Cast | Closer Each Day

Corina Bona (Monica) read a Joint Honours Degree in Cultural Media Studies at UWE Bristol from 2000-03. She then continued to follow her love of theatre by training as a set & Costume Designer at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre school 2004. She is a now an established theatre maker who is a passionate advocate for puppetry and its many diverse styles. More recently she helped to establish the Puppetry Development Consortium. She curates the Smoking Puppet Cabaret, a platform for short form adult puppetry which has featured at the Bristol Festival of Puppetry, Shambala Festival and The Wardrobe Theatre. See more at corinabona.com

Lindsey Garwood (Constance Sugar) is a co-director of the company, as well as being an actor, a tour guide, a mother and a dreamer. She went to the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology when it was brand new and then trained at East 15 Acting School. She always loved it when things went wrong on stage and you just had to make it up, so was delighted when she found that improvisation was an actual thing that people officially did. She MCs the regular jam at the Bristol Improv Theatre and likes trees.

Annette Chown spent her teenage years as part of the Bristol Old Vic Young Company, where she fell in love with acting. She then trained at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and has been professionally pretending to be some else ever since. Theatre companies she’s worked for include Bristol Old Vic, Bike Shed Theatre, Show of Strength, Splice and Red Rope Theatre. Her television and audio work includes Trollied, Casualty, Five Daughters, Private Peaceful, Weird and National Velvet.

Bob Yates-Tily (Harold Pilgrim) is Closer Each Day’s youngest member. He graduated from The Bristol Old Vic’s Made In Bristol course in 2013 and since then has performed in various shows such as The Grandfathers (The London National Theatre) and Wild Men (The South Rotunda, Glasgow). Bob’s most recent role was Leo in Pulling Out which toured Young Offenders institutions around the country. Outside of acting, Bob has worked as a chef, a gardener and is manager for a six aside football team.

Rachael Lane (Gina Pitts) is a Bristol-based improviser, actor, teacher and all-round gal about town. Theatre credits include Woman (Tender Napalm) Carla (Glory Dazed) Ladybird (James & The Giant Peach) Carly (Disposable). Rachael is also a member of Degrees of Error and has joined the company as ‘Ms Gold’ in time for their Edinburgh run of ‘Murder She Didn’t Write’.

John Lomas (Big Dick Johnson) is a founder member and director of the company and appeared in the first ever episode of Closer Each Day. He also performs with Impromptu Shakespeare and Degrees of Error. He is a lead instructor for the Bristol Improv Theatre, an associate artist of Gatecrash Theatre in Swindon and founder of the Unscripted Players. Acting credits include Meet the Humans (BBC), The Bristol Hum (Bristol Old Vic) and Mantelpiece Theatre (BBC Radio).

Matthew Whittle (AJ Shaw) is a Bristol-based director, producer, dramaturg, improviser and performer. He is a co-Director of The Wardrobe Theatre, one of the South West’s leading fringe studio venues. He regularly creates work for theatres and festivals with The Wardrobe Theatre, The Wardrobe Ensemble, Closer Each Day Company and The Smoking Puppet Cabaret.

Malcolm Hamilton (Billy De Burgh). As a performer Malcolm has worked with Bristol Old Vic, Theatre Alibi, Uninvited Guests and Gagglebabble to name a few. He is co-director of Mufti Games creating interactive games and bespoke play projects. He is a Leverhulme Arts Scholar attached to Bristol old Vic Ferment and is developing his practice of integrating Play Theory with interactive theatre and interpretation. He’s been in lots of silly adverts and loves narrating audiobooks, especially in a Geordie accent. He loves his allotment and loves to play with the cast and audience whenever he can!

Sean Duffy (Simpkins) has done the rounds in the world of entertainment and as a milkman in Gloucestershire. The early morning starts with companies Dave Fish Theatre and Squeaky Hill Entertainment gave him the chance to float his creamy dreams into grand successes such as the sensational ‘Boys And Dance’. Hard work ensued delivering these performances, climbing hills and rolling dales, but boy, did Sean learn. He collects the empties and fills them with what audiences need. After skimming and semi-skimming his craft, he has found a full-fat bottle with Closer Each Day and is indulging in the cream.

Andrew Kelly is a Bristol actor and musician. Recently he’s worked with Fine Chisel, The Wardrobe Ensemble and he also sang in Verity Standen’s HUG. Andy was in the fourth ever episode of Closer Each Day back in 2011 and they haven’t yet managed to kill him off.

Imogen Palmer (Bunny Smith) is an actor, writer and theatre-maker who has been performing improvised theatre and comedy for over 6 years, most recently with Impro Melbourne’s musical ‘Smells Like a Song’ (Courthouse Theatre) and Soothplayers – the improvised Shakespeare show (Melbourne International Comedy Festival). She graduated the full time ensemble of the Howard Fine Acting Studio (Melbourne) in November 2016 and now runs improvised singing and drop-in classes at the Bristol Improv Theatre. Say hello at www.imogenpalmer.org

Hal Kelly is a theatre maker and musician based in Bristol. He went through the Made In Bristol programme at the Bristol Old Vic, formed the company Propolis Theatre, and was musical director and performed in their verbatim show Spill. He has performed with FellSwoop Theatre and Tremolo Theatre, and has composed for the Bristol Old Vic Young Company, HippoCrypt, and performance poet Chris White. He provides music and sound for the Closer Each Day company whenever he is needed.

Alice Lamb (Candi Johnson) is an actor and theatre maker from Bristol. She trained at Manchester School of Theatre and at the Bristol Old Vic Young Company. Her acting credits include; Autobiographer by Melanie Wilson and Fuel, The Sam Wanamaker Festival at The Globe and Home Aloney, the Wardrobe Theatre’s first Christmas show. Alice’s recent theatre making credits include Mental by Kane Power Theatre and The Way I Look by O&O Ensemble. She is also a member of the Impromptu Shakespeare Company. Alice used to play the role of Judith Johnson in Closer Each Day, and now returns as Judith’s daughter, Candi.

Jack Drewry is a theatre-maker, musician and sound designer. He is the musical director of Closer Each Day Company and artistic director of Tremolo Theatre, who’s lo-fi sci-fi black comedy, The Hours Before We Wake, had a successful run at Edinburgh Fringe in 2016. Tremolo’s new show Then Again is currently in development. He plays piano for Clumsy and 4th Project, is an associate artist of The Wardrobe Ensemble and a member of Interval, an artist-led studio space and support network. His musical background is in jazz improvisation and electronic music production using Ableton Live.

Peter Baker (Pablo Jones). Peter swapped Barcelona for Bristol a few years back and has been acting, improvising and creating ever since. Past theatre roles include Elvis Presley (Et Tu Elvie), Woyzeck (Woyzeck), Propsero (The Tempest), Titania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Sherlock Holmes. Peter has devised pieces for Skint Theatre, performed as a storyteller and is also a member of Degrees Of Error, playing Mr. Green in their show Murder, She Didn’t Write. He enjoys writing songs and singing, and has threatened to record some music this year.

Andrew Kingston (Fred Gonzalez) studied drama at Bristol University before graduating in 2005 and then moving on to post graduate study at Birmingham School of Acting. Credits include, The Emperor Jones with the National Theatre, Macbeth with Insane Root and Oedipuss in Boots, Muppits DIe Hard, Goldilock Stock and Three Smoking Bears and Kirk Vs Ming with The Wardrobe Theatre. Andrew has been a member of Closer Each Day since 2012.

Chris Collier (Spencer Spencer) is a co-director of The Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol, and is the driving force behind the hit shows of the Wardrobe Theatre Originals. He is also an accomplished producer, performer, light, set and sound designer and just calmly goes about being a creative genius.