Writer/Director

Ryan is a Yorkshire based playwright and film maker, he took inspiration from the classic horror films of the 70s and 80s when writing Shock Horror.

He trained as a writer with Hull Truck and his television work includes Eastenders, Emmerdale and Spooks. His plays include Merlin and The Magic Mirror and Bottoms Up. His horror films Seizure and Demon Eye have been released theatrically in America and Europe, distributed in thirty territories globally. His recent short film Tea With The Reaper won four prestigious awards after initial release.

Composer

Ben Parsons is a prolific composer who works in TV, films and theatre.

He has scored a great many series and programmes for TV including Grand Designs, Bear Grylls and recently received an Emmy nomination for Netflix’s The Hidden Lives of Pets.

Ben has also scored some feature films including Demon Eye and a number of shorts. Theatre work has included Cascade’s Frankenstein dance piece. Ben used to tour and record with bands including Cherry Ghost and Arctic Monkeys and now lives and works in North Manchester.

Lighting Designer

Andrew Crofts is a visual designer and technologist who works with lighting, video and interactive tech for theatre, dance and mixed-media companies. Andrew has worked with a range of other companies including Imitating the Dog, Blast Theory, Belarus Free Theatre, Every House Has A Door, Invisible Flock, Streetwise Opera, Geraldine Pilgrim Performance, Jasmin Vardimon and Spymonkey.

Lighting Designer

Matt trained at Rose Bruford College in Lighting Design and specialises in lighting for theatre, dance, and touring productions. Previous theatre credits as lighting designer include: The Light House (Leeds Playhouse/UK Tour, Red Ladder Theatre Company); Tomorrow Is Already Dead (Soho Theatre, Hackney Showrooms); Force of Nature (International Tour, Bloom Dance Project); 122 Love Stories (Harrogate Theatre, All Points North).

Theatre credits as associate/programmer include: Now (UK Tour, Jasmin Vardimon Company); Nutcracker (Southbank Centre, McOnie Company); The Clothes They Stood Up In (Nottingham Playhouse); ALiCE (JVH.o.m.e/UK tour, Jasmin Vardimon Company); Roundabout Theatre (Paines Plough) and Young Associates (Sadler’s Wells).

Set Designer

Ethan is a Performance Designer working across Theatre, Film and Music. They are currently the Maria Bjornson Bursary recipient at The National Theatre.

Training: The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Their recent theatre credits include: The Principles of Deception (Theatre Royal Northampton, Associate Designer); Little Shop of Horrors (The Egg); Constellations (The Barn); My Son’s A Queer (Broadway, Associate Designer); £1 Thursdays (The Finborough); Into The Woods (Playground Theatre); Borders (VAULTS); The Scar Test, Little Sweet Thing, Blister (LAMDA); Millennials (The Other Palace, Associate Designer); The Concrete Jungle Book (The Pleasance); Rabbit Hole (The Union, OFFIE Nominated); The Bridges of Madison County (Quick Fantastic) and Spring Awakening (RCSSD).

Production & Vision

Georgia is a graduate in Drama and Film Studies at the University of Kent, and has since pursued a career in Production and Stage Management.

She’s worked with Northern Broadsides, Bradford Literature Festival, Deptford Literature Festival and Rose Bruford, exploring all aspects of backstage, whilst also having the chance to continue her love for performing. Having worked with Thunder Road in 2023, she is looking forward to bringing excitable thrills to their audience again this year.

Technical Manager

Dominic is a Lighting Designer and Production Technician based in Greater Manchester.

He’s been working within music and theatre since graduating from The University of Hull in 2019. He's worked alongside a variety of up-and-coming producers, playwrights and students to share their stories and works with the wider world.

Design credits include: Macbeth (IC Theatre); BI-TOPIA; A Night with Me; Myself and Bi-polar Brenda and The Formidable Lizzie Boone.

Production credits include: ROTTEN and A Lucrative Opportunity. This is Dom’s first horror production although he himself is easily jumped; he's looking forward to creating some wonderful scares in Shock Horror.

Illusion Designer

John is UK Illusions Associate on Harry Potter & The Cursed Child (Palace Theatre, London) and The Ocean at the End of the Lane (National Theatre). 

West End credits include: A Tupperware of Ashes (National Theatre); Rough Magic, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Globe); The Cherry Orchard (Donmar); Death of a Salesman (Piccadilly); Robin Hood (Regent's Park Open Air); The Worst Witch (Vaudeville) and Oi Frog! (Lyric).

Further illusion design credits include: A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Magician's Elephant, #WeAreArrested (RSC); Piaf (The Gate, Dublin); Into the Woods (Theatre Royal Bath); Doctor Who: Time Fracture (Immersive London); Dirty Dancing and Wishmas (Secret Cinema).

Director of Photography

Dave works internationally across features, documentary, corporate, short film, and time-lapse. For Dave, Shock Horror represented a truly unique and exciting opportunity to weave cinematic content into a live theatrical narrative.

Over the past five years, he has collaborated on a number of award-winning projects including: Polterheist (2018); Seizure (2018); Demon Eye (2019); Tea with the Reaper (2022) and most recently, his own directorial debut - Hide (2023). He’s currently working on a new project shooting in a virtual production 'volume' space.

Marketing Manager

Jess is a Yorkshire based arts marketing specialist, with a focus on touring theatre. She studied Psychology and then an MA in Advertising and Design at the University of Leeds.

She has worked in marketing roles at Leeds Playhouse, Northern Broadsides and Theatre Royal Wakefield. She has also worked with Northern Rascals, Claybody Theatre, Stute Theatre, Filament Projects, Beggars Belief Collective and Watershed Productions, as well as shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Jess first worked with Thunder Road in 2019 on The Body Snatcher when it toured to Theatre Royal Wakefield. She is delighted to return to Shock Horror for its biggest tour yet.