Boil & Bubble

The Actors

Christine West

Christine has played a great range of leading roles in both straight and musical theatre, many of which have won her best actor awards. She was Ellen in The Secret of Fire and Maisie in Heart's Desire, both successful productions for Theatre West. She played Evy in The Gingerbread Lady, Grushinskaya in Grand Hotel, and Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, all of which won awards for Christine. She finds Boil and Bubble an exciting new venture and is tackling her two new roles with great enthusiasm.

Rebekah Taplin

Rebekah studied Drama and Theatre Studies at Royal Holloway (University of London). Since graduating in 2002, she has undertaken several national tours with companies such as Riding Lights and M & M Theatrical Productions. She has played many parts including the title role in Oliver, Sara Crewe in A Little Princess, and Princess Jasmine in Aladdin. On moving to Bristol she has worked with the BBC, as well as local theatre companies such as Theatre West and Stepping Out. Recently she was a co-founder of Swan Productions and played Adela in their well received debut The House of Bernarda Alba.

Meg Whelan-Lyons

Since studying theatre at Bristol University, Meg has worked extensively for a number of local companies. Her tours with BareBones Theatre include The Merchant of Venice, The Moonstone and The Government Inspector. Meg also adapted Don Quixote for the company. Her roles in new writing include Claire in Yada, Yada, Yada, The Monarch in DiSect and Clare in Seven and a Half Minutes of Happiness at the Bristol Old Vic, and Ann in The Power of Speech for Stepping Out Theatre.

As well as her film and TV work, Meg is also involved in improvised story telling performances with Bristol Playback Theatre and, when she's not performing herself, she encourages children and young people to do so with Theatre in Education projects run by her company, Kokopelli Theatre. Meg is greatly looking forward to being a woman-behaving-badly with Boil and Bubble.

The Writer and Director

Pameli Benham

Pameli writes, directs, teaches and acts. Arriving in Bristol in 1997 she seized the opportunities in all these fields. She has directed all ages and numbers, from single actors to casts of 50, in straight plays, cabaret, opera and revue. Her most recent production was The Keith Ashton Experience for Theatre West's autumn season of new writing. One of the spurs for forming Boil and Bubble Theatre Company was realising that her last three parts as an actor were all playing madwomen: one for ITV's Afterlife series, one in Shirley Holmes and the Body in B Ward, and the sharp-eyed but demented grandmother in The House of Bernarda Alba. Interesting as these were, there is so much more to the lives of older people than this single aspect. In his poem Skin, Philip Larkin says to his face "You must learn your lines" - and older people have. Faces may be wrinkled, but minds can still be sharp. Pameli intends Boil and Bubble Theatre Company to explore people's full and varied pasts and to celebrate the richness of their skilful and enthusiastic present.