Late Autumn Production

Isabel Allende—novelist, feminist, and philanthropist—is one of the most widely-read authors in the world, having sold more than 74 million books. Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Isabel won worldwide acclaim in 1982 with the publication of her first novel, The House of the Spirits, which began as a letter to her dying grandfather. Since then, she has authored more than twenty three bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including Of Love and Shadows,Eva Luna, Daughter of Fortune, Island Beneath the Sea, Paula, The Japanese Lover and In the Midst of Winter. Translated into more than forty two languages. Allende’s works entertain and educate readers by interweaving imaginative stories with significant historical events.

In addition to her work as a writer, Allende devotes much of her time to human rights causes. In 1996, following the death of her daughter Paula, she established a charitable foundation in her honor, which has awarded grants to more than 100 nonprofits worldwide, delivering life-changing care to hundreds of thousands of women and girls. More than 8 million have watched her TED Talks on leading a passionate life.

She has received fifteen honorary doctorates, including one from Harvard University, was inducted into the California Hall of Fame, received the PEN Center Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Anisfield-Wolf Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded Allende the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and in 2018 she received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. She lives in California. Her website is IsabelAllende.com.

Paula Paz is a theatre director and a former professional ballet dancer. She is the co-founder and associate director of the Cervantes Theatre in London and the Spanish Theatre Company.

Paula holds an MA with Distinction in Theatre Directing from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and she began her career as a professional Ballet Dancer with companies such as Angel Corella Ballet, Maria Gimenez Ballet and Ballet Ireland.

At the Cervantes Theatre she has directed Darwin’s Tortoise by Juan Mayorga, The Swallow by Guillem Clua, The Little Pony by Paco Bezerra and Ay, Carmela! by José Sanchis Sinisterra; as well as an array of dramatized readings and two rapid productions. Other directing credits include Knives in Hens by David Harrower at the KC Theatre; Sebastián Junyent’s dramatised reading It is Necessary to Take Apart the House at the White Bear Theatre; History of a Staircase by Buero Vallejo at Canada Water Culture Space and Eigengrau by Penelope Skinner at Mountview.

RAUL FERNANDES (ESTEBAN TRUEBA)

Raul Fernandes was born in Mozambique. The family moved then to the Philippines and Switzerland where they settled. After being a pro skateboarder in his twenties, Raul joined the Serge Martin Theatre School in Geneva. He trained in the Jacques Lecoq method, and went on to work with acting coach Susan Batson in NYC.  Since then, he has been on stage in plays such as: Dangerous Liaisons,Don Juan, Holy Are You, A Lie of the Mindand The Flieswhich was performed at The Bunker Theatre. Raul is now based in London.

CONSTANZA RUFF (CLARA)

Constanza Ruff is a bilingual actress, physical theatre and circus performer.

Her UK stage credits include Second Movement (Barbican), Visions of Tiriel (Wilton’s Music Hall), Imagining Europe (Richmix), Wild Works (The Vaults), The BitchBoxer (Tristan Bates), Hamlyn (The Space), Helter Skelter (Gridiron Theatre Company) and many others.

As a keen improviser, mover and deviser, she’s very experienced in immersive and site-specific work having appeared in productions by Secret Cinema, Circus Mash, Rift and Artful Badgers.

As a circus artist, she’s performed for countless of events and companies such as the BBC, KFH Awards, LinkedIN, Cafe de Paris and London College of Fashion.

ALEJANDRA COSTA (TRÁNSITO)

Alejandra Costa trained at Identity Drama School in London and Ivana Chubbuck Studio in LA.  Her credits include “Constellations” (Courtyard Theatre), “God of Carnage” (Omnibus Theatre) and “Picasso” (The Playground Theatre) where she received outstanding reviews for her portrayal of Jacqueline Roque. Born in Madrid, she is fluent in Spanish, English and Italian

GIAN CARLO FERRINI (COUNT OF SATIGNY/BARABBAS/GUARD)

Gian Carlo Ferrini is a London-based Venezuelan Theatre, Film, TV and commercial actor. Gian Carlo has worked for Award winning directors Fina Torres, Miguel Ferrari and Miguel Littin, as well as international campaigns for English First and Nestlé’s Nestea.

In theatre, he has been cast in two sold-out seasons of Fango Negro, Annie Baker’s The Flick and the short-play Bullying, and has trained at the New York Film Academy and The Actors Gym for professional actors with coach Matilda Corral.

ELENA SAENZ (FÉRULA/WOMAN 3)

Elena Saenz was recently awarded Best Actress at Mostra de Curtas Vila de Noia, a renowned film festival qualifying for the Goya Awards. Since 2012 Elena has been regularly training with John Strasberg, master of the realistic school. She has a background on physical theatre and contemporary dance too. Experienced on stage, voice over, film and tv, she has worked with James D’Arcy and has appeared on the BBC as Mary Queen of ScotS. Passionate about music, Elena is a poet and she has written, directed and produced several short films. She describes herself as a Cosmic Dancer and in her own words, she makes Magic out of darkness.

VANESSA CALDERÓÑ (BLANCA/ROSA)

Vanessa Calderón began acting in her native Colombia, she was part of the Theatre Study University of the Andes where she performed in productions of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny and Iphigenia in Aulis, among others. She came to London to continue her acting studies at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, where she graduated with a Master in Acting for Screen. She has produced and stared in the short film Traces of a Soul, which was part of the official selection of St Neots Film Festival 2018 and Screentest: The National Student Film Festival 2018. She appeared in the t.v. series Genius: Picasso directed by Ken Biller. This is her stage debut in London.

DIANA VOLPE (NÍVEA/WOMAN 2)

Diana Volpe is an actor, director and producer. Trained at New York’s H.B. Studio, she has worked extensively in her native Venezuela, as    well as in New York, Washington,Tokyo. She has worked in both classical and contemporary plays, such as: August Osage County, Hilda,The House of Bernarda Alba, Happy Days, Emilia, A Streetcar Named Desire, Request Concert, Macbeth, Mrs. Klein, The Pelican, The Night of the Tribades,  Dissonorata, Quartet, Fuenteovejuna, Phoedra, Bloomfeld, The Laramie Project.

In London she was recently at the Cervantes with We Must Throw the Cows Down the Ravine, after a run at Madrid’s Teatro Espanol. Previously she starred in Sometines Y’s production of ‘night, Mother, at the Etcetera Theatre in London and at the Dancehouse Theatre in Manchester. She  has been the recipient of the Municipal Prize for Best Actor (2005, 2009), Venezuela’s Association of Theatre Critics’ prize for best actor (2016) and has been nominated twice as best theatre director by the same association. She has worked in film (Three Beauties, Reveron, Jezebel, Opposite Direction)  and television (soaps and films). Her credits as director include: 7 Minutes, Celebration, Mercury Fur, The Flick, Good People, Edgar and Anabel, The Sickness of Youth, Brundibar.

She is a founding member of TEATRELA (Teatro de Repertorio Latinoamericano), and is Artistic Director of Hebu Teatro. In 2013 she founded, together with Orlando Arocha and Ricardo Nortier, La Caja de Fósforos, a small experimental  space that has become an important reference in the Caracas theatre scene due to the selection and quality of its works and its active engagement in the training of actors,directors and new playwrights.

ÁLVARO FLORES (PEDRO TERCERO)

Alvaro is a Mexican actor. He trained at Italia Conti Academy (BA Acting) and the Royal Academy of Music (PGDip Musical Theatre). Theatre credits: Day of the Living / #WeAreArrested (RSC); Wig Out (Royal Court Theatre); The Time of Our Lies (Park Theatre); Don Quixote in Algiers (White Bear); Qaddafi’s Cook (NY & Hollywood Fringe, US).

Musical theatre credits: ClubMex (Hope Mill Theatre); Chess in Concert (Royal Albert Hall); Fidel the Musical (Iris Theatre), Madagascar Live (Latin America tour); Concert for Diana (Wembley Stadium).

Film and TV: Rambo: Last Blood, Daedalus, The Last Bite, Las Reglas de la Ruina.

CANDELA GÓMEZ (ALBA)

Candela Gómez is a bilingual actress and Voice Over Artist from Spain. She trained at Corazza Actor’s Studio in Madrid and has a degree in Audiovisual Communication.

She plays a lead role in the musical feature film SOLO! (2016). Her stage credits include The Trojan Women, Lysistrata, Blood Wedding, The House of Bernarda Alba, The Judge of the Divorces and others, several of which were played at the Cervantes Theatre in London.

FEDERICO TRUJILLO (ESTEBAN GARCÍA)

Federico Trujillo is a Colombian actor and Lamda 2017 Graduate. He recently finished shooting the series Home Invasion and prior to that the TV series Ransom. Appeared in Blood Wedding at the Omnibus Theatre, Yerma at the Cervantes Theatre, Raul on the TV series Thomas and friends and Angel on Fanatics by the Latin Stage.

LAURA ARNAIZ (PANCHA/MUJER 1)

Laura trained at La Lavanderia Drama School and at Juan Codina Studio in Madrid and in Commedia dell’Arte at the Scuola Internazionale dell’Attore Comico with Antonio Fava in Italy. In UK she has trained at workshops with Eric Mallet from Complicité and Simon Godwin among others. Her latest credits in theatre include “Love, mum(s)” at The Actors Centre, “The House of Bernarda Alba”, ‘Yerma” and “History of a Staircase” with the STC and “Paraíso” (short piece written by herself). She also has credits on TV (Silent Witness at BBC) and in film as a motion capture performer in “Little Heroes” by Orinoco Films.

ROBERTO CORRECHER (SEVERO/PEDRO GARCÍA/CURA)

Roberto Correcher is a London-based Spanish actor with more than 25 years of experience in theatre, cinema, television and voice-over. He is known for the Spanish version of “Ugly Betty” and his first feature film “Excuse me darling, but Lucas loved me“. He worked in renowned theatre plays as “Caligula” of Albert Camus, “Bohemian Lights” of Valle-Inclán, and “The Car Cemetery” of Fernando Arrabal. He loves writing and languages and is fluent in Spanish, English, Dutch, and Danish. He is an ambassador of the Spanish language and works as a translator and Spanish Teacher.

MARÍA DE LIMA (NÍVEA)

Maria de Lima’s work in Theatre includes: Frida and Diego (Presence Theatre); Blood Wedding (Omnibus Theatreand Almeida Theatre);There here Is Someone Who Hates Us(National Theatre of Scotland / Oran Mor); Throats (Pleasance Theatre); The Seduction of Anne Boleyn (Nuffield Theatre); Ay Federico (The Orange Tree); The Cinnamon Veil(Cochrane Theatre & UK tour); On Golden Pond (Politeama Theatre, Lisbon, Portugal); De Afonso Henriques a MarioSoares(Politeama Theatre, Lisbon, Portugal) – A Capital Best Stage Actress Award.

Film includes: Beast; I Am Henry; Impirioso; Diviner; Broad Daylight; El Rey de Napoles; Luz Negra; The Milky Life.

TV includes: Apocalypse; Steel River Blues; The Bill; Cabaret; Rebelde Way; Recidive; L’enfant en Heritage; Grande Noite– SE7E Awards nomination Best TV Actress, Portugal; O Quadro Roubado – SE7E awards nomination, Best TVActress, Portugal; Yes Minister – Golden Globes Nomination, Portugal.