media Studies AS-level, which gave me experience in production, soundtracking and editing of Television, Radio and Video.

Since leaving school I have been a member of several theatre groups both in Sussex and Oxfordshire, taking various roles from Backstage Crew to Main Cast. In October 2018 I was very busy as I was playing the lead in a Comedy Farce, swiftly following this in November when I directed a successful charity production of a comedy play written by a local playwright. After that I took a break!

I truly feel at home in Theatre, especially when I’m treading the boards and acting my heart out for the entertainment of the audience. I feel like a production is a living thing, the feeling of a production coming together, the emotions, soul and life that it takes on during rehearsals and the joy as it is presented on the stage. I look forward to that feeling once again with Stages Theatrical.

Catherine

Actor

 From a young age, I always loved going to the theatre. I didn’t mind if I was watching a play, musical  or dance performance - I have always got a buzz from going on a journey with the characters.  I started performing when I was at school and ultimately find it rewarding working collaboratively  with a group of people to produce a piece of theatre. I’ve been in a variety of plays and musicals over the years with a range of groups but always come  back to my passion of acting. 

The Stages Facebook post looking for a woman to take part in a play popped up at the right time for me – I was looking for a way to get back to performing after  becoming a mum. So far so good – I’m loving working creatively with Stages.