Rikki Beadle-Blair
Encyclopedia
Rikki Beadle-Blair was born in July 1961, in Camberwell and raised in Bermondsey, both in south London
. He is a British
actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, singer, aerobics teacher, designer, choreographer/dancer and songwriter of West Indian origin.
and moved to Britain
when she was 12. She was the first black child in her school in Peckham
.
Rikki was brought up with a brother, Gary
(also an actor, of Eastenders fame), 4 years younger, and a sister, Carleen, 8 years younger. He attended Lois Thompson née Acton's Experimental Bermondsey Lampost Free School. He initially wanted to be a novelist, but wrote his first play aged 7 and started directing aged 11. He also has a brother Nathan (born 1989) and sister Nia (born 1996) from a later relationship of his mother's.
current affairs television programme, Nationwide, made a documentary about Beadle-Blair when he was a child performer in Bermondsey, south London, in the 1970s.
When he was 17 he did a capella concerts at the Gay's The Word bookshop in Bloomsbury
, London, with fellow singers Robert Chevara and Michelle Baughan. The group went under the name of 'Three People'. He was also involved with the Gay Liberation Front
(GLF).
Beadle-Blair has worked as a dancer, a cabaret artist, a rock musician, an actor, a choreographer, and a director. He has performed worldwide, and has written plays for BBC Radio 4 and Channel 4 television. In the film Sirens
he played Blue, a punky Scouse
heroin junkie.
His Band 'Boysie' was a fixture on the 80's gig circuit. the band included Sean Mayes
on piano, Leonard Davies on bass, Baden Hill on guitar and Martin Harmer on Drums
In 1994, Beadle-Blair wrote the screenplay for Nigel Finch's film Stonewall
, about the Stonewall Riots
. This won the audience award at the London Film Festival
and the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.
In 1999 Beadle-Blair wrote "Native", a Radio 4 play that became an award-winning Short film directed by Rene Mohandas.
In 2000 Beadle-Blair wrote and performed a series of short radio plays for Radio 4 - including 'Fares Fair', 'Puppy Love', 'Finders Keepers', 'Silly Me' and 'Open Pores'.
In 2001 he adapted Boy George
's autobiography Take It Like A Man for a BBC film. This has not yet been produced.
In March 2001, he wrote, produced, and directed the Channel 4 television series Metrosexuality
in which he also played a lead role. This also featured Noel Clarke
, who went on to write and star in the movie Kidulthood
. Beadle-Blair co-wrote and co-produced the soundtrack album with Mark Hawkes. On the album he sings a duet with Davie Fairbanks who played "Bambi" in the series. Noel Clarke contributes two raps to the album, which also features a track performed by Mat Fraser
.
The same year, he hosted the Big Up Yourself And Be Proud show at The Brixtonian during Mardi Gras Festival in aid of GMFA, a London based gay men's health charity whose Big Up initiative (targeting black men), he is supporting.
In 2002, his documentary Roots of Homophobia, for BBC Radio 4 won the Sony Radio Academy Awards for Best Radio Feature. There he brings his own experience as a gay black man to inform his investigation into homophobic attitudes in Jamaican pop music.
He was the Executive story editor for both seasons of the US TV series Noah's Arc
' He was also a writer on season two (credited for eps 2 & 4)
He was supervising director for the South African organisation for first time filmmakers Out of Africa. in 2004 and 2005
Beadle-Blair has recently taken up photography. He generally takes the publicity/poster shots for his productions. He has written songs for Kevin Marques. His Theatre company, Team Angelica, is resident at the Tristan Bates Theatre in Covent Garden, London.
In 2005, Beadle-Blair wrote and directed the play 'Bashment' for Theatre Royal Stratford East, this tackled homophobia
in the Ragga/hip-hop music scene. The play ran two seasons in May and September. Beadle-Blair also wrote the music. The play was nominated for "Best New Play" at the national TMA Awards
.
Beadle-Blair has adapted his own Screenplay of Stonewall for the stage and his production company Team Angelica which he took to the 2007 Edinburgh Festival. He also directed, produced, designed both sets & costumes, & choreographed on the show. The play was nominated for "Best Ensemble" at The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence.
In May 2006, Beadle-Blair wrote and directed 'Jucy' for Queer Contact at the Contact Theatre in Manchester, as part of the [www.queerupnorth.com/ Queer Up North Festival]
In May 2007, Beadle-Blair hosted a night of Queer Hip-Hop for Queer Contact at the Contact Theatre in Manchester, as part of the Queer Up North Festival
In Autumn, 2007, FIT, a play for young people commissioned by the Manchester
-based arts organisation queerupnorth and the gay equality organisation Stonewall
, went on tour around the UK. The play was developed to help tackle homophobic bullying in Britain's schools. The play was performed at The Drill Hall in London, The Birmingham Rep, The Contact Theatre in Manchester, the Unity Theatre in Liverpool, and the CCA in Glasgow. The show was also performed in Schools in London, Greater Manchester, Bournemouth, Brighton & Glasgow.
Beadle-Blair, directed, choreographed, composed and wrote the show. Davie Fairbanks remixed the main theme music. The Cast was Ludvig Bonin, Sasha Frost, Steven Clarke, Jack Shalloo, Duncan MacInnes, Lydia Toumasou and Rikki Beadle-Blair. The lighting designer and Company Manager was Rob Armstrong.
Beadle-Blair's 'painful' comedy play 'Familyman' opened for a month at Theatre Royal Stratford East in May 2008 - the lead Role of 'Caesar Ramsay' was being played by Gary Beadle, his brother. the cast also included Team Angelica members Aaron Taylor, Jo Castleton along with llewella Gideon, Jo Martin, Ricci McLeod and Ayesha Antoine. It was directed by Dawn Reid. The play received mostly favourable reviews, including 'Show of the Week' for Time Out.
In May 2008 - Beadle-Blair directed 'Best Man' by Greg Owen at the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. Greg Owen won the Oscar Wilde
Award for New Writing. The play was developed under the Team Angelica umbrella.
Beadle-Blair previewed a trio of new plays in June 2008, Screwface - about nine teenage murderers in a prison drama workshop, Touch - centred around gay life in Iraq today, and Home - which looked at teenagers emerging from the care system into their own accommodation and sperm donor offspring who are searching for their siblings.
In October-Nov 2008 there was a second shorter but more high-profile tour of 'Fit', touring to Edinburgh, Birmingham, Liverpool and London - This included shows at St Stephen's in Edinburgh, The Birmingham Rep and the Drill Hall Theatres. At one point there was minor controversy in the Media - with articles in the Daily Mail and Guardian Online. The cast was Lydia Toumaszou, Sasha Frost, Ludvig Bonin, Duncan Macinnes, Stephen Hoo and Jay Brown, Rob Armstrong once again stage-managing and lighting designing.
In Nov 2008 Beadle-Blair was the M.C. for the 'Liverpool is Burning' Vogue Ball at the Adelphi Ballroom in Liverpool, produced by 'Duckie' for Homotopia.
In January 2009 Team Angelica, in association with the fledgling Achilles Productions, founded by actors Ian Sharp and Rebecca Joerin staged one off theatrical presentation of Beadle-Blair screenplay 'KickOff' at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. The cast was Michael James-Cox, Ian Sharp, Cai O'Leary, Paul Holowaty, Nathan Clough, Alexis Gregory, Stephen Hoo, Rikki Beadle-Blair, Jai Rajani, Jay Brown, Isaac Harper, Michael Lindall, Sasha Frost, Duncan MacInnes, Jack Shalloo, Rebecca Joerin and Samantha Lyden
In February 2009 Beadle-Blair curated 'Louder than Words' at the Tristan Bates Theatre; a season of new writing featuring 14 plays by mostly first time writers. He directed 10 of the plays.
Beadle-Blair has a long-standing creative association with fellow writer, John R Gordon, who was also a writer for Noah's Arc. Beadle-Blair Directed John's first short film script 'Souljah' (2007) Which premiered in the London Film Festival and is currently touring the Film Festival circuit. He also appeared in John first play 'Wheels of Steel', Which John R Gordon directed. The two-hander also featured Karl Collins - who went on to play Beadle-Blair's Ex-husband 'Jordan' in Metrosexuality.
Beadle-Blair has helped to develop new work by playwrights, Matt Harris, Jai Rajani, John R. Gordon, Greg Owen, Stephen Hoo & Hannah Chalmers.
Beadle-Blair regularly teaches a six-week course at the Actor's Centre called 'In the Room' that mentors Actors and creatives. Directing them to re-examine their working methods and maximize their creative, career and personal potential. He has developed an advanced module called 'Seizing the Room'.
In June 2008 Beadle-Blair was included in the Independent On Sunday newspaper's 'Pink List' as one of the UK's most powerful/influential gay people.
In July 2008 -Beadle-Blair's short film Souljah won the award for best short film at the Rushes Soho Shorts festival. Written by John Gordon and produced by Beadle-Blair, Gordon and Carleen Beadle.
In June 2009 Beadle-Blair hosted the Urban Stage at London Pride.
In June 2009 Beadle-Blair completed the 35min short '7 Dials' in which the lives of 33 characters intersect and intertwine in the Seven Dials area of London's Covent Garden. Beadle-Blair wrote and directed this showcase for the participants of BBC Talent Boost - A scheme to increase visibility for minority actors in the UK.
In June/July 2009 Beadle-Blair shot the feature film Kickoff - a Team Angelica co-production with Achilles Entertainments and Shorthouse Productions. The cast was Kyle Treslove, Ian Sharp, Ludvig Bonin, Craig Storrod, Nathan Clough, Alexis Gregory, Stephen Hoo, Rikki Beadle-Blair, Jai Rajani, Jason Maza, Jay Brown, , Michael Lindall, Sasha Frost, Duncan MacInnes, Jack Shalloo, Rebecca Joerin, Ryan Quartley and Samantha Lyden. Post-production was completed in Nov 2009.
In August or 2009 - Beadle-Blair was a course director at the National Youth Theatre for the second year running.
In September 2009 - Beadle-Blair wrote and directed, the Feature-Film/DVD version of 'Fit' featuring the original cast members, along with 36 other actors - including Jason Maza, Kyle Treslove, Katie Borland, Gary Beadle, Jo Castleton, Janine Stride, Andy Williamson, Jeanette Rourke, Tigger Blaze, Rachel Lynes, Davina Dewrance, Ambur Khan, Richard Tan, Marcus Kai, Tom Ross Williams, Jennifer Daley, Vincent Williams, Matt Ray Brown, Ryan Quartley, Dani Bright, Alex Papadakis, Alicia Jones, Danna Kharsa, Hannah Chalmers and David Chrysanthou. The film was financed by Stonewall, and produced by Diane Shorthouse, Carleen Beadle and Rikki Beadle-Blair for Stonewall, The Shorthouse Organisation and Team Angelica. 6 Trailers were released on YouTube in November 2009 by TeamAngelicaFilms and Stonewall.
On November 19, 2009 - Beadle-Blair/Team Angelica staged a double-bill of plays at the Drill Hall Theatre - 'Fucking Charlie' and 'The Grope Box.' Christina Gallon Co-produced and appeared in both plays.
In December 2009 - Beadle-Blair directed 'Stripped' at the Tristan Bates Theatre, written and performed by Hannah Chalmers. 'Stripped' was originally written and developed with the guidance of Beadle-Blair and John R Gordon as part of the 'Louder than Words' season in February. Stripped ran for a month in Edinburgh at the Gilded Balloon. It received almost entirely favourable reviews and subsequently toured the UK and Ireland.
In June 2010 Beadle-Blair wrote and directed the feature-film version of Bashment featuring many members of the original cast.
In Dec 2010 Beadle-Blair wrote and directed the Team Angelica production twothousandandSex - featuring 35 actors - at the Drill Hall Theatre.
In March 2010 Beadle-Blair was awarded an achievement award by the Outfest/Fusion festival in Los Angeles. The award was presented by Guillermo Diaz, who played LaMiranda in the movie of Stonewall at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The ceremony was accompanied by a gala screening of 'Fit'.
'Kick-Off' - Jan 2009 Riverside Studios
'Fit' (Autumn 2008) St Stephen's Edinburgh, Birmingham Rep Theatre, Drill Hall Theatre and Schools in Liverpool, Edinburgh and London
'Home' Tristan Bates Theatre (June 2008)
'Touch' Tristan Bates Theatre (June 2008)
Screwface Tristan Bates Theatre (June 2008)
'Familyman' Theatre Royal Stratford East (May 2008, directed by Dawn Reid)
Taken In (2005) Set in a halfway house for homeless youths.
'Ask and Tell' - homosexuality
and the Army.
twothousandandSex - an esemble play about sex and sexuality featuring 35 actors - at the Drill Hall Theatre.
Four one hour ensemble plays
'Exposures'
'Street Art'
'The Grope Box'
'Fucking Charlie'
'Below the Radar' A straight guy/gay guy pair of roommates and their sexual misadventures in New Orleans.
He directed Greg Owen and Nick McGarrigle in their play 'Best Man' at the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. The play won the writers the Oscar Wilde Award for best writing.
He directed and appeared in Matt Harris's comedy play 'Venom' at the Oval house '2003'
He directed the staged readings of Jai Rajani's 'onenight.com' at the Tristan Bates and the Contact Theatre Manchester in 2007
He performed as part of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots at the Southbank Centre. Other speakers/performers included Professor Jeffrey Weeks, Peter Tatchell, Lindsay River, and Michael Twaits. July 9.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, singer, aerobics teacher, designer, choreographer/dancer and songwriter of West Indian origin.
Early life
He was brought up by his single mother, Monica Beadle (born 1944), a counsellor and unionist who is also gay. She was born in JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and moved to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
when she was 12. She was the first black child in her school in Peckham
Peckham
Peckham is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Southwark. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
.
Rikki was brought up with a brother, Gary
Gary Beadle
Gary Beadle is an English actor, best known for playing Paul Trueman in EastEnders and Gary Barwick in Operation Good Guys....
(also an actor, of Eastenders fame), 4 years younger, and a sister, Carleen, 8 years younger. He attended Lois Thompson née Acton's Experimental Bermondsey Lampost Free School. He initially wanted to be a novelist, but wrote his first play aged 7 and started directing aged 11. He also has a brother Nathan (born 1989) and sister Nia (born 1996) from a later relationship of his mother's.
Career
The BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
current affairs television programme, Nationwide, made a documentary about Beadle-Blair when he was a child performer in Bermondsey, south London, in the 1970s.
When he was 17 he did a capella concerts at the Gay's The Word bookshop in Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
, London, with fellow singers Robert Chevara and Michelle Baughan. The group went under the name of 'Three People'. He was also involved with the Gay Liberation Front
Gay Liberation Front
Gay Liberation Front was the name of a number of Gay Liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots, in which police clashed with gay demonstrators.-The Gay Liberation Front:...
(GLF).
Beadle-Blair has worked as a dancer, a cabaret artist, a rock musician, an actor, a choreographer, and a director. He has performed worldwide, and has written plays for BBC Radio 4 and Channel 4 television. In the film Sirens
Sirens (film)
Sirens is a 1993 film, written and directed by John Duigan, and set in Australia between the two World Wars.Sirens, along with Four Weddings and a Funeral and Bitter Moon—all released in the U.S...
he played Blue, a punky Scouse
Scouse
Scouse is an accent and dialect of English found primarily in the Metropolitan county of Merseyside, and closely associated with the city of Liverpool and the adjoining urban areas such as the boroughs of south Sefton, Knowsley and the Wirral...
heroin junkie.
His Band 'Boysie' was a fixture on the 80's gig circuit. the band included Sean Mayes
Sean Mayes
Sean Mayes was a British pianist and writer.Born in Stone Allerton, Somerset, Mayes was schooled in Bristol. He won a place at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he obtained a degree in philosophy....
on piano, Leonard Davies on bass, Baden Hill on guitar and Martin Harmer on Drums
In 1994, Beadle-Blair wrote the screenplay for Nigel Finch's film Stonewall
Stonewall (film)
Stonewall is a 1995 historical comedy-drama film. Inspired by the memoir of the same title by openly gay historian Martin Duberman, Stonewall is a fictionalized account of the weeks leading up to the Stonewall riots, a seminal event in the modern American gay rights movement...
, about the Stonewall Riots
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
. This won the audience award at the London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
and the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.
In 1999 Beadle-Blair wrote "Native", a Radio 4 play that became an award-winning Short film directed by Rene Mohandas.
In 2000 Beadle-Blair wrote and performed a series of short radio plays for Radio 4 - including 'Fares Fair', 'Puppy Love', 'Finders Keepers', 'Silly Me' and 'Open Pores'.
In 2001 he adapted Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
's autobiography Take It Like A Man for a BBC film. This has not yet been produced.
In March 2001, he wrote, produced, and directed the Channel 4 television series Metrosexuality
Metrosexuality
Metrosexuality is a British television drama, which aired on Channel 4 in 2001 as a short-run series of six episodes. It was later re-edited into a single feature for DVD release...
in which he also played a lead role. This also featured Noel Clarke
Noel Clarke
Noel Anthony Clarke is an English actor, director and screenwriter from London. He is best known for playing Wyman Norris in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Mickey Smith in Doctor Who...
, who went on to write and star in the movie Kidulthood
Kidulthood
Kidulthood is a 2006 British drama film about the life of several teenagers in Ladbroke Grove and Latimer Road area of inner west London. It was directed by Menhaj Huda and written by Noel Clarke, who also stars in the film and directed the sequel, Adulthood...
. Beadle-Blair co-wrote and co-produced the soundtrack album with Mark Hawkes. On the album he sings a duet with Davie Fairbanks who played "Bambi" in the series. Noel Clarke contributes two raps to the album, which also features a track performed by Mat Fraser
Mat Fraser
Mat Fraser is an English rock musician, actor and performance artist. Between 1980 and 1995 he was a drummer with several rock bands including Fear of Sex, The Reasonable Strollers, Joyride, The Grateful Dub, and Living in Texas, the latter of which had a number one single in Italy.- Life :Fraser...
.
The same year, he hosted the Big Up Yourself And Be Proud show at The Brixtonian during Mardi Gras Festival in aid of GMFA, a London based gay men's health charity whose Big Up initiative (targeting black men), he is supporting.
In 2002, his documentary Roots of Homophobia, for BBC Radio 4 won the Sony Radio Academy Awards for Best Radio Feature. There he brings his own experience as a gay black man to inform his investigation into homophobic attitudes in Jamaican pop music.
He was the Executive story editor for both seasons of the US TV series Noah's Arc
Noah's Arc (TV series)
Noah's Arc is an American cable television dramedy. The series, which predominantly features gay black and Latino characters, focused on many socially relevant issues, including same sex dating, same-sex marriage, same-sex parenthood, HIV and AIDS awareness, infidelity, promiscuity, homophobia, gay...
' He was also a writer on season two (credited for eps 2 & 4)
He was supervising director for the South African organisation for first time filmmakers Out of Africa. in 2004 and 2005
Beadle-Blair has recently taken up photography. He generally takes the publicity/poster shots for his productions. He has written songs for Kevin Marques. His Theatre company, Team Angelica, is resident at the Tristan Bates Theatre in Covent Garden, London.
In 2005, Beadle-Blair wrote and directed the play 'Bashment' for Theatre Royal Stratford East, this tackled homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
in the Ragga/hip-hop music scene. The play ran two seasons in May and September. Beadle-Blair also wrote the music. The play was nominated for "Best New Play" at the national TMA Awards
TMA Awards
The TMA Awards, established in 1991, are presented annually by the Theatrical Management Association in recognition of creative excellence and outstanding work in United Kingdom theatres...
.
Beadle-Blair has adapted his own Screenplay of Stonewall for the stage and his production company Team Angelica which he took to the 2007 Edinburgh Festival. He also directed, produced, designed both sets & costumes, & choreographed on the show. The play was nominated for "Best Ensemble" at The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence.
In May 2006, Beadle-Blair wrote and directed 'Jucy' for Queer Contact at the Contact Theatre in Manchester, as part of the [www.queerupnorth.com/ Queer Up North Festival]
In May 2007, Beadle-Blair hosted a night of Queer Hip-Hop for Queer Contact at the Contact Theatre in Manchester, as part of the Queer Up North Festival
In Autumn, 2007, FIT, a play for young people commissioned by the Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
-based arts organisation queerupnorth and the gay equality organisation Stonewall
Stonewall (UK)
Stonewall is a lesbian, gay and bisexual rights charity in the United Kingdom named after the Stonewall Inn of Stonewall riots fame. Now the largest gay equality organization not only in the UK but in Europe, it was formed in 1989 by political activists and others lobbying against section 28 of the...
, went on tour around the UK. The play was developed to help tackle homophobic bullying in Britain's schools. The play was performed at The Drill Hall in London, The Birmingham Rep, The Contact Theatre in Manchester, the Unity Theatre in Liverpool, and the CCA in Glasgow. The show was also performed in Schools in London, Greater Manchester, Bournemouth, Brighton & Glasgow.
Beadle-Blair, directed, choreographed, composed and wrote the show. Davie Fairbanks remixed the main theme music. The Cast was Ludvig Bonin, Sasha Frost, Steven Clarke, Jack Shalloo, Duncan MacInnes, Lydia Toumasou and Rikki Beadle-Blair. The lighting designer and Company Manager was Rob Armstrong.
Beadle-Blair's 'painful' comedy play 'Familyman' opened for a month at Theatre Royal Stratford East in May 2008 - the lead Role of 'Caesar Ramsay' was being played by Gary Beadle, his brother. the cast also included Team Angelica members Aaron Taylor, Jo Castleton along with llewella Gideon, Jo Martin, Ricci McLeod and Ayesha Antoine. It was directed by Dawn Reid. The play received mostly favourable reviews, including 'Show of the Week' for Time Out.
In May 2008 - Beadle-Blair directed 'Best Man' by Greg Owen at the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. Greg Owen won the Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
Award for New Writing. The play was developed under the Team Angelica umbrella.
Beadle-Blair previewed a trio of new plays in June 2008, Screwface - about nine teenage murderers in a prison drama workshop, Touch - centred around gay life in Iraq today, and Home - which looked at teenagers emerging from the care system into their own accommodation and sperm donor offspring who are searching for their siblings.
In October-Nov 2008 there was a second shorter but more high-profile tour of 'Fit', touring to Edinburgh, Birmingham, Liverpool and London - This included shows at St Stephen's in Edinburgh, The Birmingham Rep and the Drill Hall Theatres. At one point there was minor controversy in the Media - with articles in the Daily Mail and Guardian Online. The cast was Lydia Toumaszou, Sasha Frost, Ludvig Bonin, Duncan Macinnes, Stephen Hoo and Jay Brown, Rob Armstrong once again stage-managing and lighting designing.
In Nov 2008 Beadle-Blair was the M.C. for the 'Liverpool is Burning' Vogue Ball at the Adelphi Ballroom in Liverpool, produced by 'Duckie' for Homotopia.
In January 2009 Team Angelica, in association with the fledgling Achilles Productions, founded by actors Ian Sharp and Rebecca Joerin staged one off theatrical presentation of Beadle-Blair screenplay 'KickOff' at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. The cast was Michael James-Cox, Ian Sharp, Cai O'Leary, Paul Holowaty, Nathan Clough, Alexis Gregory, Stephen Hoo, Rikki Beadle-Blair, Jai Rajani, Jay Brown, Isaac Harper, Michael Lindall, Sasha Frost, Duncan MacInnes, Jack Shalloo, Rebecca Joerin and Samantha Lyden
In February 2009 Beadle-Blair curated 'Louder than Words' at the Tristan Bates Theatre; a season of new writing featuring 14 plays by mostly first time writers. He directed 10 of the plays.
Beadle-Blair has a long-standing creative association with fellow writer, John R Gordon, who was also a writer for Noah's Arc. Beadle-Blair Directed John's first short film script 'Souljah' (2007) Which premiered in the London Film Festival and is currently touring the Film Festival circuit. He also appeared in John first play 'Wheels of Steel', Which John R Gordon directed. The two-hander also featured Karl Collins - who went on to play Beadle-Blair's Ex-husband 'Jordan' in Metrosexuality.
Beadle-Blair has helped to develop new work by playwrights, Matt Harris, Jai Rajani, John R. Gordon, Greg Owen, Stephen Hoo & Hannah Chalmers.
Beadle-Blair regularly teaches a six-week course at the Actor's Centre called 'In the Room' that mentors Actors and creatives. Directing them to re-examine their working methods and maximize their creative, career and personal potential. He has developed an advanced module called 'Seizing the Room'.
In June 2008 Beadle-Blair was included in the Independent On Sunday newspaper's 'Pink List' as one of the UK's most powerful/influential gay people.
In July 2008 -Beadle-Blair's short film Souljah won the award for best short film at the Rushes Soho Shorts festival. Written by John Gordon and produced by Beadle-Blair, Gordon and Carleen Beadle.
In June 2009 Beadle-Blair hosted the Urban Stage at London Pride.
In June 2009 Beadle-Blair completed the 35min short '7 Dials' in which the lives of 33 characters intersect and intertwine in the Seven Dials area of London's Covent Garden. Beadle-Blair wrote and directed this showcase for the participants of BBC Talent Boost - A scheme to increase visibility for minority actors in the UK.
In June/July 2009 Beadle-Blair shot the feature film Kickoff - a Team Angelica co-production with Achilles Entertainments and Shorthouse Productions. The cast was Kyle Treslove, Ian Sharp, Ludvig Bonin, Craig Storrod, Nathan Clough, Alexis Gregory, Stephen Hoo, Rikki Beadle-Blair, Jai Rajani, Jason Maza, Jay Brown, , Michael Lindall, Sasha Frost, Duncan MacInnes, Jack Shalloo, Rebecca Joerin, Ryan Quartley and Samantha Lyden. Post-production was completed in Nov 2009.
In August or 2009 - Beadle-Blair was a course director at the National Youth Theatre for the second year running.
In September 2009 - Beadle-Blair wrote and directed, the Feature-Film/DVD version of 'Fit' featuring the original cast members, along with 36 other actors - including Jason Maza, Kyle Treslove, Katie Borland, Gary Beadle, Jo Castleton, Janine Stride, Andy Williamson, Jeanette Rourke, Tigger Blaze, Rachel Lynes, Davina Dewrance, Ambur Khan, Richard Tan, Marcus Kai, Tom Ross Williams, Jennifer Daley, Vincent Williams, Matt Ray Brown, Ryan Quartley, Dani Bright, Alex Papadakis, Alicia Jones, Danna Kharsa, Hannah Chalmers and David Chrysanthou. The film was financed by Stonewall, and produced by Diane Shorthouse, Carleen Beadle and Rikki Beadle-Blair for Stonewall, The Shorthouse Organisation and Team Angelica. 6 Trailers were released on YouTube in November 2009 by TeamAngelicaFilms and Stonewall.
On November 19, 2009 - Beadle-Blair/Team Angelica staged a double-bill of plays at the Drill Hall Theatre - 'Fucking Charlie' and 'The Grope Box.' Christina Gallon Co-produced and appeared in both plays.
In December 2009 - Beadle-Blair directed 'Stripped' at the Tristan Bates Theatre, written and performed by Hannah Chalmers. 'Stripped' was originally written and developed with the guidance of Beadle-Blair and John R Gordon as part of the 'Louder than Words' season in February. Stripped ran for a month in Edinburgh at the Gilded Balloon. It received almost entirely favourable reviews and subsequently toured the UK and Ireland.
In June 2010 Beadle-Blair wrote and directed the feature-film version of Bashment featuring many members of the original cast.
In Dec 2010 Beadle-Blair wrote and directed the Team Angelica production twothousandandSex - featuring 35 actors - at the Drill Hall Theatre.
In March 2010 Beadle-Blair was awarded an achievement award by the Outfest/Fusion festival in Los Angeles. The award was presented by Guillermo Diaz, who played LaMiranda in the movie of Stonewall at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The ceremony was accompanied by a gala screening of 'Fit'.
Plays
His plays include:'Kick-Off' - Jan 2009 Riverside Studios
'Fit' (Autumn 2008) St Stephen's Edinburgh, Birmingham Rep Theatre, Drill Hall Theatre and Schools in Liverpool, Edinburgh and London
'Home' Tristan Bates Theatre (June 2008)
'Touch' Tristan Bates Theatre (June 2008)
Screwface Tristan Bates Theatre (June 2008)
'Familyman' Theatre Royal Stratford East (May 2008, directed by Dawn Reid)
- FIT (2007) National Tour - currently being adapted for film.
- Stonewall (2006/7) - stage adaptation of the BBC film
Taken In (2005) Set in a halfway house for homeless youths.
- Bashment (2005) - explores the controversy around dancehall reggae music and the consequences of homophobic lyrics - Theatre Royal Stratford East
- Totally Practically Naked In My Room On A Wednesday Night (2005) - a night in the life of 17 year old Dylan, desperate to lose his virginity.
- the South London Passion Plays trilogy (Gutted, Laters and Sweet) (2004) Tristan Bates Theatre
- Captivated (1997) - the story of a gay black man imprisoned for murder. Shane corresponds with an Asian pen pal who writes him as an act of charity. Shane’s self-hatred turns into a soul-searching journey from cockiness to agonized self-reflection, and finally ultimate gratitude for his unseen friend. This was released on video (now deleted) Directed by David Squire
'Ask and Tell' - homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and the Army.
twothousandandSex - an esemble play about sex and sexuality featuring 35 actors - at the Drill Hall Theatre.
Four one hour ensemble plays
'Exposures'
'Street Art'
'The Grope Box'
'Fucking Charlie'
'Below the Radar' A straight guy/gay guy pair of roommates and their sexual misadventures in New Orleans.
- Human - Two terminally ill cancer patients get together for a final riotous love affair.
- Prettyboy Described as a 'Dogma Style Musical" at the Oval House Theatre.
- Gunplay (He did not direct)
- Wild At Heart Riverside Studios (1988)
He directed Greg Owen and Nick McGarrigle in their play 'Best Man' at the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. The play won the writers the Oscar Wilde Award for best writing.
He directed and appeared in Matt Harris's comedy play 'Venom' at the Oval house '2003'
He directed the staged readings of Jai Rajani's 'onenight.com' at the Tristan Bates and the Contact Theatre Manchester in 2007
He performed as part of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots at the Southbank Centre. Other speakers/performers included Professor Jeffrey Weeks, Peter Tatchell, Lindsay River, and Michael Twaits. July 9.
External links and sources
- Personal MySpace
- Team Angelica MySpace
- The Drill Hall: FIT
- The Guardian: Theatre that's FIT for purpose: tackling homophobia - November 2008
- Pink News: FIT playwright on why we must fight homophobia in schools - December 2007 (republished November 2008)
- Interview on Rainbow Network - 6 June 2005
- Profile on Knitting Circle
- Rikki Beadle-Blair on ‘Metrosexuality’
- interview in Closer Magazine - April 2002 ?
- Tristan Bates Theatre
- script of Roots of Homophobia (scroll down to No 6)
- Interview of Beadle-Blair in the Independent - August 2007
- Interview of Beadle-Blair in the Guardian - August 2007