MARIAM BELL

Mariam is pleased to be working on the Smooth Faced Gentlemen project with such talented actresses and Three's Company. She graduated from RADA in 2008 and has since generated an impressive resume, included below.

SMOOTH FACED GENTLEMEN...

Smooth Faced Gentlemen are the UK's only all-female Shakespeare company. Formed in 2012, this female ensemble perform ingenious, dynamic productions of Shakespeare's much-loved classics. Their approach, which marries tradition with innovation, seeks to dismantle the audience's preconceptions of the Bard's work. Through the prism of an all-female cast Smooth Faced Gentlemen examine the mastery with which Shakespeare pictures humanity - a humanity which an actor can explore and share whether male or female and learn much about themselves, their audience and acting.

This year Smooth Faced Gentlemen set sail on their maiden voyage - a production of Romeo & Juliet - helmed by the award-winning Three's Company. Shakespeare's greatest love story was faithfully and provocatively retold by the exceptional all-female cast at the Buxton Festival Fringe, July 2012. This bold production of the classic tale of love and rage met with critical and popular acclaim and went on to win the festival's Best Production award.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Building on this success, they now feel it is time for the company's immediate and timely work to reach a wider audience. They are planning to mount their first season in London, which will include a full run for the award-winning Romeo & Juliet. If you would like to help them to start this process, they are hosting an industry launch night at a top London theatre. They say that the night will be an opportunity for them to promote the Troupe to potential, sponsors and associates. The event will take the form of a performance of Romeo & Juliet followed by a drinks reception, giving interested parties a chance to find out more about their exciting young company.

VARIETY - SHAKESPEARE'S CANONICAL PLAYS

The plays are here according to the order in which they are given in the First Folio of 1623. Plays marked with an asterisk (*) are now commonly referred to as the 'romances'. Plays marked with two asterisks (**) are sometimes referred to as the 'problem plays'.

Comedies

The Tempest *
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Measure for Measure **
The Comedy of Errors
Much Ado About Nothing
Love's Labour's Lost
A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Merchant of Venice **
As You Like It
The Taming of the Shrew
All's Well That Ends Well **
Twelfth Night
The Winter's Tale *
Pericles, Prince of Tyre * (not included in the First Folio)
The Two Noble Kinsmen * (not included in the First Folio)

Histories

King John
Richard II
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 2
Henry V
Henry VI, Part 1
Henry VI, Part 2
Henry VI, Part 3
Richard III
Henry VIII

Tragedies

Troilus and Cressida **
Coriolanus
Titus Andronicus
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Julius Caesar
Macbeth
Hamlet
King Lear
Othello
Antony and Cleopatra
Cymbeline *

MORE ABOUT MARIAM

Height: 5' 6"
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Brown

SPECIAL SKILL

Stage Combat (BASSC) 

Dance – Period, Flamenco, Waltz, Basic Jazz.

Accents – RP, Yorkshire, Northern and Southern Irish, General American, Southern America, Cockney. 

Singing – Soprano; Strong swimmer; Horse riding


INTERESTS

Writing, period film, costume making, playing the piano, ballet, art and cooking

MARIAM'S REVIEWS:

ANTIGONE

Antigone is the third of Sophocles' trilogy of plays about the family of Oedipus (yes, THAT Oedipus). In Oedipus Rex, the King of Thebes discovers the horrific truth of his parentage. In Oedipus at Colonus, he wanders in exile while, back in Thebes, his sons Eteocles and Polynices are warring over the throne. The final play, Antigone, picks up the story following this bloody conflict in which the two brothers have killed one another, leaving Oedipus's brother-in-law (and Uncle) Creon as King.

Creon (played by Rafe Beckley), who fought on the side of Eteocles, has decreed that anyone who buries Polynices with the rites that Greek religious customs demanded will be put to death, and so the corpse is left outside the city to rot. Yet Antigone (Imogen Harris), Oedipus's daughter, cannot accept the sacrilege and betrayal of denying her beloved brother a proper burial, and despite protests from her sister Ismene, she defies Creon, setting off a major scandal when she is captured and admits her deed (which she considers morally correct).

After arguing with his son, Haemon, who is also Antigone's fiance, Creon decides to imprison Antigone in a cave instead of killing her. A prophet, Tiresias, warns Creon that the gods are on Antigone's side, so Creon reverses his decrees, but not before his son and wife, Eurydice (Denys Gaskill), have killed themselves.

The stakes for Antigone and Creon could not be greater, yet for Beckley and Harris, the stakes never seem nearly so high, and so, "surprisingly, some of the most enthralling performances come from actors with the least amount to say. Mariam Bell gives a beautifully moving performance as Ismene; so much so that when she returns as the rather-too-leggy "boy" later on in the play, I was disappointed that she didn't say anything," especially as she accompanied Michael Christophs' Teiresias, who I did not understand a word of due to a bad diction and pronunciation, and, as I didn't know the plot before seeing the play, left me somewhat in the dark for the remainder. In fact, it wasn't until later that evening when I was watching Prophecy at the New End that I knew what was said - one of the characters in that play delivers Teiresias' speech in that!

As for the rest of the cast, Simon Mathis's Haemon projects his confused heart in a well-crafted subdued intensity and Bridie Rowe shines from within the chorus. In fact, the chorus are the heart of this production, and several chorus members fare well performing double duty (including Conrad Sharp who is very good as the messenger and Craig Tonks, who provides some much needed light relief as the northern guard), with nicely managed staging under Andrea Hooymans' direction (though she could do with making the opening dualogue a little less static).

SHOOTING CLOUDS

It's a little over long but Shooting Clouds in well directed by Arnauld Mugglestone and the multiple set design is highly effective with a real sense of Fifties kitsch. However it's really the acting that makes this production so memorable. The performances are of an exceptionally high calibre and while Bret Jones is the stand out Jennifer Belander puts in a superbly touching performance in a role that is much subtler and altogether more demanding.

The cast includes Francis Kennedy, Jennifer Belander, Bret Jones, Damian Sommerlad, Mariam Bell and Thomas Coombes.

MISS JULIE

When Miss Julie (Mariam Bell), the daughter of a nobleman, sleeps with her father's servant what follows is a conflict between sexual passion and social position which in turn leads to tragedy. No review as yet.

WHO WILL CARRY THE WORLD

Natasha Pryce directs a strong ensemble that does justice to Charlotte Delbo's heart-wrenching play.

Set in Auschwitz in 1943, 'Who will carry the word?' is the story of 15 women's emotional and physical journey and their fight to survive so that the world can know the truth. Based on her personal experience, Delbo's play was written for that very purpose and it is no surprise that this production goes hand in hand with charity REDRESS. There is a clear message, lives should not be lost for nothing, and the story of all suffering needs to be heard so that we may eventually stop it.

Beautifully evocative music from composer Sarah Lllewellyn draws us into the tragedy and keeps us there without tugging overly hard on the heart strings, while the simple set proves effective and versatile. When it comes to the cast this is very much an ensemble piece, each character telling their story in their own way, yet one that particularly caught my eye was Pinar Ogun's 'Yvonne'. Yvonne's slow death, pride and humanity are portrayed so poignantly, it's almost too much to bear. A brief moment featuring the new arrival 'Marie' also stands out for its effectiveness as Sonia Balaco is terrifyingly real as the 16 year who has just watched her family being dragged off to the gas chamber.

But as I said this is an ensemble piece, with a strong cast that delivers the message with grace and intelligence. Under the guidance of Pryce (whose decision to use set choreography to depict cold and pain is to be praised) the result is an engrossing play, that may not make you feel good about the world we live in, but sends a message straight to the heart which you will not easily forget.

LINKS:

Casting Mariam Bell

James Farrell - Director

Mariam at Casting Call

Mariam at Spotlight

Mariam's IMBD link

Royal Shakespeare Company - King for a day

Remote Goat review_Antigone

Remote Goat reviews Shooting Clouds

Smooth Faced Gentlemen - London

Ashlea * Camina * Carly * Fran * Henri * Kayleigh * Leila * Mariam

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