Global Virtual Theatre Project

Welcome - Global Virtual Theatre Project

Global Virtual Theatre Project

The GVTProject (Global Virtual Theatre Project) is a wide ranging group of individuals and organisations with a common objective of using conventional and modern technologies and ideas to communicate plays and other performances.

With a central theme of crossing divides of not just presentation but also of social, age and economic diversity the challenge we have set ourselves is to make classical as well as contemporary works entertaining and exciting to all.

We will incorporate techniques or technologies from conventional theatre to mobile to circus to 'social media' to opera delivery, and by reaching out to diverse communities globally we will try and be wholly inclusive.

G-Wall

The Tempest

In Performance
The Tempest

Multi-media production using actors from different continents
to start production in April

The CEO Agenda 2013 Future Europe European Directors Network Treasury Risk Analytics Middle East Aerospace Consortium
Deb Leary

Deb Leary

Voted as one of Britain's Top 10 Women Entrepreneurs by Real Business Magazine in 2009, Deborah Leary, OBE is considered to be one of the most motivational and entrepreneurial women of the time.National President of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs, Director of the European Network of Women in Leadership, Development Council Member of the Young Vic Theatre Company Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, In 2011 Birmingham City University created the Deborah Leary Award for English in the Wider World, this has been followed by the award of an Honorary Doctorate. Deborah is an Alumni of the University and regularly lectures to English and Business Studies students.

Roger Rees

Roger Rees

started his career with the RSC. Roger created the title role in the original production of the play Nicholas Nickleby winning both an Olivier and a Tony Award for Best Actor. He played the Sheriff of Rottingham in Mel Brookes 1993 film, Robin Hood- Men in Tights. More recent film appearances include Frida (2002) and The Prestige (2006). Continuing his work in the theatre through the 1990s, both as an actor and a director, Rees was awarded an Obie Award or his 1992 performance in the off-Broadway play The End of the Day. In 1995 he was nominated for a Tony for Best Actor in a Play for his role in Indiscretion. Roger is currently based in New York appearing on Broadway.

Antony Douglas

Antony Douglas

is General Manager – Europe for Square Enix, one the world's leading media and gaming companies. A graduate in English Literature 'Doug' was formerly Head of Content for Telefonica O2 UK Ltd with responsibility to deliver Telefonica's mobile content strategy across film, music and game content. Prior to this he held senior commercial and strategic roles within a number of start-up and blue chip mobile and media companies.

Les Bubb

Les Bubb

is a world acclaimed mime and movement artist performing live and on countless European TV shows over the last 25 years. After UK theatre studies he continued with Gaulier (Le Coq) and Decroux (mime) in Paris. His movement skills were used in pre-CGI commercials through to todays motion capture suits. He worked on four Harry Potter films where he voiced many of the characters on set and worked physically for 'Infiri' creatures and on 'Quidditch'. Last year Les opened the show for Take That on their major European tour.

Gary Pugh

Gary Pugh

is Vice President of Marketing for Oracle Corporation and Trustee of Youthnet. During his career at Oracle he has had a variety of roles covering consulting to business development and has run the marketing operation in Eastern Europe. Gary is also a self professed 'sporting nut', who has tried his hand at most activities including hang-gliding and American football but now prefers to spend his time on the golf course or walking the dog!

Emma London

Emma London

trained at LAMDA and has many years' experience in Stage and Production Management. She has worked at Bristol Old Vic, RADA and an number of Regional UK Theatres. She has an MA in Creative Writing from UWE.

Mike Loades

Mike Loades

is an Internationally renowned author, presenter, action arranger, director, and military expert. Behind the scenes, he has worked as an action arranger in over 100 screen productions. As a television presenter/host he is best known for the BBC series' Time Commanders, Weapons That Made Britain for Channel 4 and Weapon Masters for Discovery Networks. Mike has also directed several television drama/documentary specials. On-screen, Mike is well known for demonstrating military history from all periods in a hands-on style. He is a trained expert Horseman, Charioteer, Archer, Horse Archer, Jouster, and Swordsman.

Prof. Julian Chaudhuri

Prof. Julian Chaudhuri

Professor Chaudhuri is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. He is an international ally and acknowledged expert in stem cell and biotechnology research.He is also a KUGB Black Belt Karate Instructor.

He holds degrees from University College London, and the University of Reading, and is the Deputy Director of the University of Bath Centre for Regenerative Medicine. Julian is an advisor to a number of international organizations and is chair of several Government bodies. His work is currently supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and charity grants and has previously been funded by industry (Smith & Nephew plc and Tissue Science Laboratories plc).

Dean Roberts

Dean Roberts

A highly experienced Tour and Band Manager with over 15 years experience in the live touring arena. Having worked with acclaimed artists such as James, Travis, Amy Winehouse and Florence and the Machine, He has also worked with Alan on a number of successful musical ventures.

Dean is currently representing a number of bands.

Alison Humphrey

Alison Humphrey

Despite starting her career with a summer job at Marvel Comics, within two weeks of graduation Alison had defected from superheroes to Shakespeare at the Royal Shakespeare Company in London.

Alison has had a number of production and directing roles including: assistant directing at the Royal Court Theatre, English Touring Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, where she won the 2009 Elliott Hayes Award. Directing includes the UK premieres of James Reaney's The Donnellys at the Old Red Lion Theatre, and Normand Chaurette's The Queens at the RSC Fringe Festival in Stratford-on-Avon.

Alison has written and story-edited for television and film, shot a no-budget sci-fi feature on location in Bali and Virginia, and produced one of the earliest web-based alternate reality games for Douglas Adams's Starship Titanic. She holds a BA in American studies and studio art from Wellesley College, an MA in interactive multimedia from the Royal College of Art, and is currently in her final year of the MFA program in theatre directing at York University, where her thesis production of A Midsummer Night's Dream is breaking new ground in the use of motion-capture technology and real-time animated effects in live theatre. 

And she still aims to write a comic book when she grows up.

Jocelyn Cunningham

Jocelyn Cunningham

Jocelyn is a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company working with the likes of Trevor Nunn and Terry Hands.

She is now Director of Arts and Society, an associate partner organisation with the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and leads on work to develop new ways of understanding the value of the arts in addressing urgent social issues and strengthening the networks of those exploring this, at a local, national and international level. Jocelyn has been an actor in the U.K. and Canada for over 25 years and this practice has fundamentally shaped her approach to collaboration and informed an artist based approach to strategic work in a more civic sphere. Her body of work ranged from theatre work with the Royal Shakespeare Company to international film, radio and television. She helped to develop a national initiative in creative learning in Canada running long term programmes with rural and urban schools and communities before returning to the UK in 2004 and becoming the Director of Creative Partnerships London North.

As Director of Arts at the RSA she developed the Arts and Social Change programme within Citizen Power in Peterborough and Creative Intersections with Kings College London. She is currently working on a long-term programme with Wiltshire Council on how creative practice can strengthen collaboration in a radical devolved local government model.

Dr Terri Power

Dr Terri Power – Director : Shakespeare Festival

Dr. Terri Power is a Senior Lecturer  at Bath Spa University and Director of Education and Outreach for the Bristol Shakespeare Festival. She has published and presented several papers on Shakespeare in practice in academic journals and at international conferences. Power is also a professional actor on stage and screen and has worked and trained with Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the RSC, the Wooster Group, the SITI Company, the Queen's Company (NYC), Universal Studios and Disney. She has written, produced and directed performance work including Drag King Richard IIIPossession:Macbeth, Full Tilt's Taming of the Shrew and Lear 1864: Trail of Tears. She has a BA in Acting from UCLA, an MFA in Staging Shakespeare and a PhD from the University of Exeter.

Lynn McFarlane

Lynn McFarlane – CEO : Dresd

Having trained in various art forms from an early age including the performing arts, Lynns interests led me to study in Interior Design and traditional arts, training at Greenwich University She went on to teach  in various Colleges within the South East area. As a co founder of the NHS Open Arts project and piloting the first workshops to help students with mental health difficulties, I went on to win an award for a successful new initiative within the NHS and securing funding for its future.

She continued to set up workshops teaching sustainable arts, working within Schools, Colleges, home educated, remand centres, private studios, corporate companies including the Soho House group.

Recently she designed and built the Stage 1 restaurant, working with Roger Saul founder of Mulberry, to demonstrate what can be done with waste materials.

Lynn works closely with Colin Firth and his wife Livia on designing and creating sustainable products and dressing events and dresses the Observer Ethical Awards annually.

Charles Duff

Charles Duff

Charles is an Internationally renowned theatre and film producer currently head of drama at Notre Dame University in London He is guest Director at a number of US Shakespeare festivals.

Linda Marson

Linda Marson – Director : Virtual Tapestry

Linda has many years' experience of helping businesses build their online presence. She also runs esoteric greeting card online retailer Moondragon Cards, and art publishing company Needs to be Seen Publishing. If she had any spare time, she'd be re-learning electronics (her first 'love' before switching to web development), or walking in the beautiful Somerset countryside.

Jim Copperthwaite

Jim Copperthwaite - Composer / Producer at Adapted Silence

Jim is an internationally renowned composer/producer with wide ranging broadcast media and pop experienced who is also a member of the group Aqualung. He has worked for major global groups such as Sony, Saatchi&Saatchi, ITV, BBC, C4 and specialises in TV documentaries, drama and advertising.

His current company 'Adapted Silence' is "an unholy alliance of noise-ists with extensive credits in music for tv, film, gallery and vinyl long-player. We seek projects that require music and sound to amplify narratives, emphasise imagery and explore emotions. We love the unexpected, the strange and the ingenious".

Alex Willison

Alex Willison – Sales Director Ambro Events

Alex is Sales Director for Ambro-Events, one of Europe's leading events management companies. In former years she modelled and spent several years on the moto GP circuit.

Alex has over 28 years experience in managing major International accounts including Santander, Ericsson, Lloyds, Huawei Coca Cola looking after all aspects of managing not only the event itself but also the hospitality contract.

Alex uses her uniqueI creative and design skills to create unique event experiences for clients across a broad spectrum of events from product and venue launches, to VIP cocktail parties and dinners, symposiums, team building, conferencing, and client hospitality both in the UK and overseas. This has encompassed everything from theatre evenings to ship launches!

She is also a consultant for several FTSE 100 companies on management of their asset held stock and improving return of investment on  their current hospitality expenditure.

   

With a passion for film and theatre, she currently sings in a choir, loves all sport, particularly F1 and MotoGP, plays golf, backgammon and spreadbet  "I am a complete foodie, spend my life researching new venues, hotels, and restaurants".

Karla Shacklock

Karla Shacklock - Artistic Director : Beyond Dance

Since graduating with a 1st class BA(Hons) and PhD in dance in 2005, Karla has toured her own work extensively throughout Europe, worked as Co-Artistic Director, Choreographer and performer for multi-award winning company 'Precarious', performed internationally with various dance, circus and physical theatre companies, delivered masterclasses throughout Europe, held a senior lecturing post at Bath Spa University, published her own book and various articles, been commissioned to choreograph works for dance, theatre, opera and youth groups, and trained extensively in trapeze and Bodyweather/Butoh.

John Hurdley

John Hurdley – Snr Partner : Hurdley & Co

John is a Non-executive Director of Irving International Media and was Partner in a leading UK law firm BDBLaw. He has extensive experience of international business in Europe, the USA, South America and India.

Archie Paton

Archie Paton – CEO : Openside Sports /Al Jazeera (Edinburgh)

Archie provides a rare mix of enterprise level marketing with a commercial drive and technological understanding. Working extensively throughout the Americas, Middle East, Far East and Australasia he delivers projects in multiple sectors, including technology and medical and is widely regarded as a market leader in sports management and marketing He advises organisations such as The R&A and the ATP World Tour and Al Jazeera in Abu-Dhabi.

Alan McLaughlin

Alan McLaughlin – CEO : futureEurope

Following courses in Theatre Alan co-founded of the Leadmill Circus in Sheffield. He then went onto study Post graduate Classical Acting at London Theatre School. Following a number of years acting and modelling he obtained an MSc in IT and has developed an interest in combining technology and live performance. He also has managed a number of bands working with RealWorld and other groups.

John Ellis

John Ellis – Director : futureEurope MiddleEast

John has spent over 20 years working within the media and training industry in the Middle_East.. He has held the roles of CEO and Managing Director of more than 12 international companies. John s retained by UK Regional Government to assist UK companies to do business in the region and has produced over 20 major training films and videos.