The Ophiolite

Philip de Voni is a writer of plays, poems and narrative fiction. Of Cypriot and British heritage, he grew up mainly in the UK and studied English and Theology at the University of St Andrews. He lives permanently outside the UK but spends some time each year in Nicosia and London. The Ophiolite is his first full length stage play.

Cory is a set and costume designer working across all ranges of performative work across the UK. Cory trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Theatre (as Designer) includes: The Mikvah Project (Orange Tree Theatre); Hansel & Gretel (Chiswick Playhouse), Cyrano de Bergerac, Easy Virtue (The Watermill Theatre); Mr Burns: A Post-Electric Play, RENT, Return to the Forbidden Planet, Vinegar Tom, Caucasian Chalk Circle, 6 Characters , Let The Right One in, (Mountview Theatre Academy); Another Planet (The Gramophones Theatre Company); Justice in a Day (Theatr Clwyd); Anyone Can Whistle (Southwark Playhouse, Grey Area Theatre); Deffro’r Gwanywn (Y Cwmni); Glacier (Old Fire Station); The EU Killed My Dad (Jermyn Street Theatre); The Book of Eternity, (Northern Opera); Ice at the End of the World, (Omnibus Theatre); Hansel and Grettel (Creation Theatre); Northbound Boy, (Kings Head Theatre); Cinderella, Educating Rita, (Barn Theatre); Pontypool, (Wales Millennium Centre) and A Role to Die for (Marylebone Theatre, Barn Theatre). Theatre (as Set Designer) includes: Wipe These Tears (Bezna Theatre Company); Justice in a Day (Theatr Clwyd); Sweet Charity (ArtsEd); The Lion, The B!tch and The Wardrobe (Wales Millennium Centre), Son of a Bitch (The Thelmas); Codi and Shades of Blue (Sadlers Wells, Matsena Dance); For more credits and images: coryshippdesign.com

José Guillermo Puello is a composer/sound designer based in Manchester, originally from the Dominican Republic. Since graduating from the University of Manchester with a PhD in Composition in 2015, he has worked in theatre, dance, podcast and the concert hall. As Sound Designer: In the Beginning Woman Was the Sun (HOME and tour); Dynamic Flight (Tour); WrestleLadsWrestle (HOME); Nancy’s Orange (Theatre by the Lake); Meetings (Orange Tree Theatre); Bungalow (Theatre503); The Great Privation (Theatre503); Dream School (The Space); Stray Dogs (Theatre503); There’s no Planet B (Theatre Deli); Legacy (Royal Exchange Theatre). As Assistant sound designer: The Human Body (Donmar Warehouse); Rock, Paper, Scissor (Sheffield Theatres). As Composer: Northern Opera Group; OperaNorth; Manchester Chamber Choir; MusicAbierta; soundSCAPE Exchange; Dominican Republic National Youth Orchestra; Fourth Wall Ensemble; Manchester Camerata.

Carrie is a Production Manager, Producer and General Manager, based in London working in both off-West End and West End theatres. She completed the MA Collaborative Theatre Production and Design course at Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Distinction in 2022. Recent Theatre Productions include: Jack and the Beanstalk, Invasive Species and The Pitchfork Disney (Kings Head Theatre); Die Rheinnixen (Battersea Arts Centre) Lost Watches and Conversations After Sex (Park Theatre); Stalled (Kings Head Theatre); 10 Nights (National Tour); Cinderella (Queens Theatre Hornchurch): Bombay Superstars (West end and Tour); Echo and Narcissus and Deep Blue Sea (Theatre Royal Bath, Ustinov); Julie: The Musical (The Other Palace); Priscilla the Party (West End); Foam (Finborough Theatre); Othello (Riverside Studios); Birthright (Finborough Theatre); Disruption and Shape of Things (Park Theatre); Rocky Horror 50th Anniversary Gala (West End); Fucking Men (Waterloo East); Breeding (Kings Head Theatre); Under the Black Rock (Arcola Theatre); Sus (Park 90, Park Theatre).

Nefeli Kentoni (b. 1998, Cyprus) is a London-based director, writer, and interdisciplinary artist whose work responds to the remains of a world in constant flux. Through theatrical and cinematic forms, she investigates the gaps between language and image, the performer-viewer relationship, and the lightness of existence. Weaving tenderness, absurdity, and humour, she dismantles reality and reconstructs it within unpredictable landscapes. Nefeli is a graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and Central Saint Martins (UAL), where she was nominated for the MullenLowe NOVA Award. Her work has been presented internationally at institutions and festivals including Tate Modern, Barbican Centre, Prague Quadrennial, The Place, Nicosia International Festival, Dance House Lefkosia, Rialto Theatre, and the Chengdu– Chongqing International Theatre Festival. She was Writer in Residence at Tate Exchange and part of the Barbican’s Young Visual Arts Group for two consecutive years. Her short film Fragility of Language won the Screendance Short Film Competition at the 36th Leeds International Film Festival. Her performance Katabasis was a finalist at the Offies Awards 2025, and received the Best Director Award at the Chengdu–Chongqing International Theatre Festival, where her performance Wall of Babel also won Best Play.

Kerry Kyriacos Michael, a second-generation North London Cypriot, was Artistic Director & Chief Executive of Theatre Royal Stratford East from Sept 2004 to Sept 2017. For 13 years, he forged the Theatre’s commitment to develop new work and provide a platform for under-represented voices in the Arts. He is now the Creative Director of Theatro Technis. In 2018, Kerry won Artistic Director Of The Year at the OFF WEST END Awards. In 2019 he was awarded the Freedom of the City of London, and in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, he was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the Arts. Kerry’s Theatre directing credits include new plays, musicals and operas, including Paul Sirett's play Jamaica House, Tanika Gupta's play, Love and Stuff and Tariq Jordan's play, Ali and Dahlia. Other work includes John Adam’s I Was Looking At The Ceiling and Then I Saw The Sky (co-production with Barbican), The Harder They Come, (transferred to the West End; tours of Canada and USA), Ray Davies’ Come Dancing (Winner What’s On Stage Best New Musical) and a new production of The Who’s Tommy - embedding creative BSL, Captioning and Audio Description. (Winner UK Theatre Awards Best Touring Production 16/17). As a creative producer he has won two Oliviers and had seven further nominations.

TheGeorgeNET (Georgijs Gaisins) is a dynamic and multidisciplinary creative working across theatre directing and lighting design. His practice bridges theatre, film, installation, and performance art, using a distinct visual language and conceptual depth, his work challenges traditional boundaries of storytelling and form. A graduate of the University of the Arts London – Central Saint Martins, where he earned a Master’s degree with Distinction in Performance: Design and Practice, Georgijs previously completed a BA in Theatre Production (Directing) at Middlesex University, developing a strong foundation in stagecraft and collaborative creation. His portfolio spans dance, contemporary theatre, performance, and musicals, with recent credits including This Is My Family (Southwark Playhouse), Nullspace Motel (touring production), 1984 (Omnibus Theatre), Seeking Shadows (Rich Mix), and I JUST LIKE YOU – A GAY MYTH (Theatre503). TheGeorgeNET’s work has been featured and exhibited internationally, including a lighting and sound installation at Pushkin House, London, in collaboration with the Fetish collective. His recent theatrical project Technological Singularity was featured in BlackPepper Magazine, reflecting his ongoing commitment to redefining performance through bold, hybrid forms of artistic expression.

Hannah was the RSC’s Head of Casting from 2008-2022. Previously she worked as the Casting Assistant at the National Theatre (1998-2002), Deputy Head of Casting at the RSC (2003-2005) and Casting Director for Birmingham Rep (2005-2008). She now works as a freelance Casting Director most recently working for the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester on productions of Great Expectations and Brief Encounter, and My Neighbour Totoro for the RSC. Later this year she will be working with Wales Millenium Centre on a stage adaptation of Pontypool. Hannah works with drama schools and industry organisations, advising actors on professional development and demystifying casting and directed the ArtsEd Actors final year showcase in both 2023 and 2024. She continues to work with the RSC’s Creative Learning and Engagement team as an Associate Learning Practitioner and NextGeneration:Act champion, is a former Trustee of both Northampton Theatres Trust and Tamasha, a fellow of the RSA and an RSC Associate Artist.

Eve is a theatre, film & performance designer & supervisor based in South East London. She trained in Costume Design at Wimbledon College of Art and Set Design at Central St Martins. Her work centres around the themes of folk horror, dark comedy & queer storytelling through sustainable theatre practise. Eve is also a regular designer at children’s theatre charity Scene & Heard bringing to life all manner of weird & wonderful characters from the imaginations of young playwrights. Credits include: Jack & the Beanstalk (Kings Head Theatre); Medium Dead (Serpentine Productions), The Queen is Mad (Pinecone Performance & Castile Collective); Chrissie and the Skiddle Witch (Geologise Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Franklin & Greatorex Ltd); Across the Square (Alex Pearson Productions); Locomotive for Murder (Pinch Punch). As Associate Designer: Little M (as associate costume designer) (The Place); Dracula: The Bloody Truth (Stephen Joseph Theatre & Bolton Octagon), The 39 Steps (Stephen Joseph Theatre & Theatre by the Lake) Beauty & the Beast (Stephen Joseph Theatre). As Costume Supervisor: Period Parrrty (Kali Theatre & Soho Theatre); Phantasmagoria & Noor (Kali Theatre); Operation Mincemeat (SpitLip at Riverside Studios). Film credits include: Meat Raffle (nominated for the Iris Prize & available on Channel 4); The Nun Slayer (Shorthand Films) & The Leerie (Hellmouth Pictures).

Elena Yianni is a Greek Cypriot Theatre and Film Director working with bold new writing by and about underrepresented voices. She holds a First-Class BA (Hons) in Applied Theatre and is an alumna of the Young Vic’s Fresh Direction Programme and the Lyric Hammersmith Young Associate Programme. She is drawn to stories about people - exploring identity, culture, politics and the realities of life today - as well as stories with a thread of hope. Her practice is shaped by care, curiosity and collaboration. Recent credits include Swedish Meatballs (Theatre503) and Ghost Light (The Hope Theatre).