About Riotous Company
Founded in Denmark and now based in the UK, Riotous Company create playful and unexpected performances blending theatre, storytelling, live music, poetry, pictures and dance. The Company is run by former Odin Teatret actor and director Mia Theil Have together with composer Nikola Kodjabashia, designer Luis F. Carvalho and a team of associates. Riotous are an international collective of artists who have staged performances across the globe from Cuba to Palestine, Macedonia to Kathmandu. With deep roots to the Odin Teatret/Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium, where they are Associate Artists, Riotous share a holistic approach to theatre-making as pioneered by Eugenio Barba, integrating theatre performance, practice and education. They are also Associate Artists of the Third Theatre Network.
Kathryn Hunter
Kathryn Hunter is an Olivier Award winning Actress and Director. Theatre includes: ‘Valley of Astonishment’ (Peter Brook); ‘Hearts’ (Robert Lepage); ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (Julie Taymor); ‘Fragments’ (Peter Brook, Young Vic, Bouffes du Nord, world tour); King Lear (Helena Kaut-Howson, Young Vic); ‘The Bee’ (Hideki Nodi, Tokyo, SOHO); ‘The Diver’ (Hideki Nodi, Tokyo, SOHO); ‘Kafka’s Monkey’ (Walter Meierjohann, Young Vic, world tour) ‘Yerma’ (Helena Kaut-Howson, Arcola); ‘Celestina’ (Calixto Bieito, Birmingham, Edinburgh); ‘Whistling Psyche’; ‘Doña Rosita’ (Phillida Lloyd); ‘Richard III’ (Barry Kyle, Shakespeare’s Globe); ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ (Phillida Lloyd, Shakespeare’s Globe); ‘Macbeth’; ‘Electra’ (Leicester Haymarket); ‘Far Away’ (Bouffes du Nord); ‘The Rose Tatoo’; ‘The Devils (Theatr Clwyd); ‘Live Like Pigs’; ‘The Recruiting Officer’; ‘Our Country’s Good’ (Royal Court); ‘The Hypocondriac’ (Lyric Hammersmith); ‘Women of Troy’ (The Gate); ‘Romeo & Juliet’ (Watermill); ‘Spoonface Steinberg’ (Ambassadors, Washington); ‘Mother Courage’ (Shared Experience); ‘The Striker’; ‘The Visit’ (National Theatre); ‘Anthony & Cleopatra’ (RSC), ‘King Lear’ (RSC). Théâtre de Complicité includes: ‘Foe’; ‘Out of the House Walked a Man’; ‘Anything for a Quiet Life’; ‘Help! I’m Alive’; ‘The Winter’s Tale’. Direction includes: ‘Othello’ (RSC), ‘The Birds’ (National Theatre); ‘Mr Puntila and his man Matti’ (Almeida, Albery, Traverse); ‘The Glory of Living’ (Royal Court); ‘Comedy of Errors’; ‘Pericles’ (Shakespeare’s Globe); ‘My Perfect Mind’ (Young Vic). Films include: ‘Baby of Macon’ (Peter Greenaway); ‘Orlando’ by Sally Potter; ‘All or Nothing’ (Mike Leigh); ‘Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix’; ‘Tale of Tales’ (Matteo Garrone); ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (Julie Taymor).
Femi Elufowoju, jr
Femi Elufowoju, jr is a London born Nigerian performer and director. He trained as an actor at Bretton Hall, Leeds University and has been directed by luminary theatre directors including Sir Richard Eyre, Nicholas Hytner, Yvonne Brewster, John Retallack, Annabel Arden, Jude Kelly and the late Annie Castledine. His extensive stage work include seasons at the Royal Court, National Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Manchester’s Royal Exchange, Theatre Royal, Stratford East and Soho Theatre. Notable Television appearances to date are the BBC comedy series Little Miss Jocelyn, serial dramas Moses Jones and Wire in the Blood and Scandinavian BAFTA award winner Borgen. Films includes The Legend of 1900 for Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore and recent Hollywood franchise Mechanic; Resurrection.
As a theatre director, Femi trained under Philip Hedley at the Theatre Royal Stratford East (Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme, 1996). He formed and artistically led Tiata Fahodzi, UK’s first national touring African theatre company) between 1997 and 2010. The company toured internationally and was nominated for an Olivier Award (Iya-Ile, the first wife) before his departure in 2010. Femi returned to Stratford in 2016 to direct Bonnie Greer’s The Hotel Cerise and recently directed the British premiere of Blues for an Alabama Sky by American playwright Pearl Cleage. In development is Rotimi Babatunde’s stage adaptation of Lola Shoneyin’s award-winning and popular novel The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives scheduled for a 2018 National tour.
Marcello Magni
Marcello Magni is a pioneer of the physical theatre. Born in Bergamo, Italy, Marcello graduated from the Ecole Jacques Lecoq in 1980-82. He continued his studies with Pierre Byland, Philippe Gaulier and Monica Pagneux. He is an actor, director, movement director; he has taught at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq and leads workshops internationally all over the world: this year in Turkey, USA, London and China. Marcello is co-Founder of Complicite in London in 1983, and has worked with the company for over twenty five years and performed in many shows including The visit, Streets of Crocodiles, A minute too late, The Winter’s Tale, Out of a House Walked a Man, Help I am alive, Foe, A Dog’s Heart, More Bigger Snacks Now and Please Please Please.
Marcello worked for the Globe Theatre, National Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Clwyd Theatre and Shared Experience. He has worked with his wife Kathryn Hunter since 1987 and more recently projects including the co-creation with Kathryn Hunter in Fragments 2006 – 2015, The Valley of Astonishment 2014 – 2015 both directed by Peter Brook and Arlecchino solo show directed by Kathryn and Jos Houben. With Peter Brook he has also collaborated as a movement director in A Magic Flute by Mozart and as a performer in the documentary The Tightrope. Further theatre includes: Red Demon and The Bee (Hideki Noda), Mother Courage (Nancy Meckler), King Lear and The Rose Tattoo (Helena Kaut Housen), The Game of Love and Chance (Neil Bartlett and Mike Alfred), Les Enfants du Paradis (Mike Alfreds and David Glass) The Birds, Comedy of Errors, Pericles and Wise Guy Scapino (Kathryn Hunter). Directing credits include: Spoonface Steinberg, Pinocchio, Tell Them I am Young and Beautiful, Everyman. Films include: ‘Mr. Turner’, ‘Nine’, ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ and ‘The Lake’, and ‘Pingu’.
In 2015 he created and performed the theatre show Marcel at the Bouffes du Nord and in 2013 created and performed Hearts directed by Robert Lepage for Ex Machina in Quebec City.
Mia Theil Have
Mia Theil Have is the founder and Artistic Director of Riotous Company. She was in the core ensemble at Odin Teatret from 2003-2007, performing in four productions directed by Eugenio Barba, including the role of Ophelia in Ur-Hamlet at Elsinore Castle in 2006. As a theatre director, Mia’s credits include: Penelope X (Macedonia), Sarha (Portugal & Palestine), Bodas de Sangre (Cuba), Carnival over the Rainbow and Feast Kakhulu (South Africa), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Kathmandu & Delhi), White Suit (GDIF 2012 Greenwich Festival), The Third Man (Secret Cinema) and Divertimento for rope and strings (Tete a Tete Festival). Mia directed the RPS Award-winning We are Shadows for Spitalfields Music Festival, a hugely ambitious production rehearsed over 18 months and performed by 300 residents of Tower Hamlets. Mia worked as an associate director on Dalston Songs and Singing Circle (ROH), Kafka’s Monkey (Young Vic & international tour), The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui (Liverpool Playhouse), Romeo & Juliet (HOME) and Told by an Idiot’s My Perfect Mind (Young Vic & international tour). Creating a bridge between new Danish drama and the UK, Mia has translated Sandholm by Anna Bro into English, directing it for the Unicorn Theatre, as well as initiating a festival of new Danish writing at the Danish Embassy in London in 2015, for which she translated Thomas Howalt’s award-winning play, Hemmeligheden (The Secret). As an actor Mia recently created and performed in Riotous Company productions Scherzo for piano and stick, Insomnia a pas de deux drama for two girls and a piano man, and was acting for Katie Mitchell this summer in Aix en Provence Festival, as Melisande Double to Barbara Hannigan.
Paul Tickell
Paul Tickell grew up in Carlisle. He initially trained for the Catholic priesthood but left the seminary to attend the University of East Anglia followed by Worcester College, Oxford. In the 1970s he worked in music publishing and band management (The Pack, Theatre of Hate). This led him to a career in freelance journalism, writing for Melody Maker, NME, The Face, Time Out and Elle, amongst others. In the 1980s Paul joined LWT as a researcher and later became a producer/director on South of Watford, the London Programme, Network 7 and the South Bank Show. From there he moved into his current freelance career, directing dramas and feature films as well as continuing to make documentaries. For BBC’s long-running Arena series, he has made films on The Sex Pistols and the punk movement, what constitutes a relic, and the phenomenon of sanctity. His latest film, Arena: 1966 – 50 Years Ago Today went out on BBC Four in July 2016.
Selected filmography:
1966 – 50 Years Ago Today (Arena 2016); Going Postal (2009); Saints (Arena 2006); Imagine: Frida Kahlo (2005); Christie Malry’s Own Double-Entry (2000); Crush Proof (1998); A History of British Art (1996); Punk and the Pistols (Arena 1995); Zinky Boys Go Underground (1995); The Relique (Arena 1994)
Nikola Kodjabashia
Nikola Kodjabashia is considered to be one of the most eminent representatives of the Balkan and East European musical avant-garde and composer of four critically acclaimed albums. Nikola has scored music for numerous internationally acclaimed and award winning theatre productions in the UK and internationally. Theatre includes: Bacchai (Sir Peter Hall, National Theatre), Kafka’s Monkey (Young Vic, world tour), C.A.T.S. Awards 2011 multiple winner The Three Musketeers and The Princess of Spain (Dominic Hill, Traverse Theatre), C.A.T.S. 2014 Awards multiple winners Crime and Punishment, Hamlet, This Restless House, A Christmas Carol and Hansel and Gretel (Dominic Hill, Glasgow Citizen’s Theatre), Death of a Salesman (Joe Douglas, Dundee Rep), Scorched (Old Vic), Hecuba (Jonathan Kent, Donmar Warehouse). Other commissions include scores for La Biennale di Venezia 2004, BBC Singers 2010, numerous scores for BBC TV and Radio 2005/10 as well as The National Theatre 2002/3. His music is released by ReR, described by the Guardian as “one of the most adventurous and coherent of avant-rock labels.”
Luis F. Carvalho
Luis F. Carvalho attained first class degrees with hons. in Fashion Design and Technical Arts Design from Central St Martin’s College and Wimbledon School of Art respectively. Luis has since worked extensively in theatre and opera throughout the world. Most recent projects include collaborations with Sophie Gilpin – Romeo & Juliet, Rose Theatre Kingston; Mia Theil Have – Penelope X National Opera & Ballet Macedonia; The Collaborators – I Do G Noc Noc 2013; Bruno Ravella – Giulio Cesare, Stand Moutier; Mia Theil Have – Sarha Guimaraes Capital for Culture Europe 2012; Robert Carsen – Turn of the Screw, Theater an der Wien; Mia Theil Have – John Barber We are Shadows Spitalfields Music Festival. Associate collaborations with Paul Brown include: The Phantom of the Opera 2012 UK Tour, Don Giovanni Glyndebourne Opera Festival, The Fairy Queen Glyndebourne Opera Festival, As You Desire Me The Playhouse Theatre; Lucio Silla Santa Fe Opera. www.lfctheatre.com