>> The Post Office Theatre Company

The Post Office Theatre Company was born in 1995 when Riggs O'Hara, an experienced theatre director with successful Edinburgh Festival productions, amongst others, wanted a permanent space for his theatre group. Taking an old GPO sorting office, he created an open performance area with gallery above. Having a fixed venue meant he could also realise his ambition of bringing a permanent writer on board, rather than continuing to create pieces through improvisation. Luckily, the writer who came along was Courttia Newland, already an acclaimed novelist.

The company works in an organic way - we improvise around the basic idea for a plot and then Courttia goes away and writes. He attends the majority of rehearsals so by opening night the actors, director and writer are like a close-knit family.

Riggs's basic objective is to combine street theatre and straight theatre, the spontaneity of the street and the discipline of the straight. He is adamant that our work should be new, fresh, and dealing with today. He doesn't like middle class angst, indeed he isn't really interested in any kind of angst at all. He wants our work to be relevant to the kind of people who don't usually go to the theatre, and a good 80% of our audience is made up of first timers, or those returning after seeing previous productions.

The Company has just moved from the original space to a pub called The Malvern Arms off the Portobello Road, London. This move will provide the opportunity to carry on working and experimenting with the everyday life of England’s new multi-cultural working class.

Other Members of the Company Include:

Carol Moses. Carol trained at the Rose Bruford Drama College and spent two years touring with Black Mime Theatre after leaving drama college. Carol collaborated with Courttia Newland on the Estate Of Mind monologue, which was Newland’s first production at the Post Office Theatre for 1997 Portobello Festival. In 1998 she performed in the full-length play Estates of Mind developed from the monologue and performed the role of Helen in Newland’s adaptation of Women of Troy: 2099 (1999). Last year she played Rose in The Far Side at the Tricycle Theatre.

Sasha Oakely. Sasha graduated with an honours degree in Drama and English and completed postgraduate studies at The Actor’s Institute. She has performed in Les Miserables at the Palace Theatre, and Oliver! at the Palladium. At the Post Office Theatre she has performed in The Far Side, Estates of Mind, Romeo and Guilletta, Women of Troy and Noel Coward in Poland, travelling to the Edinburgh Festival with the latter production. Her most recent appearance on stage was in the National Theatre production of South Pacific.

Leon Barr. Leon made his debut as Danny in The Far Side at last year’s Portobello Festival and the Tricycle Theatre.

Roni Mariqueo. Roni trained at the Wornington Centre of Kensington and Chelsea College. She has appeared in The Far Side (2001).

Dominick Golding. Dominick graduated with a BA in Drama from Middlesex University. He has performed in Francesco’s Room at The Man in the Moon Theatre, Killing Delroy at the Courtyard Theatre and Exposed at the Arch Theatre (Edinburgh). His film and TV work includes Sleepwalking Blues and Oscar and Charlie for the BBC. He played the role of Arthur in The Far Side in 2001.

We were privileged to be joined by Martin Offiah MBE this year and Mother’s Day was his first production. Previously he was a record breaking rugby player who scored more than 500 tries for Widnes, Wigan, London Broncos and Salford – in addition to his Union exploits with Rosslyn Park, Bedford and Wasps.

Ronald Markham. Ronnie was born in Rio de Jeneiro, Brazil and came to England when he was 11 years old. He has been acting continuously since leaving RADA in 1957 playing many parts in film and TV including I Claudius and The Two Ronnies. Currently he is to be seen as the Reverend Ronald Fulcrum fronting channel 4’s E4 Autumn programming.

Jaimini Jani. Jamini graduated from Hull University with an honours degree in Drama. He was seen in Jalapeno Production’s Delivery, prior to which he pulverised the hero in Between the Lines for the BBC. His West End credits include The Kitchen at the Royal Court Theatre, under the direction of Stephen Daldry. He made his debut at the Post Office Theatre in the role of Menelaus in the 1999 production Women of Troy and played the role of committee chairman in The Far Side.

Courttia Newland (writer/producer) was born and still lives in West London; Courttia is the author of three acclaimed novels The Scholar, Society Within and Snakeskin (Abacus). His short stories have appeared in several anthologies including; Disco 2000 (Sceptre), Vintage New writing 8 (Vintage), Afro Beat (Pulp Fiction), Rites of Spring, New London Writing (Fourth Estate), Playing Sydney Poitier and Other Stories (SAKS Publications) and The Time Out Book of London Short Stories. He is also co-editor of IC3: The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain. Newland has, with the Post Office Theatre, cut his teeth in the theatre world.