THE 39 STEPS

Ellie’s most recent appearance with KATS was as Bonnie in Come From Away. She has composed music and soundscapes for KATS’ productions of Blood Brothers, Calendar Girls and And Then There Were None. Ellie also performs with the Inn Theatre Company – roles include Laertes in Hamlet, Conrad in Much Ado About Nothing, and Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

In July, she choreographed their open air production of The Dream. Ellie has loved being in this play as well as composing the music for it, and has enjoyed the challenge of making the whole show feel both real and funny – she hopes!

This is Ben’s first production with KATS and his love of creativity is combining to give energy to the movement of shadows.

The depth of his application to combine skills in Art, Woodwork and movement help to captivate the imagination. Ben is looking forward to future productions and building a relationship with the theatre.

Jo is delighted to be part of The 39 Steps, appearing as one half of the Foley team responsible for creating the many sound effects. She has thoroughly enjoyed the laughter, chaos and creativity of rehearsals. Previous roles include the beautician in Calendar Girls, Fay in Sheila’s Island and Sheryl Stoat in Wind in the Willows.

Jo has also choreographed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, School of Rock and The Addams Family, as well as appearing in Robin Hood pantomime. Away from the stage, Jo is a Pilates instructor, DJ and keen Ceroc dancer who is happiest when performing
or making people smile.

Nate likes acting, he also directed once before. Editor’s Note: Excitingly, together with his wife Sarah, Nate is also going to be KATS’ director for their next production, the hilarious and touching musical, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”.

Jules has been with KATS for 14 years and has been lucky enough to be involved in many different productions but this is the first time she has made animal, train and door noises, to name but a few and she hopes she gets them all in the right place! Sit back, enjoy and get ready to laugh!

This is Oli’s third production with KATS following on from the musical Our House which he thoroughly enjoyed, and then last summer’s comedy Play On! in which Oli played two different characters.

The 39 Steps is an opportunity for him to extend his skills into other areas of the production and he hopes you will have fun trying to spot his handiwork!

Brynn is 16 years old and has just received his GCSE exam results, which he is very pleased about, and he’s now looking forward to starting his A Levels at Kingsbridge Sixth Form College. Brynn is delighted to be finally putting his grade 8 piano skills to the test in this year’s play, and says he has thoroughly enjoyed working alongside Ellie Brock who has composed the original music you will hear tonight.

Andy is delighted to be appearing with KATS in The 39 Steps, playing Clown 2 – which means a bewildering collection of characters, accents, costume changes and, at one point, a questionable dance with a mop. When he isn’t trying to remember which character he is supposed to be, Andy runs Kingsbridge Estate Agents with his wife, Emma, and is dad to two children. He is thoroughly enjoying being part of the production and hopes the audience has as much fun watching it as he has performing in it.

This is Jill’s second play as Director for KATS, following Agatha Christie’s thriller, And Then There Were None. Most recently Jill played Hannah, the real-life mother of a missing fireman in KATS’ musical, Come From Away. Previous stage credits include Annie in Calendar Girls.

Jill’s other credits with KATS include Co-Director for Blood Brothers and Fiddler on the Roof, and Designer for Oliver!, 9 to 5 The Musical and My Fair Lady.

Jill directs, performs and designs for The Inn Theatre Company who present Dartmouth Shakespeare week, with whom she’s been involved for almost 20 years.

In a previous life before moving to Devon, Jill played lead roles in many plays and musicals – including Sweet Charity, Chicago, Cabaret, Anything Goes and Calamity Jane. She also performed in Ben Elton’s play Popcorn at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Christine has 20 years experience of costuming productions. Her credits include The Importance of Being Earnest, My Fair Lady, Our House, And Then There Were None, and Wind in the Willows. The 39 Steps is set in her favourite era of the 1930s with its elegance and attention to detail.

This version of The 39 Steps required a little bit more than just the 1930s style, as the costumes had to withstand energetic acrobatics and multiple switching between male and female characters at speed, which was a fun challenge for Christine and required strong stitching and quick release magnets!

Sarah has been making and gathering props for KATS since 2021. Her love of art and crafts enables her to create items using endless supplies of pens, card and glue. Her favourite makes are the papier mache iced current buns for Calendar Girls and something else very special which makes a flying visit in tonight’s show!

Karen took up set design four years ago and has worked on the last five out of six KATS productions, including The Wind in the Willows which won a NODA award for Visual Excellence.

Karen has a great team of helpers and likes to encourage collaborative working through weekly workshops, held at her home. Big thanks to husband Paul, the design team members and to Jill and Chris Brock for all their unwavering help in providing this stage setting for The 39 Steps.