One of the first things we decided about Tess was that it would have an all female cast - leaving us the mammoth challenge of finding three women who could take on roles ranging from elderly vicars to dairy maids, aristocratic bird-obsessed widows to Tess herself - no mean feat for any accomplished actor, yet the women we’ve found are more than equipped to meet this challenge. We are therefore delighted to announce our cast: Colette McNulty, Polly Waldron and Emily Windham.
‘Very hypnotic voice’ Gazette on Colette McNulty
Colette is a London-based actor and deviser originally from West Yorkshire. She trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating in 2019 with a BA (Hons) in Acting (Collaborative and Devised Theatre). Roles whilst training include Ismene in ‘Welcome To Thebes’ directed by Ollie Dimsdale and Ferdy Roberts (Filter Theatre); Leah in ‘DNA’ directed by Douglas Rintoul (The Queens Theatre, Hornchurch); Benvolio in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ directed by Yael Shavit; Cornet Defendant in ‘The Sociable Companions Or The Female Wits’ directed by Catherine Alexander.
‘Spiritual, corporate, childish, otherworldly, creepy and reassuring, often all at once.’ The Telegraph on Polly Waldron
Polly Waldron trained at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She played the title role in immersive theatre piece SOMNAI, gaining a rave review from The Telegraph, and has worked with Kirsty Housley and Complicite to create an adaptation of ‘War and War’ for Pleasance, Islington. She has been part of Camden Fringe a number of times: 'Fake Nukes’, ’No Man's Land' (Lion & Unicorn) and 'Nina Talks about her Values’ (Camden People's Theatre), which was listed as a highlight of the fringe by the Camden New Journal.
‘A really brilliant bit of acting, basically’ Jesse Fox, Engineer Collective on Emily Windham
Emily is a London- based actress and theatre maker. She trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama on the BA Acting, specialising in collaborative and devised theatre, graduating in 2018.
She has just returned from Europe where she’s spent the year touring with the English Theatre Company, and is making her fringe debut this is Summer in Tess.