Christopher Tester

July 2010

 I will be performing in Black and White Rainbow's new production of Cyrano de Bergerac from 3rd August - 4th September at the White Bear Theatre. The company's 2009 production of Madness in Valencia played at the White Bear to critical acclaim before transferring to the West End earlier this year. 

Earlier this month I also took part in a rehearsed reading of Iain Weatherby's play Late Show at the English Touring Theatre, courtesy of Public Address.  Directed by Abbey Wright, the cast featured Sandy McDade, Fred Ridgeway, Hywel John, Joshua McGuire, Amy Hall, Katy Wix, Brett Goldstein, Justin Mitchell Davey, Rachel Edwards as well as myself .

June 2010

Further to completing the Rosemary Branch's sold-out production of The Alchemist, I have been invited to join the acting ensemble of The Collective, a company that regularly workshop new work, techniques and ideas with a variety of both established and up-and-coming practitioners.  Forthcoming practitioners I will be working with include Abbey Wright, Harry Bardbeer and Jonathan Kemp.  More about The Collective can be found on their website - http://www.thecollective-actors.co.uk.

 Throughout June and July I will also be be attending a number of meetings and workshops with casting directors including Ginny Schiller, John Cannon, Catherine Willis, Laura Dickens, Leoni Kibbey and Tom Adams.

In other news, I performed in two-hander The Trunk at the Canal Cafe Theatre as part of Rogue Writers' season of rehearsed readings at the venue.  The play was written by Mike Carter and directed by Adam Sibbald.

April 2010

The Alchemist has gained superb reviews, been nominated Critics' Choice by Time Out and sold out several performances including all of its final week as it ends on 11th April after a three week run.

"A fun, well performed, confident and entertaining production... full of big, enjoyable performances... Emma Vane steals the show as much as her limited stage time permits, but there are nice turns from her fellow hucksters: Christopher Tester, a goatish schemer of a Face, and Kevin Millington's slimy Subtle."

- Time Out Critics' Choice 

"[An] excellent cast... kept the audience roaring with laughter, working together like clockwork.  The virtuosity was stunning... splendid entertainment"

- Hackney Today 

"Kevin Millington, Christopher Tester and Emma Vane present a startling array of personas...   the cast’s vocal delivery is crisp throughout and feels naturalistic, especially in Tester’s case...  a rewarding piece".

- Extra! Extra! * * * *

"Confident and energetic, the cast's enthusiasm for the slapstick and silliness rubs off on their audience.  Emma Vane clowns around as waiflike loony Dol whilst Christopher Tester and Kevin Millington make a fine pair as Face and Subtle... boisterous performances, polished production and clever characterisation"

- Hackney Gazette

"Very funny... director Scarlett Plouviez Comnas makes The Alchemist accessible to a wide audience"

March 2010

The Alchemist begins its three week run on 23rd March and finishes on the 11th April.  Shows start at 7.30pm Tuesday-Friday and 7pm Saturday and Sunday.  Tickets can be booked through the Rosemary Branch website, here. 

'That Alchemy is a pretty kind of game...to cheat a man with charming'

Jonson's ruthlessly comic satire of greed, gullibility and confidence trickery!

Three con artists take over a London house and set about trying to cheat, charm and scam their way to riches. First performed in 1610, The Alchemist has a wonderfully rich and varied stage history. Bursting with physical comedy and witty dialogue, Jonson's foremost farce is as exciting and relevant as ever. This fresh new production finds its setting somewhere between the filthy gutters of Jacobean London and the greed-is-good hustle of the Noughties.

February 2010

 Macbeth has proved a sellout success with both audiences and critics, setting a new box office record for a studio production at the Broadway Theatre and receiving unanimously good reviews:

" an astute and thrilling interpretation of Shakespeare's brutal and bloody tragedy... Christopher Tester is excellent as a tricky and scheming Malcolm... The real gut punch of the evening comes at the end in the insertion of a shocking twist; Malcolm's final act ensures one leaves Alice Lacey's production thinking hard about the ethics of war and the true nature of tyranny"

- RemoteGoat * * * *

 "Shakespeare’s Macbeth, directed by Alice Lacey at the Broadway Studio, is an impressively visceral production... Christopher Tester (Malcolm) stands alone for taking his time with the words and filling every sentence with meaning"

- Bexley Times * * * *

"the Broadway Studio Theatre has once again excelled itself for its 10th anniversary year.  Macbeth is a slick, professional production which defies its size without trying too hard or feeling superfluous"

- News Shopper * * * *

"Gareth Bale as the scheming, murderous Macbeth, quite rightly, heads the production... He is well supported by the Lady Macbeth of Helen Millar. She’s as much a plotting villain as him and such is her playing that she attracts deservedly rapt attention...  a strong cast"

- The Stage

"Catford’s production of Macbeth is gripping and enjoyable"

- Afridiziak Theatre News * * * *

January 2010

Macbeth has now opened at the Broadway Theatre, selling out four of its opening five shows and receiving its first (4 *) review which can be found here.  Further rehearsal and production images can be viewed on photographer Adam Levy's website, here.

OTHER NEWS:

I have just been cast in the lead part of Face in the Rosemary Branch Theatre's forthcoming production of The Alchemist by Ben Jonson.  The show is directed by Scarlett Plouviez Comnas and will run for three weeks from 23rd March until 11th April. More information about this and further coverage of Macbeth coming soon.

 December 2009

I will be performing as Malcolm in Macbeth at the Broadway Theatre, Catford in the new year.  The production opens on Wednesday 27th January and will run until 20th February.  Online booking and a full list of performances are available on the Broadway Theatre's website, here.

November 2009

 To mark the twentieth anniversary of his passing, I will be performing in a double-bill of Samuel Beckett's short plays Rough for Theatre II and Ohio Impromptu.  Jointly entitled Stasis, the two shows are being produced by Fail Better Productions, who were also behind my one-man show Diary of a Madman.

Performances will take place at the Oxford Playhouse's Burton Taylor Studio on the 7th and 8th of December.  There are 7pm and 9pm performances both evenings, and tickets are bookable via the Oxford Playhouse website, here.

Earlier this month I also completed touring with the English Touring Theatre's production of The Hypochondriac.  The show vastly exceeded its financial target and gained excellent reviews throughout its tour of England.

 October 2009

In addition to touring with the English Touring Theatre (see September), I will also be performing in a showcase at the Jermyn Street Theatre on 26th October @ 7pm. 

This event will last one hour and is organised by powellcasting.com; tickets for industry professionals can be booked by contacting me.

September 2009

Currently on tour with The Hypochondriac (Liverpool Playhouse & English Touring Theatre co-production).

Cambridge Arts Theatre 15 - 19 September

Malvern Theatre 22 - 26 September

Richmond Theatre 29 September - 3 October

Theatre Royal Brighton 6 - 9 October

Yvonne Arnaud Guildford 20 - 24 October

York Theatre Royal 27 - 31 October

The New Wolsey Ipswitch 3 - 7 November

The Nuffield Southampton 10 - 14 November 

August 2009

* * * * * Broadway Baby - "a truly spectacular solo performance"

* * * *  Time Out - "[a] claustrophobic descent... chokingly plausible"

* * * * Three Weeks - "A powerful and moving piece of theatre" 

* * * * Fest - "Strikingly inventive... truly gripping".

Diary of a Madman at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2009

16th-30th August, 1.25pm daily at The Underbelly

"Best Fringe Show" - Time Out London 2007

OTHER NEWS:

I will be joining the English Touring Theatre for the tour of their current production The Hypochondriac.   Moliere's classic play has been adapted by poet Roger McGough to huge critical success during the production's original run at the Liverpool Playhouse.  I will be understudying five main parts during a nationwide tour between 15th September - 14th November.

I have also filmed an extract from Plain Clothes Theatre's 2008 production of Blue/Orange with fellow actor Colin Dunkley.  A high-quality version is in the pipeline, but for now the five minute extract from the play can be viewed here.

May 2009

My one man show Diary of a Madman (nominated Best Fringe Show of 2007 by TimeOut London) is to be revived for this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  It will play at Underbelly's Big Belly venue at 1.25pm everyday between 16th-30th August.  The show is produced by FailBetter Productions,  who have just organised Warwick University's first New Work Festival as resident company at the CAPITAL Centre (a collaboration between Warwick University and the RSC).

 On a seperate note, author Fay Weldon has offered a lovely personal testimony having watched the Rosemary Branch Theatre's production of Madame Bovary - Breakfast with Emma. It can be found here.

April 2009

Madame Bovary - Breakfast with Emma was awarded * * * * and Critics' Choice in Time Out.  The review (as well as audience comments) can be found here.  A downloadable PDF of the programme is available here.

March 2009

Madame Bovary - Breakfast with Emma has now opened and is running at the Rosemary Branch Theatre, Tue-Sun until the 9th April.  Weekday performances are at 7.30pm; Sat and Sun performances are at 6.30pm.

The production was mentioned in an interview with author Fay Weldon in the Daily Telegraph - click here to read the full article.

A highly positive audience review of the show has been posted on thisislondon.co.uk - click here to read. Extra! Extra!'s review ("A fascinating response to a challenging story... this energetic company weaves a persuasive spell") and Whatsonstage's review ("A well acted and directed production") are both online.  Further reviews will be posted in the 'Reviews & Press' section as they come in!

January 2009

I will next be performing in Madame Bovary - Breakfast with Emma at the Rosemary Branch Theatre.

The production is to be staged by the Belgrade Theatre Company and will run from 11th March - 9th April.  The play is adapted from Gustav Flaubert's novel by Fay Weldon, who will also be participating in a post-show Q&A for this production. 

When Emma Bovary comes down to breakfast she doesn't know that her life is about to fall apart. An argument with her husband over scalded milk rapidly turns into a shattering confession. In her brilliant adaptation, first produced in 2003 by Shared Experience, Fay Weldon shows how a single conversation can devastate a marriage.

Helen Tennison directs this dynamic and visually exciting production, her previous Rosemary Branch productions of Measure for Measure and The Tempest were highly acclaimed and much enjoyed by teenage and adult audiences.

Novelist, screenwriter and journalist, Fay Weldon is the author of several novels including the Booker Prize nominated Praxis, The Life and Loves of a She Devil and The Cloning of Joanna May. She has also written a television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, many episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs and the series Big Women for the BBC.

Gustav Flaubert (1821-1880) is now regarded as one of the greatest literary artists of the nineteenth century.  Madame Bovary (1857) is generally recognised as his masterpiece and scandalised Paris when first published.

November 2008

Three of the Blue/Orange tour's four legs are now complete and the run will conclude at the Rondo Theatre, Bath in November.

Press and audience reception has been unanimously positive:

"the three outstanding actors even enjoy the luxury of those privileged few [people from the audience] stepping forward to shake their hands in deserved congratulation. Yet after savouring this quality production of Joe Penhall’s sobering take on the National Health Service, is it any wonder?... it should be playing to full houses in the Everyman's main auditorium... The three-way verbal tug-of-war is intensely absorbing, thought-provoking and so convincing, it is hard to believe that there is even a script at all... quite exceptional viewing". Gloucestershire Echo

"superb dialogue and naturalistic performances...Blue/Orange remains as gripping as ever".   Metro ****

"Funny, witty and always to the point, director Sam Berger unleashed the cast and let them slug it out to the compulsive, gurgling, bubbling end". Bristol Evening Post ****

"Immense credit to all three actors... all completely absorbing and captivating throughout... three brilliant performances". Venue Magazine

 

 Plain Clothes Theatre Productions Blue/Orange has completed the first leg of its tour, playing to great houses and gaining two excellent reviews from the Metro and the Bristol Evening Post. Both can be found in the 'Reviews and Press' section.

The production will next stop at the Cheltenham Everyman Studio.

 Diary of a Madman has received it's first review - * * * * Time Out.

For the full review click here.

August 2007

 Diary of a Madman commences it's three week run at the Rosemary Branch Theatre from Tuesday 28th August to Sunday 16th September (not Mondays).

On Saturday 8th September, it will be billed along with Samuel Beckett's Ohio Impromptu and Rough for Theatre II as part of Fail Better's special Gala fundraiser.

Links to all three productions can be found on Fail Better Productions' official site, here. 

July 2007

I  have successfully completed my BASSC stage combat course, finishing with a high pass in unarmed combat, sword and rapier.  Many thanks must go to our tutor Janet Lawson for getting us through it!

The publicity campaign for Diary of a Madman has just started - image and copy can be viewed here.

June 2007

I have just recorded my voice reel courtesy of voice-over tutor and radio producer Bernard Shaw, which can be listened to here.  I am also currently preparing a work-in-progress showing of The Diary of a Madman at the Pegasus Theatre, Oxford on June 16th.  We now have the first draft of a working script, and will be presenting extracts of the show as well as inviting feedback from an invited audience.

I also recently completed the excellent Text Analysis course at the Actors Temple, lead by Gabriella Santinelli.

April 2007

I have been cast in a Samuel Beckett double-bill to be performed for the opening of the CAPITAL Centre - a partnership between the University of Warwick and the Royal Shakespeare Company. 

The centre has been established to use theatre performance skills and experience to enhance student learning and to draw on University research and resources to shape the development of the RSC acting companies. 

The performances (of Rough for Theatre II and Ohio Impromptu) are to be produced by Failbetter Productions and will take place on Sunday 13th May at 1pm.

The Country Wife opens on Tuesday 17th April at 7.45pm.

March 2007

The e-flyer for The Country Wife which I will performing in from 17th-21st April can now be downloaded here (adobe PDF document).  The second page includes all times, venue and booking details for your delectation.

February 2007

Due to financial and drama school commitments, I've had to switch my Meisner training from the intensive course to a more sporadic modular system.  To counteract such negative news - I will be doing a solo performance... an adaptation of Nikolai Gogol's Diary of a Madman at the Rosemary Branch Theatre, one of the London fringe's most respected venues, via Failbetter Productions.  The run - 28th August to 15th September, will prefigure my re-entry to CSSD's third year Acting for Stage.

January 2007

I've been cast as Frank Harcourt in Tower Theatre's production of A Country Wife, performing at the Bridewell Theatre from 17th - 21st April.  Still going with the Actors Temple, stage combat and private singing lessons.  Waiting on venues for the 'great plan of autumn 2007'.

December 2006

I've got a new job at the Barbican as a door ambassador, which basically involves standing around in Silk Street giving people directions and offering people umbrellas.... but it pays an extra £1.50 an hour so I've no complaints!  Meisner course has finished for three weeks, but have lots of homework for next term.  Commence a full course in stage combat in January at Stratford Circus.  The course, running every Saturday, will end with a certification assessment by the BASSC in July.  And am currently talking to venues about a project for June or September 2007.

November 2006

Masterminding several projects 'in potentia' for spring/summer 2007 and continuing with the Meisner and singing lessons.  A creative calm before the (not necessarily metaphorical) storm. 

September 2006

Recovering from my trip to Moscow, and have commenced training at the Actors Temple.  Currently making ends meet with random shifts for Orion front-of-house, which includes stints at the Old Vic, Cadogan Hall, the South Bank Centre and the Barbican.

I have also uploaded several essays and my disseration written during my studies at the University of Warwick.  They are listed for your viewing pleasure(?!) at the bottom of my Writing section.

August 2006

Going to Moscow Arts Theatre, 3rd-16th September. 

I will be commencing tuition in Feldenkrais and  starting the one-year intensive acting course at the Actors Temple from the 18th September. 

My application to defer at Central School of Speech and Drama has just been granted, allowing me the option to resume my training in September 2007.