Bonding

Cyril Blake is a regular on the Fringe theatre circuit and has recently starred in the London premiere of Going for Gold. (Park). Having been raised in a rural mining village in Yorkshire, he thrives on telling the stories of the working class and under represented people and their struggle against adversity. He has also appeared in the BAFTA winning short film ‘Black Cop’ and the audio drama series Persons of Interest, exploring the lives of black and queer artists (Vanitas Arts).  

Matthew Parker is an award-winning freelance theatre director and former Artistic Director of The Hope Theatre. He trained on the Postgraduate Directing Course at Drama Studio London, graduating in 2009. Recent directing work includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Cambridge Shakespeare Festival), Vinegar Tom (OVO Theatre), Trestle (Jack Studio Theatre & The Maltings Theatre Livestream), The Comedy of Errors and Henry V (Roman, St Albans) and Brainville At Night (UK Tour). Whilst at The Hope Theatre he directed 10 productions to critical acclaim and won the Best Artistic Director OFFIE Award in 2016; the same year The Hope was shortlisted as Fringe Theatre of the Year at The Stage Awards. Matthew has received 8 Best Director OFFIE Award nominations for his work since 2015 and he recently won Best Director of a Musical at the 2023 Awards for his direction of Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story (Jermyn Street). More information on his work can be found at www.matthewparker.net.