Simon Bird, Writer/Performer

Simon’s just graduated from Queens’. With Footlights he performed in two Pantomimes, two Spring Revues, and a lot of Smokers. He co-wrote the 2005 Pantomime, Great Expectations, and the Harry Porter Prize-wining play Daddy’s Dead. He was in last year’s National Tour Show as well, and was the president of Footlights. He’s represented by Avalon Management.

Helen Cripps, Writer/Performer

Helen is about to enter her final year studying Drama and English with Education Studies at Homerton College. Her Cambridge acting credits include: Animal Farm (Napoleon), Noises Off (Dotty Otley), Evelyn Budden; Auctioneer (Harriet/Clara), Our Darker Purpose (Emma), Dr. Faustus (Good Angel/Clown/Pope), Bugsy Malone (Captain Smolsky), the Cambridge University American Stage Tour 2005 – Much Ado About Nothing (Leonato/Verges/Ursula), September in the Rain (Liz), Dead Funny (Eleanor), the ADC/Footlights Pantomime 2005 – Spartacus (Spartacus), The Kingdom of Crossed Destinies (various), The Third Policeman (Flann), the Footlights Spring Revue 2006 – Circus (various), Beckett Shorts – Catastrophe (Assistant) and is a regular performer at the Footlights Smokers.

Tiani Ghosh, Writer/Performer

Tiani is from London and in her third year studying English at St John's College. She is a regular performer and writer with Footlights.

Sam Kitchener, Writer/Performer

Sam studied English at Christ’s College. Productions at Cambridge include: Buckingham/Henry VI (Richard III) and Zeal-of-the-Land-Busy (Bartholomew Fair) for the Marlowe Society, Richard III (Richard III), Colonel Triletsky (Wild Honey), George (Suddenly Last Summer), Fraser (Albert’s Bridge) and Godfrey/Priest/Studentboy/Pilate (Five Visions of the Faithful) for the ADC, Polonius (Hamlet) for BATs and Trinculo (The Tempest) at the Cambridge Arts Theatre. A Footlights committee member and a regular writer and performer in smokers, he directed the 2004 Footlights/ADC Pantomime, Great Expectations and appeared in the 2003 and 2005 pantomimes, Alice in Wonderland and Spartacus.

Joe Thomas , Writer/Performer

Joe has been writing and performing comedy since the age of 17. In 2005 he took his two-man show, The Future, to the London Fringe and the Cambridge ADC, and edited the satire section of Cambridge University's weekly newspaper, Varsity. He wrote for the 2005 Cambridge Footlights Tour Show under the blue blue moon, and the 2005 Cambridge Footlights Spring Revue Progress, in which he also had a directing role. He played the lead role in the 2005 Harry Porter prize-winning show, (as judged by Bill Oddie) Evelyn Budden: Auctioneer, and his sketches both with and against Jonny Sweet have become a staple of the outstandingly popular fortnightly Cambridge Footlights Smokers. http://thefutureisfunny.com

Dan Mansell, Director

Dan graduated this year from Queens’ College Cambridge where he studied English. Whilst at Cambridge he was involved in over twenty productions in roles as diverse as actor, writer, director, and producer. Acting includes: The Caretaker (Davies); The Merchant of Venice (Gobbo); Peter Pan (Hook) at the Edinburgh Fringe; and the ADC 150th Anniversary main show, Wild Honey (Osip). His new play Brick Walls will be premiering at the Edinburgh Fringe this year. Whilst at university Dan has had strong links to the Cambridge Footlights, sitting on the committee and appearing regularly in Footlights shows, including: fortnightly Smokers; the Harry Porter Prize-winning plays Daddy’s Dead (George) and Evelyn Budden; Auctioneer (Mr. Tinter); and the 2005 and 2006 Footlights’ pantomimes, Great Expectations (Mrs. Joe) and Spartacus (Mrs. Crassus). In 2005 Dan was one of the five writer/performers of the Footlights National Tour Show, under the blue, blue moon.