Banner Theatre People

	People	Photographs are available for publicity purposes The performing company in Sweat Shop, 1995 Dave Dale, Dave Rogers, Kevin Hayes (partly hidden) and Jacqueline Contré, circa 1985 Fran Rifkin and Dave Rogers performing in London, circa 1985 Charles Parker and Dave Rogers in Saltley Gate, circa 1975
	Dave Rogers, Artistic Director, was a founder member of Banner in 1973. He has written many of the company's songs and written or co-written several shows, including Free for All (1999/2000), Black and White in the Red (2000/2), Migrant Voices (2002/3), Wild Geese (2005/6) and "They get free mobiles...don't they?" (2007/8). Dave, whose musical roots are in the English folk revival of the 1960s/1970s, has recorded many of Banner’s songs.
	Philip Girling, is a Manchester-based actor, writer, musician and composer. Philip joined Banner Theatre in 2010 to help develop the company’s work in the North West and he is currently the lead artist and coordinator for The Future Makers. Philip is an Equity member and has worked extensively in the arts for over twenty years. He has acted previously in productions with Manchester Actors Company and North Face Theatre company. As a musician he has written and performed with a number of groups and ensembles and is currently the bandleader for "Ya Llegamos", a Manchester based Afro-Cuban ensemble. In 2011 he composed the music for Burnley Youth Theatre’s successful Christmas show, The Snow Queen, and in 2012 was a finalist in the Northern Songwriter’s Collective songwriting competition.
	Jilah Bakhshayesh is a musician, storyteller, performer and community artist. She works within a variety of musical traditions, including jazz, gypsy, Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jewish, Arabic, Iranian and traditional British folk. She is part of the Schalom-Bakhshayesh duo. Jilah joined Banner in 2002 and also performs in the company's 1st of May Band.
	Charlie Davis is a sound engineer, lighting technician and rap artist. He has worked as audio editor on several Banner shows and as sound engineer on a variety of music productions at numerous West Midlands venues. His work as lighting technician includes spells with Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Birmingham NEC. He joined Banner in 1999.
	Zirak Hamad is a violinist, dancer and music teacher who came to England in 2002 from Iraqi Kurdistan. A graduate from the Institute of Fine Arts, he has a wide range of artistic experience in his home country where he worked as a primary school teacher, festival organiser, broadcaster, television presenter and music critic. Zirak runs Middle Eastern dance and music workshops for arts companies across the West Midlands and nationally. Zirak joined Banner in August 2008.
	Vince Pryce is a freelance keyboard player. He has been playing the keyboards and performing live for over 20 years. He started out playing for a local church choir and since then has played with a host of artists such as Pato Banton and the Reggae Revolution Band, Peter Spence, Gregory Isaacs, Colonel Redz, Ablewell Foundation Band, Eek-a-Mouse, Clyde Spencer (formerly of The Drifters), a George Benson tribute band, a UB40 tribute band called Johnny 2 Bad, and a Scatalites tribute called Top Rankin. He has also played with many gospel artists. He specialises in R'n'b, reggea, urban hip hop, dance and some jazz. Vince joined Banner in August 2008.
	Gaylan Nazhad is a Kurdish refugee who fled Iraq for political reasons and came to England in 2000. He is a Kurdish drummer, dancer and theatre director, and formerly worked as a TV presenter in Kurdistan. Since arriving in England, he has worked as a performer in Merseyside schools, acted in plays and played at music festivals. He has also worked with refugee/asylum seeker organisations and special learning needs groups in Liverpool. Gaylan joined Banner in 2005.
	Tshepe Mukeba played Congolese rumba soukous, jazz and folk gospel blues in one of the biggest Congolese bands BANA OK AND ZAIKO. He came to the UK in 2003, and has been providing musical courses for the Congolese community in Manchester. He plays keyboards and bass guitar, and is a music producer, sound engineer and composer. He joined Banner for the 2007-08 production "They get free mobiles...don't they?"
	Don Bouzek founded GROUND ZERO PRODUCTIONS in Toronto over 20 years ago. Since then, the company has established itself as the major theatre working with organized labour in Canada, touring shows everywhere from small union halls to large national conventions. He has been working with Banner on its "Local Stories, Global Times" project, and has directed Migrant Voices, Wild Geese and the visuals for "They get free mobiles...don't they?"
	Deborah Aston has recently joined Banner as stage manager and has a background in film and television as a broadcast technician before moving into production. More recently she has completed a slate of short films that have been screened at festivals around the world and won awards. Through her production company Deborah has a variety of film, TV and theatre projects in development.
	Stuart Brown directed Strangers in Paradise Circus and “They get free mobiles . . ..don’t they?” He has been involved with Banner since the early 1990s as a writer and former administrator.
	Fred Wisdom is a musician, songwriter and performer. His musical styles include gospel, jazz, reggae, flamenco, blues, rock and folk. Fred has worked with Banner since 1998 and has performed in Free for All (1999/2000), Black and White in the Red (2000/2), Migrant Voices (2002/3) and Wild Geese (2005/6). He plays in Banner's 1st of May Band and other West Midlands bands. He is music director for "They get free mobiles...don't they?"
The company also has support in the office from: Dave Butler, Jacqueline Contre and Ian Gasse	The touring company, June 2006: Dave Rogers, Jilah Bakhshayesh, Laurent Camara, Charlie Davis, Fred Wisdom and in front Gaylan Nazhad
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