ABOUT US

Square Peg Productions is a small, not-for-profit theatre company based in Hebden Bridge.

We are currently in the fifth of a five-year production project of outdoor, site-specific promenade plays on the theme of ‘Unsung Northern Heroines’.

The first production in this series was performed at Skipton and Brougham Castles in 2005 and 2006: An Owl in the Desert, focusing on the life of Lady Anne Clifford. The second, An Eclipse of the Sun, on the life of Queen Anne Neville, was performed at Middleham Castle in August 2006. Secretly Pleased, on the life of Alice Longstaff, was produced at Land Farm Garden, Colden in both 2007 and 2008, and the latest, A Pearl in the Sands, on the life of Margaret Fell, was performed at Swarthmoor Hall in 2008.

Angela Cairns (‘Anna Carlisle’ pen name) is a Calderdale-based writer. Her earlier publications include:

Gone Walkabout with Anna Carlisle: a handbook of 24 walks within Calderdale, Pennine Pens (2004);

Introducing Shakespeare: approaches to Shakespeare for students, Hicks and Cairns, OUP (Australia) 1995 (bought by Nelson UK, 1998);

An Owl in the Desert: the life of Lady Anne Clifford, performed August 2005 and 2006 at Skipton and Brougham Castles;

An Eclipse of the Sun: a play on the life of Queen Anne Neville, performed at Middleham Castle, 2006 (commissioned by English Heritage);

Secretly Pleased: a play on the life of Alice Longstaff, BIPP, produced in association with the Alice Longstaff Gallery Collection and performed at Land Farm Garden, Colden, 2007;

A Pearl in the Sands: a play on the life of Margaret Fell, performed at Swarthmoor Hall, Cumbria, 2008.

Angela is also a copy editor for Design Dimension, Dean Clough, Halifax and writes many articles and reviews for newspapers, magazines and journals.

Angela’s writing combines her joint passions of imparting literature and history to children, and Yorkshire’s landscapes and history. She comes from an education background, having specialised for many years as an English teacher in Australia. By co-founding Square Peg Productions, she marries up her skills not only of writing but of producing and directing plays of a high quality.

Alexandra Mathie is a professional, award-winning actress who trained at LAMDA and has worked in theatre, TV, film and radio. Her most recent work was in See How They Run and Antigone at the Manchester Royal Exchange; The Unconquered for Stellar Quines Theatre Company (Scottish tour, London and New York); Separate Tables and The Vortex at the Manchester Royal Exchange; Stuart, A Life Backwards for BBC TV; Doctors for BBC TV; and Spellbound for BBC Radio, Manchester. She appeared as Margaret Fell in A Pearl in the Sands (2008), as Alice Longstaff in Secretly Pleased (2007 and 2008) and as Lady Anne Clifford in Square Peg’s first production, An Owl in the Desert (2005 and 2006). As a co-founder of Square Peg Productions, she is able to pursue her performance work in projects made available to local audiences in Calderdale.

Robert Garrett is a Calderdale-based actor who trained at RADA. His theatre work over the years has taken him to the Bolton Octagon, the Royal Exchange and Library Theatres, Manchester, as well as extensive work with touring companies such as New Perspectives and in theatre in education. On TV, he played Sir Thomas Wyatt in Elizabeth R and he appeared in Family at War, Circle Line, Crown Court, Emmerdale, Brookside and, more recently, Love Lies Bleeding. Robert appeared as George Fox in Square Peg’s A Pearl in the Sands (2008), as John Longstaff in Secretly Pleased (2007 and 2008), in An Owl in the Desert in both 2005 and 2006, and also in An Eclipse of the Sun – as Richard Earl of Warwick – in 2006. Other recent work for Robert was the role of Ted Hughes in Dreaming of Foxes produced by Leap of Faith, and Demi-Paradise’s production of Hamlet at Lancaster Castle (directed by C P Hallam and Sue McCormick) in which he played the Ghost and the Player King.