Producer/Director - Graham Weston

Graham's involvement in the theatre began at an early age and he first performed with the Barnsley Junior Operatic Society. Specialising in comic leads, he has appeared in over sixty musicals including "Oaklahoma", "Die Fliedermaus", "Me and My Girl" and more recently appeared in pantomimes.
Graham's love of Gilbert & Sullivan has led him to play patter parts in theatres from Bridlington to Buxton. He won "Best Supporting Actor" at the Buxton G&S Festival for his portrayal of "Ko-Ko" in the "Mikado".
Graham has performed with or directed several societies in the area, and has also worked as Assistant Director to Alistair Donkin, former patter man for the original D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. He is delighted to be directing at Batley for his tenth consecutive year.

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Musical Director - Colin Akers

Colin started his musical life quite late at the age of 11 and at 16 went to Chethams School of Music with joint first study instruments of piano and flute.  From there he went on to Huddersfield University and studied primarily music performance.
He joined Halifax G & S in 1988, initially as accompanist, and was promoted to musical director in 2000 where his first show was “The Yeomen of the Guard” and the most recent being the relatively unknown Grand Duke.  In 2005 we were pleased to welcome Colin to Batley to become our musical director.  As well as being an accompanist, Colin is also a member of an orchestra that supports several societies throughout West and North Yorkshire.

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King Paramount
Robert Thurman

Since joining the Society in 1976, Robert has played roles in twelve of the thirteen G & S operettas.  He hopes to complete the set with next year’s production of ‘Utopia Ltd’.  He has played  Major General Stanley on four occasions, most recently for Halifax G&S.  He has also performed with Meltham G&S and Heckmondwike Players, taking the role of Tevye in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and most recently, Colonel Pickering in ‘My Fair Lady’.  In 2005 he won a NODA award for his performance as Pooh Bah in Halifax’s production of ‘The Mikado’ – his favourite role.

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Tarara
Jeremy Shoesmith

Jeremy seems to have been around forever - from choirboy to the lead singer of a pop band to the amateur stage.  Jeremy made his debut as Fyedka in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ in 1986 for Spenborough Amateurs.  He joined Batley G&S in 1993 playing the role of Ralph Rackstraw in ‘HMS Pinafore’ before going on to play Frederic in ‘Pirates’, Leonard Meryll in ’Yeomen of the Guard’, Hilarion in ‘Princess Ida’ and Luiz in ‘The Gondoliers’ .  This will be his sixth appearance in ‘Pirates’, which is his favourite G & S show.

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Scaphio
Malcolm Parkinson

Malcolm made his first appearance on stage as one of the children in ‘The King and I’ with Dewsbury Collegians. 

Since then he has developed his reputation within local G & S circles as a patter man but is equally at home in straight acting rolls, music hall and other musicals and appears regularly with Dewsbury Arts Group.

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Nekaya
Lisa O’Shea

Following in the footsteps of her grandparents, who met through a G&S group in Cork, Ireland.  Lisa moved to Leeds aged 3 making her debut with Heckmondwike players, aged 14, in "Oliver". She joined Batley G&S in  2007 as a chorus member in "The Sorcerer" and hopes to play more principal roles in the future. She is currently studying at Leeds College of Music where she hopes to develop a career in  classical singing together with the aid and support of Stephanie Roe as her vocal coach.

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Sophy
Pamela Thorne

Returning to the piratical scene ten years after her debut, Pamela joins the rollicking band again.  In the intervening period the most glamorous role she has undertaken has been The Fairy Queen in ‘Iolanthe’ and the most challenging, Lady Blanche in ‘Princess Ida’. Other forays into the limelight have been as Mother Abbess in ‘The Sound of Music’ with Heckmondwike Players and performances for Mirfield Choral Society in ‘The May Queen’, and as Little Buttercup in ‘HMS Pinafore’ and again as The Fairy Queen.

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