Table Manners Programme

Welcome to Freaky Geese's production of 'Table Manners' written by Sebastian Kainth.

"At Freaky Geese, we're immensely proud to be able to facilitate some of our nearest and dearest to create their own work and get it seen by lovely audiences. That was one of our goals when we originated back in 2020; to give our friends a platform to showcase their brilliant talent and assist them in pushing their careers forward.

'Table Manners' is certainly no exception to this. We're so impressed with Seb's ability to blindly say 'YES' when we asked him last year to write a show (which he had no concept of at the time) for 2023. What a show it is by the way! We'd like to say a big thank you to him and all the other talented individuals who have helped along the way. Firstly our executive producer on this show, Stephen Rouxel - who's faith and belief in us never waivers, of which we're entirely grateful; to our cast and crew who've done such a brilliant job in creating this show.

But enough of the sentimental waffling; sit back, laugh loudly and cheer passionately as we all get ready to #justplayeh"

- Rhys Ashcroft and Dan Le Friec, Joint Artistic Directors of Freaky Geese Productions

A Note from Sebastian -

"I would say that Table Manners has three different points of origin. The first was one day in August 2022, I had a few hours between finishing a singing lesson and meeting a friend for lunch so I sat in a pub in St Albans (shoutout to the Blacksmiths Arms) with a Diet Coke and my laptop. I think there was cricket on the telly, it might have been an England v South Africa test match, that’s all unnecessary detail. Anyway I started to write a sketch about a boring man talking about cheese on toast, I think I was hungry. I had no idea at that time what it would turn into.

Genesis point two came in December 2022 when I was helping the Freaky Geese with their production ‘Can’t Hack It’. It was a great show and whoever was operating the lights and sound only made a couple of barely noticeable mistakes (it was me). Anyway the boys were planning for 2023, asked me if I had anything and I said I had a cheese on toast sketch, they asked if I wanted to turn it into a play and I said why not. I still had no idea what it was.

Genesis point 3 came in May 2023. We had a reading of a version of the play which was 1 act and about 50 minutes which people really liked but we all agreed it needed 2 acts to do the story justice. At that point I still wasn’t fully sure what this would become. Over the last year and a bit this piece has had many names, from the downright dull to the barely broadcast-able, but as I sit here in late August, the week before we jump into the rehearsal room, I’m delighted to say I finally know what this is, and I think you’ll like it. Bon Apetit."

CAST & CREATIVES

Kevin - Sebastian Kainth

Lisa - Iona Crampton

Rich - Dan Le Friec

Fran - Molly Barton

John - Rhys Ashcroft

Executive Producer - Stephen Rouxel

Producers - Rhys Ashcroft & Dan Le Friec

Writer - Sebastian Kainth

Director - Rhys Ashcroft

Lighting Designer - Vanessa Morton

Sound Designer and Technical Stage Management - Tim Eichelbaum

Poster Designer - Annabelle Ruth Gater

Special Thanks to;

Audrey Thayer and the Drayton Arms Theatre team

Oliver Bailey-Davies and the Princess Royal Centre for Performing Arts team

The Gypsy Queen Pub (Malden Road)

Arts Depot, London

Alexandra Palace and the FOH staff

Florian Rafuna

Cameron Wilson

Jack Tostevin

Shaun Shackleton

Matthew Judge

Sue and Susanne xo

Seb trained at the MTA. He is a comic actor and singer and absolutely not a dancer, although many would agree that his attempts at that are comical too. Performing in his second play as an actor/writer with Freaky Geese following on from the 4* production of 'Reel Talk' in 2022, Seb is delighted to be playing the part of Kevin. Kevin is described as a sinfully boring man in his 30s so Seb expects to feel very at home in the role.

Seb's other credits include 'News Revue', 'Dick Whittington', 'Peter Pan' and 'Doodle the musical'. He has also featured in several tv commercials including spots for Uber Eats, Cinch, Sun Bingo and Gala Bingo. Apparently he has a good face for Bingo. This Christmas, Seb will be performing as Santa in ‘Santas Sparkly Surprise’ at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry. He’s sure, much like Table Manners, that experience will be very ho-ho-wholesome….. sorry.

Iona trained at The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Since graduating, she has performed in London’s West End in ‘Peppa Pig’s Best Day Ever’ and in the National Theatre’s production of 'Small Island’.

She has also performed in musicals at The Lowry, The Hope Mill Theatre, Frogmore Paper Mill and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Her other theatre work includes hit comedy show ‘NewsRevue’ at Canal Café Theatre, ‘Beauty and The Beast ‘at The Compass Theatre, and Shakespeare’s ‘Pericles’ Upstairs at The Gatehouse. Her most recent screen work includes a commercial for McDonald’s directed by Edgar Wright.

Iona is passionate about new writing and has workshopped lots of new musicals, including ‘The Terrific Treevils’ and ‘Mallory On The Mountain’. She is currently co-writing a new children’s musical.

Iona is thrilled to be making her Freaky Geese debut in this hilarious new play by Sebastian Kainth.

Dan trained at ALRA. He co-founded Freaky Geese with Rhys in 2020 and his actor/writer credits for the stage include 'Hamlet', 'Holier Than Thou', 'With Love', 'Can’t Hack It' and their upcoming comedy series 'Famous Old Grouts'.

In addition to his acting work Dan is also writing a book about his funny experiences and encounters on London’s Tube - ‘Tales From The Tube’ comes out this October so keep your eyes peeled!

Dan’s really excited to be playing Rich in Seb Kainth’s new comedy ‘Table Manners’. After watching the success of Seb’s first play it’s thrilling to see where his work will go!

Rhys trained at the MTA. He co-founded Freaky Geese with Dan in 2020 and his acting credits with the company include 'Can't Hack It' and 'Growth'. He's also directed 'Reel Talk' (co-direction), 'Holier Than Thou' and 'Branching Out' as part of the Island Lives festival of new writing. Earlier in the year Rhys also played the role of JP in FG's upcoming comedy series 'Famous Old Grouts'.

Some of his other credits include: 'Les Miserables in Concert', 'Peppa Pig: Live' at both the Theatre Royal Haymarket (West End Debut) and The Sydney Opera House, 'Top Hat' Upstairs at the Gatehouse, 'Accidental Death of an Anarchist', 'Dino Ranch: Live' (London Workshop) and 'With Love' (Radio Play).

Upon finishing 'Table Manners', Rhys is thrilled to be joining the cast of 'Romeo and Juliet' with Moor Theatre, playing the role of Mercutio.

It's been a wonderful challenge for Rhys to both direct and perform in Seb's new comedy... and you can trust that once the show is finished he'll be notified to start writing the next one!

Molly trained at London Studio Centre. is thrilled to be working with Freaky Geese for the third time this year! After filming for their first series of 'Famous Old Grouts', FG produced the premiere of her one woman show, 'Dead Outdoorsy' at the Drayton Arms Theatre. Previously, Molly has appeared in 'Whodunnit [Unrehearsed] 2' at Park Theatre and 'Love's Victory' at Penshurst Place. Most recently, Molly played Doris Golightly in 'The Gin Chronicles'.

As a choreographer, Molly has worked on music videos for Bright World and Tungz. She has also produced and choreographed two shows for London Studio Centre. As a writer, Molly's work has been performed at The Cockpit, Canal Cafe Theatre, The Lion and Unicorn, Golden Goose Theatre, Canada Water Theatre, and The Old Royal Naval College.