17 December 2019
Newsdesk
Jan Ravens is one of the UK’s most successful impressionists. She is a long running star of BBC’s Dead Ringers and her Theresa May impression has achieved cult status, going viral on social media and with over 1 million views on YouTube. She is a regular contributor across BBC Radio 4, on programmes such as Just A Minute and I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, alongside current affairs programmes such as Broadcasting House, The Week in Westminster and Today.
On stage, she achieved rave reviews and broke box office records with her solo show Difficult Woman and she recently completed a sell-out tour with Rory Bremner. At Cambridge she was the first woman president of the Footlights and directed the revue, The Cellar Tapes, with Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson and Tony Slattery, which won the first Perrier comedy award at the Edinburgh Festival. Her stage work includes shows at Chichester Festival Theatre, Birmingham Rep, Manchester Royal Exchange, RSC and Watford Palace Theatre. Recent television includes The Royal Variety Performance, Richard Osman’s House Of Games, The Imitation Game (ITV).
Jan and director Brigid first worked together as students, founding a theatre company with Sandi Toksvig called “Flying Ducks” – as there were three of them.
Brigid said, “This project was made for Jan. Even as a student at Cambridge she combined a virtuosic skill with accents and comedy, with an ability to get under the skin of a character and break your heart. She will make Alan Bennett’s brilliant writing sing.”
Jan is joined by Julia Watson, well known for playing Dr Baz on Casualty for 18 years, and prolific stage actress with credits including Theatre Royal York, Nottingham Playhouse, National Theatre and the West End.
Talking Heads, Watford Palace Theatre, 4 – 29 March 2020, directed by artistic director Brigid Larmour
