• Christina Toth is best known for her work as Annalisa Damiva in Netflix's series Orange is the New Black. Theatre highlights include David Bowie's LAZARUS directed by Ivo van Hove, Candlelight by John Patrick Shanley and The Woolgatherer, revival production directed by Chazz Palminteri.

    Christina was born in Montreal, and is bilingual in French and English. She was introduced to the stage by French-Canadian actress Rita Lafontaine. She moved to New York City in 2010 to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre and graduated from their 2 year Meisner conservatory program in 2012.

    Christina is the associate artistic director of theatre company The Bridge Production Group, where she actively contributes to the company's mission in creating theatre that is committed to dismantling and rebuilding an audience's expectations of theatrical storytelling.

    Christina's short film Talk to Me in Silence was awarded 2 Best Short Films, received 3 Honorable Mentions, and screened globally at over 15 film festivals, most recently at the Oscar Qualifying Cleveland International Film Festival.

  • Born to an English mother and a French father, William Brouard-Burrows started his acting career in a artists collective called Mutinerie [Mutiny]. With this group, he performed collectively written plays (SUPERDISCOUNT, Good Morning Sernam) in underground venues and theatres in Paris. 

    In 2017, with the same collective, he became a founding member of an ongoing open air theatre festival in Burgundy, La Grande Hâte. Over the course of 8 years, he has performed there in various leading, supporting or ensemble roles from classics like Romeo and Juliet and Cyrano to youth plays, all created for the event. The festival has drawn more than 6,000 spectators in its latest 2024 édition.  

    In 2022, he collaborated in the direction of baroque musical play You Will Love Me, based on works by Oscar Wilde, at the Elizabethan theatre of Hardelot, France, and went on to tour for school audiences with such plays as The Hound of the Baskervilles and William Shakespeare’s World, as part of a Theatre in Education company. 

    In 2024, he joined The Long Days theatre festival where he played in the play Terre Battue [Clay] written and directed by young author Louis Berthelemy, and worked on an adaptation of the Dennis Kelly play Orphans, as Danny.

  • Max Mindell is a versatile actor with a rich background in theatre, film, and television. Fluent in both French and English, his linguistic abilities enhance his performances across various mediums. He holds an MFA in Professional Acting from the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and previously trained at Cours Florent in Paris from 2016 to 2018.

    During his time at LAMDA, Max demonstrated his versatility in a wide range of roles. He portrayed Yusef El-Fayoumy in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and Tim in Nina Raine’s Consent. His adaptability was evident in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, where he played both the Sea Captain and Antonio. Further showcasing his range, he played Solyony in Chekhov’s Three Sisters, Pinchwife in Wycherley’s The Country Wife, and Alibius in Middleton and Rowley’s The Changeling. Before LAMDA, he refined his craft at Cours Florent, appearing as Belvoir/Mrs. Trickwell in Mary Pix’s The Beau Defeated (2018) and Biff in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (2016).

    Beyond the stage, Max has made his mark in film and television. He appeared in the thriller I Came By (Netflix, 2022) and the dystopian Apple TV+ series Silo (2023). His passion for theatre remains central to his career, as seen in his co-writing and performance in Tako at Camden People's Theatre (2024), a collaboration with Christian Beva.

Cast

  • John Patrick Shanley is an acclaimed playwright, screenwriter, and director whose work has earned him some of the most prestigious awards in the arts. Born in The Bronx, New York in 1950, Shanley grew up in an Irish-American household and attended Catholic schools, experiences that have profoundly shaped the themes in his writing.  He began his career in theater with his hit play, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (1984), a deeply emotional and raw exploration of human connection, which established him as a bold and original voice in American theater​. 

    In his over four decades of work, Shanley’s plays have entertained audiences with their sharp examination of universal themes of love, longing, doubt and reconciliation, all with his signature language, style and wit.  From The Dreamer Examines His Pillow (1985) to Outside Mullingar (2014), his many plays showcase his talent for crafting emotionally resonant stories with lyrical dialogue and complex characters. His plays have been translated into 15 languages and performed in 17 countries, reflecting their global appeal and relevance to diverse audiences.

    Shanley’s most celebrated theatrical work, Doubt: A Parable (2004), is a searing drama that examines faith, morality, and uncertainty in a Catholic school setting. The play earned Shanley the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in 2005 and remains a staple of modern theater. He later adapted Doubt for the screen in 2008, directing a cast led by Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, which earned five Academy Award nominations. The play’s international reach has further solidified Shanley’s reputation as a leading figure in contemporary drama​.

    In addition to his success in theater, Shanley has made a significant impact in film. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Moonstruck (1987), a romantic comedy hailed for its sharp wit and rich character development. His directorial debut, Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), combined whimsy and existential reflection. Both works illustrate Shanley’s distinctive voice as a writer who excels in blending humor, emotion, and profound themes​.

    Today, Shanley remains an active and influential artist, writing works that challenge, inspire, and entertain. Whether through his plays or films, his contributions to the arts continue to leave a lasting impact on audiences and the creative community alike​.

  • Raffaella Mattioli, born in Montreux (Switzerland), studied classical dance at the ‘National Dance Academy of the Rome and the Opera of Rome', in London at the ‘Ballet Rambert' and & 'The Place School of Contemporary Dance'. In 1975, she returned to Rome and joined the ‘TEATRODANZA’ Company (1975-1982) founded by Elsa Piperno and Joseph Fontano and performs in the best cities in Italy and Europe alongside with Bob Curtis, Roberta Garrison and Vittorio Biagi.

    In 1986 Mattioli creates her own Dance Company ‘PHARAMOUSSE’, where she choreographs and directs many successful shows in Italy and abroad. Among which, ‘‘OSOTERLOGOS’ was winner of Firstprize at ’EUROSCENES’ 1990. In 1989 she was invited by Prague’s Company ‘LATERNA MAGICA’ to choreograph Frederick Dürrenmatt’s ‘THE MINOTAURO’ directed by Josef Svoboda. “Svoboda is a world-class artist and one of the most successful set designers” (‘Amadeus’ - MilosForman). ‘The MINOTAURO’ has its world premiere in 1989 and tours Europe, USA, Canada, and Japan.

    In the 1990’s she often collaborated with theatre companies and productions, working with Gigi Proietti (choreograph ‘CYRANO DI BERGERAC’), Giancarlo Sbragia (choreograph ‘FINCHE OCCHI VEDRANNO’ ‘Taormina Arte’ and ‘LE MADRI’ at the Greek Theatre in Syracuse, Sicily), as well as with ‘The Kriptons’ directed by Giancarlo Cauteruccio (choreograph ‘TIBET’). From 2000 to 2016 she was one of the four performers of the historical Swiss Company ‘MUMMENSCHANZ, Musiciens du Silence’. For 16 years she toured the world with them, performing in the most important theatres U.S.A., Israel, Europe, South Africa, South and Central America, Mexico, Brazil, Korea, China, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates.

  • Serge Sándor, author, director, and producer has written about twenty plays including Un carré de dames performed in French, English, and Spanish in multiple countries.

    He has taught in Paris and in the provinces, at the Ankara Conservatory, Havana, Toronto, UNAM (Mexico), and various French alliances around the world. He is the pioneer of theatre in prison and in bars and has distinguished himself in many unusual creations with amateurs from all walks of life; hospitals, educational centres, women's shelters, accommodation centres, the street, the estates, AIDS patients, even with homeless people at the Théâtre National de Chaillot. He has made 3 documentaries, one in Mexico, one in Cuba, and the last one at the women's prison in Fleury Mérogis, 7 short films, a full-length feature film.

    Created in 1985 on the initiative of Serge Sándor, La Compagnie du Labyrinthe has created more than 30 shows in France and abroad and in different languages. Its vocation is to work on very sensitive social issues with marginalized audiences while also creating shows with professionals. Theatrical and also musical creations in France, Mexico, at the Havana International Festival, at the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, and Vidy-Lausanne Theater (Switzerland). Recently in Costa Rica, he worked with about fifty young people at the Melico Salazar Theater, on a play that tells the story of a feminicide that shook the country in 1994. In 2023, he directed a play with the Petits Frères des Pauvres at the Comédie Nation and one of his texts “Attention chute de femmes” was performed in Yerevan, Armenia.

  • Lisa Harris, Producer (Chapter 3 Productions), has worked in theater and film for over 20 years. She was the original producer of the critically acclaimed Mabou Mines Dollhouse (2004 Obie award for direction, Lee Breuer; 2004 Obie award for acting, Maude Mitchell; 2008-09 Drama League nomination for best revival) which opened at St. Ann’s Warehouse after being developed at both New York Theatre Workshop and Sundance Theatre Lab. Following its NYC run, Mabou Mines Dollhouse began a world tour, first performing at the Ibsen International Stage Festival in Oslo, Norway. It went on to be performed at countless cities both in the US and around the world for the next 6 years; its final performance was at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

    Additional credits include Two Little Indians at HERE, Circles at the Bootleg Theater, and Seven at Atwater Village Theater. She is also an associate producer for Slings & Arrows which premiered at the Broadwater in Los Angeles, January 2024.

    Outside of her creative pursuits, Lisa Harris is a business executive with over 25 years of experience in the world of corporate finance, most recently serving in the non-profit space. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Claremont McKenna College and sits on the board of two charities: one serving the mentally ill and the other devoted to criminal justice reform.

The Creative Team

  • John Randolph Pepper, director, has worked internationally for over three decades, directing plays in Europe and America, including France, Russia, Italy, Sweden and New York. His productions include Retraite de Moscow [The Retreat from Moscow] by William Nicholson at Theatre Montparnasse (Paris, 2008); Underneath the Lintel by Glen Berger, Lederman Theatre, (Stockholm, 2005), then at Le Lucernaire in French (Paris, 2006); Pour En Découdre by Marc-Michel Georges; Danny et la Grande Bleu [Danny and the Deep Blue Sea] and Quatre Chiens pour un Os [Four Dogs and a Bone] by John Patrick Shanley at the Festival d’Avignon (2000 & 2004) then Paris' Theatre Déjazet with actor Léa Drucker nominated for a Molière Award (2001) as well as the feature film Papillons de Nuit – always with the same cast.

    Mr. Pepper was the first foreign director to be invited to the Drama Theatre on Vasilievsky (aka Teatre Satir) in Saint Petersburg, Russia (2010). His Russian language production of My Old Lady ['Dorogaia Matilde’] by Israel Horovitz is now in its 10th year and is permanently in the repertoire (2012). In 2016, Pepper opened a new production of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea in Italy [Danny e il Profondo Blu] at Teatro Garibaldi in Palermo with Leonardo Sbragia e Laura Anzani, followed by Milan, Naples, Salerno, Rome, and then touring Italy. Also in 2016, he opened a production of Sam Shepard's True West at Saint Petersburg Russian State Institute of Performing Arts. In 2018, Pepper also directed the Italian premiere of John Patrick Shanley's Four Dogs and a Bone with an adaptation by Enrico Vanzina. It debuted at the Teatro Vittorio Alfieri in Naso, Sicily and then moved to a successful run in Rome at the OFF/OFF Theatre.

    Mr. Pepper's work in New York theater includes, amongst other plays, Cubistique (Tom Cone), The Cruelties of Mrs. Schnayd (David Suesdhorf), and Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All To You (Christopher Durang). He was the youngest director at the Spoleto Festival (Charleston) when he presented Inner Voices by iconic Italian writer Eduardo De Filippo.

  • Mela dell’Erba studied scenography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, and lives in Palermo since 1990. She has worked as a set and costume designer with some of the most important directors in the Italian and European theater scene: Carlo Cecchi, Antonio Latella, Enzo Vetrano and Stefano Randisi, Emma Dante, Rosario Palazzolo, George Lavaudant, Anna Furse, John R. Pepper, Lina Prosa, Jan-René Lemoine, Enzo Moscato, Franco Scaldati, and Giuseppe Massa, to name a few.

    She is among the founders of the Teatro Garibaldi in Palermo (1996 - 2016) with Matteo Bavera and Carlo Cecchi (UBU Award for best project of the year 1999 for Shakespeare al Teatro Garibaldi (2008 National Association of Theater Critics Award). She received the Critics' Award 2022 (National Association of Theatre Critics) for her work as a Set and Costume Designer.

    She participated at the Venice Biennale Teatro as a set designer for Recidiva by Enzo Moscato and La Scimia by Emma Dante; the Ibero-American Festival in Bogota (Colombia) 2000, Festival de l’Union des Théâtres de l’Europe Strasbourg, Palermo, Dusseldorf, Villeurbane; Festival Grec Barcelona, Festival of Hannover, Zagreb and Salzburg, Rome-Europa Festival, LiveCollision festival Dublin.

    In 2011, she was among the three finalists for the category best costume designer of the year at the “Le maschere del Teatro Italiano” award with the show I giganti della montagna directed by Enzo Vetrano and Stefano Randisi, which won the award for best show of the year.

    In 2021, A'Cirimonia by Rosario Palazzolo and directed by Vetrano/Randisi (for which she curated the sets and costumes) won the National Association of Theatre Critics Award as best show of the year.

  • Jade-Rose Parker, translator, is an actress, screenwriter, and composer. She started out by playing in Lisa Azuelos' film LOL Laughing Out Loud, then went on to film and television shoots. She then turned to writing, publishing her first novel with Kero (Calmann-Levy), later writing for the TV series Scènes de Ménage, Péplum, En Famille, and more recently Nos meilleures années. In 2022, her first play as an author Drôle de Genre (Funny Kind), with Victoria Abril, Lionnel Astier and herself, was successful, performed for almost two years in France, Switzerland and Belgium, was a hit when broadcasted on France 2, and sold in around ten countries.

    As an actress, she has just finished filming Cent Millions! (One-hundred Million!) alongside Kad Merad and Michèle Laroque. As an author, she is preparing her next two plays and developing several long-format projects (cinema and series).

  • Patrick Boggero is a seasoned lighting and sound designer with extensive experience in theater productions across Europe. He has worked on numerous acclaimed projects, including collaborations with John R. Pepper, Zabou Breitman, and Thomas Joussier, bringing his expertise to productions in France, Italy, Russia, Sweden, and Poland.

    Patrick has designed lighting and sound for major plays such as True West (Sam Shepard), Quatre chiens sur un os (John Patrick Shanley), and Kordian (Juliusz Slowacki). His work spans theater, dance, and music, with contributions to the Avignon Festival, international tours, and productions at prestigious venues like Théâtre du Lucernaire and Théâtre le Proscenium.

    In addition to his lighting and sound work, Patrick has served as a technical director and general stage manager, overseeing large-scale productions and international tours. He has also worked as a sound engineer, collaborating with music studios on albums, film scores, and live concerts.

    With a career dedicated to crafting immersive theatrical experiences, Patrick continues to shape the stage with his innovative lighting and sound artistry.

  • Joëlle Dupuy, Artistic Director, has always been guided by a deep passion for the cultural world. Art, in all its forms, has been the thread running through her life, shaping her path, her choices, and her commitments.

    From an early age, theatre became for her a space of freedom, expression, and connection. Over the years, she was fortunate to transform this passion into a profession—working as a director of cultural programs, artistic programmer, and later as artistic director in various performing arts contexts, including at the prestigious Festival Off d’Avignon. These roles allowed her to support contemporary creation, amplify the voices of artists from diverse backgrounds, and bring powerful, thought-provoking, and essential works to the stage.

    Her travels around the world have deepened her appreciation for the richness of cultures, languages, and traditions. Every encounter, every landscape, every story has shaped her artistic vision and global understanding. She sees culture as a bridge between peoples, a lever for emancipation, and a tool for social transformation.

    With this spirit in mind, she also chose to serve in public office as Deputy Mayor for Culture. This role enabled her to work closely with citizens, promote access to the arts for all, and advocate for a bold, inclusive cultural policy rooted in local realities.

    To this day, Joëlle continues on this path of encounters, projects, creative endeavors, and convictions. For her, to be active in public life means refusing indifference, believing in the strength of the collective, and working toward a more sensitive, just, and human world.

    She walks between shadow and light, backstage and on stage, between private voice and public discourse. Joëlle is a weaver of words, a builder of connections—a woman who believes that art is not a refuge, but a response.