About The UnderHand Family

Comedy, Cabaret, Creativity ...

These are the people without whom UnderHand would just be three blokes sat round a table. Our casts, crews and writers. You can contact any of them be sending an email to surname@underhand.net
Meet the family...

Blakewill
Marc Blakewill is currently writing for Radio 2's Parsons and Naylor's Pull-out Sections and the latest series of the Bearded Ladies (Radio 4). He was also a commissioned writer on series 4 and 5 of 2DTV(ITV1). His other work includes a winning sitcom on The Sitcom Trials (ITV1 West, 2003) and material for series four of The Eleven O'Clock Show (2000). Other credits include News Huddlines(Radio 2, 2001) and Weekending(Radio 4). Marc has script-edited and writes for topical news shows NewsRevue and The Treason Show (Guardian Alternative Perrier Nominee 2002). He was the principal writer of two Edinburgh sketch shows, Evolution (2001) and Revolution(2002).
Marc was a writer on the Stickmen Edinburgh 2004. Contact Talkback Thames.

Coyle
Sarah Marlene Coyle is a highly prolific and self-depreciating writer, and a bit like an onion. She first wrote substantially whilst studying at Warwick University, enjoying the sound of words like 'Honey' and 'Ariel'. Last year, she flirted with devised writing at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She even wrote a TV advert once, but it was a little short of material. Yeah, and some educational stuff for kids with a dinner lady. She has written at the Edinburgh Festival before, about feeling dirty, dreams and popcorn. She is very grateful to be in Edinburgh with Underhand this year, although she doesn't understand why none of her sketches are in the show.
Coyle is a writer on The StickMen.

Gould
Keef Gould began providing support of all shapes and sizes to Ro and Holt when he found himself sitting in a tech-box in Edinburgh operating for their then sketch show Ubersausage. And all this fresh out of college having just completed a BTEC in performing arts (with Mr Nic Watson). Since that first fateful run, Gould's worked on endless other projects with us always managing to find a way to make himself utterly indispensable.
Outside the comedy circuit he's worked on plays, opera, punk shows and spent time in the civil service. His time is now split between freelancing and writing music of all flavours. He eats well and generally smells nice.
Gould does what he can, when he can.

Kell
Damian went from studying early medieval history at Oxford to becoming an actor.So far his theatre work includes Love's Labour's Lost (Shakespeare's Globe), two versions of Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (Westminster & British Library), Johnson in Love (BAC), Pratchett's Guards! Guards! (Colchester Mercury),, and The Madness of George Dubya Trilogy in the West End. On the big screen he played Capt Haversock in Making Juice: The Making of Juice, shown at Cannes 2005, and Pour Un Temps, winner of the Court Métrage in Paris. Other screen work includes My Dad's the Prime Minister (BBC), 28 Acts in 28 Minutes (BBC) as a StickMan, and most recently, political spoof Waking Up (C4), playing a slimy and rather sinister Tory. His voice has in appeared all over, from The Frank Skinner Show to a series of The Snow Children, broadcast worldwide including China, and reaching an audience of 960 million people. Love that stat. Kell is a StickMan

Kirshen
Matt Kirshen is a stand-up comedian. In 2003 he won the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year award and jointly won the Comedy Store's King of Kings contest, firmly cementing his position as someone who can win new act competitions. Described as 'excellent' by The Stage and 'fledging' by BBCi, he has since travelled around the country performing with, amongst others, Sean Lock, Jeff Green, Boothby Graffoe, Bill Bailey, Ed Byrne and Ross Noble.
In 2004 Kirshen went for a drink with Rohan and Holt. He woke up in a hotel room in a bath full of ice and is now a Stickman.
Contact: John Collins
Kirshen is a StickMan.

Lamont
James Lamont is a fearsome performer, full of blood. He molested Edinburgh in 2002 with The Bing Show which he wrote and performed in. It was on the final night of this that Matt Holt kidnapped his sister and, as ransom demanded that he perform in Nudge. Lamont is curently forging his career as a stand-up and has worked with the English National Opera and Ealing Live! His first love is capoeira and, like Ryu his goal in life is to travel the world in search of worthy opponents - comedy just pays the bills. He is undefeated at wrestling. When asked for an opinion on the way his life was panning out he was quoted to say "Watch this, I rock". We watched it and he did.
Lamont is a writer on The StickMen, is half of double act Matt & Lamont in Nudge and is also a StickMan.

Lincé
Chris Lincé wrote and directed THIGH ARMOR FOR THE GODS (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2000), PERMISSION (Warwick Arts Centre, 2001, as part of the TRIPLE VISIONS new writing initiative) and BRICKS (Baroque, Leamington Spa, 2003). He also co-directed and designed two other productions at the Warwick Arts Centre: FIONA OFF THE HOOK by Gerry Howell, and TARTUFFE by Molière. FIONA OFF THE HOOK transferred to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre car-park in Stratford for a limited run. He is also on the writing team with Ealing Live! and is the UnderHand brick.
Lincé is a writer on The StickMen and wrote Nudge.

MacKay
James MacKay is trying to break into sci-fi comics as a writer, all it requires is for someone to recognise his talent and sponsor him for a year. About £30K should do it. His only published work so far was in the Encyclopaedia of Native American Literature, which apparently doesn't count. He has devised and/or directed seven plays, among them Portrait of Dora at Warwick Arts Centre, and Look Back In Anger at the Edinburgh Festival.
His profound comedy experience encompasses shows as varied as Ubersausage and 60 Acts in 60 Minutes, in the vital role of audience member.
MacKay is a writer on The StickMen.

March
Fergus March - Is there anything the man can't do? Yes. So far though he has graduated from LAMDA and Warwick University, he has headed an award-winning theatre company whose ten edinburgh fringe productions all received exceptional plaudits and has written and directed several films with his production company, Jeamland Productions (which he runs with Nick Paton). Acting work includes Tartuffe in Tartuffe, Dan in Closer, Trofimov in The Cherry Orchard and Didi in Waiting for Godot, as well as lead roles in several new works such as Elvis Orders a Mai-Tai and Jeamland's Mannequin.
He is currently editing a new film for Jeamland and rehearsing his first foray into sketch comedy with UnderHand. Later this year the feature film Dead Wood, in which Fergus has a lead role, will be released, as will a compilation of Jeamland's soundtracks thus far, all of which Fergus composed and produced. He is a proud man who lacks the wisdom to back that up.
March is a writer on The StickMen.

Middleweek
Lucy Middleweek is an actress come tequila slammer girl, who once overdosed on her own tequila after a night of bad takings. Noticing that she clearly possessed superb comic timing, Rohan set her to work immediately on the UnderHand writers team where she has been prolific ever since.
Middleweek has acted and written for the London and Edinburgh fringe, namely with the highly acclaimed Gag (Evil Ink Productions) at the Etcetera theatre. Her biggest claims to fame include nearly getting some small parts in some big movies and selling the rights to Dumptruck-Loveshack (Co-written with Alyssa Kyriakidis for Ed Fringe 2003) to a bunch of Americans for the combined fee of $250.
Middleweek is a writer on The StickMen.

Neale
Ben Neale is a director of Fuse Productions, a producer and performer. Having produced Ubersausage's first appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1999, he co-produced and performed in Fuse's sell-out Fringe run and national tours of somehow i feel dirty and Bedhead. Ben has since performed across Europe in The Voices, 12am: Awake & Looking Down and Quizoola! with live art legends Forced Entertainment and across Spain and Portugal in a series of pratfalls and fart gags with Cleverpants. Whilst Fuse's third show, about the appalling but retrievable state of the world, is in its early stages, Ben is trying to get his performing foot into the film and TV industry (so to speak; Ben's foot does not perform independently from the rest of his body).
Ben is helping with the production of UnderHand in Edinburgh.

Paton
Nick Paton is co-director of Jeamland Productions. He wrote and directed Everything After and Mannequin (Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2000/01), and wrote Senta (MCB Studio, Belfast, 2001) and None Come Round (Lion & Unicorn, London, 2002). He also writes and directs short films. Recent projects include the play, Shelter, and the short films Whitehope Fell and How I Met, and he is currently hard at work on Macbeth.
Paton is a writer on The StickMen.

Price
Tom Price is a comedian and actor. As an actor his most recent live credits include playing John Cleese the Fringe First winning play A Very Naughty Boy and appearing in Dan Clark's 57 Minutes. His recent television and radio appearances are If… (BBC2), Stitch Up (BBC1), E-Forum (C4), Rigor Mortis (BBC R4) and Trapped (BBC R4). He is also currently recgonsiable from the Coronation Street idents. Having emerged from sketch troupe, Ubersausage, Tom continues to explore live character comedy and plays regularly at such established nights as Ealing Live!, Sketch Etc and Sketch Club. As a stand up Tom has been a finalist in The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award, ITV's Take the Mike and the Paramount New Act of the Year Award. He didn't win any of them. He now performs all around the UK as both a stand up and an MC. He will never enter another competition. Tom appears in StickMen courtesy of Karushi.
Price was a StickMan.

Watson
Simply the finest technician working on the comedy scene today, Nic Watson has collaborated with the likes of Rhona Cameron, Mel 'n' Sue, Graham Fellows, Neil Mullarkey, Laurence and Gus, Miles Jupp and countless more. Having worked in the West End for longer than he wanted to and in Fringe theatre for longer than he can remember, Nic has cast his techy net far and wide. He became a resident technician at The Canal Café Theatre in 2000 and stayed there for over a year - then he went home for a kip. He was the technical manager of The Cockpit Theatre in Marylebone for a couple of years, but now works there part-time under many different hats including running their award winning 'Theatre In The £' nights. Now working freelance, Nic continues his work with professional comedians and supporting friends on the Fringe.

Nic was on the UnderHand board as Technical Director from the first show back in 2003, through to the end of the Edinburgh Festival 2004. In that time he oversaw all the technical aspects of the numerous projects, including Stage Managing four seasons of Cabaret shows at Madame JoJo's Comedy-A-JoJo, Absolute Comedy which included one of the 60 Acts In 60 Minutes shows. Nic also teched 45 in 45 and 60 in 60 in Edinburgh. There was lots of techy stuff to do on The SickMen and Nudge for which he built a remarkable set for remarkably little money, stage/production managed and dealt with lots of crazy old men, amongst other things. He was named Best Technical Director by Fringe Report and got a Technical Excellence Award by ScotsGay.

Post-UnderHand, Nic has continued working in live comedy but has also been in demand to supervise and mentor unruly students. The irony of this hasn't escaped him. He has also taken the time to work on operas, musicals, theatre, radio, visual arts and corporate events. He will be in Edinburgh in 2005 for the fifth year running, this time as Production Manager for all eight of RBM Comedy's shows and also new opera, Manifest Destiny.

One day, Nic will make his website worth looking at. www.onthemat.org

Wiltshire
Jake Wiltshire has been working on the circuit for the past three years as well as being technical manager for the Royal Academy of Music and RAO. Before the Academy Jake was technical director of NewsRevue for seventeen runs and Technical Manger of London's Canal Café Theatre. Jake has designed shows for the last two Perrier award winners, The Consultants and Gary le Strange and his precious baby the bing show (which narrowly missed out on any critical acclaim). Amongst others Jake has also worked with – Neil Mullarkey, The Trap, Ticgo, The League of Gentlemen and Aaron Barshak.
Wiltshire is sound and lighting designer on Nudge.

Wormley
Celia Wormley is a ridiculously named TV Researcher who met the UnderHand massive whilst scouting for comedians for a programme earlier this year. Inspired and undaunted, she threw herself into helping out anyway she could, but mainly by always having cigarettes and enough money to buy a round.
Wormley is a writer on The StickMen.