Guest Teachers

Angharad Lee

Award winning director, Angharad Lee, has been working as a director of theatre, opera and film since 2009. Prior to this, she trained as an actress at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and as a singer at the Royal Academy of Music in London. When not directing, her time is spent devising and managing Creative Learning Projects for the Arts Council of Wales Lead Creative Schools Scheme. She speaks both Welsh and English fluently. Angharad is also a lecturer at the BA Performance course at Trinity St David’s and a guest lecturer specialising in new writing at the University of South Wales and Y Coleg Cymraeg and Artistic Director of Leeway Productions specialising in nurturing new writers of musical theatre.

Her directorial work spans from writing, developing and directing work for young audiences to directing Opera for the Welsh National Opera. She has been nominated for numerous awards, from the Wales Theatre Awards to the Royal Philharmonic Awards and has been fortunate enough to be the recipient of one of Wales’ most sought after awards, The Creative Wales Award. 

She is currently a Creative Agent for the Arts Council of Wales Lead Creative School Scheme.

David Mercatali

David Mercatali is an award-winning freelance theatre director based in Cardiff who first worked with Ascendance Theatre Arts on National Theatre Connections as an Associate Director for the National Theatre. David has also been Associate Director at the Sherman Theatre and Southwark Playhouse. David’s production credits include; “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” (Tobacco Factory, Bristol/Salisbury Playhouse), “God of Chaos” (Theatre Royal Plymouth), “Tremor” (Sherman Theatre/59E59 NYC), “The Story” (TOR Theatre), “Blue Heart” (Orange Tree/Tobacco Factory), “Insignificance, Cargo” (Arcola), “Tonight with Donny Stixx” (Edinburgh Fringe/Bunker Theatre), “Radiant Vermin” (Soho Theatre, 59E59 NYC) and “Dark Vanilla Jungle” (Soho Theatre/Edinburgh Fringe).

Nathan Jones

Nathan is a freelance musician and was awarded a Master’s in Composition from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Nathan has worked extensively within the youth music industry, including Music Director and teaching roles with British Youth Music Theatre, Bridgend Youth Theatre, Go Productions, Hybu and West Glamorgan Music Service.

As an Arranger, Orchestrator and Keyboard player for The Novello Orchestra, recent credits include “Movie Mixtape: Songs from the Silver Screen” (Wales Millennium Centre), “Disney Pixar in Concert” (UK Tour), “Beauty and the Beast in Concert” (UK Tour), “A Night at the Musicals” (St. David’s Hall & London Palladium), “La La Land in Concert” (UK Tour), and “Broadway To The Bay” (WMC) in which the Ascendance students performed. 

Theatre credits include RCT Theatre’s “Jack & The Beanstalk” (Musical Director & Arranger), “Word Gets Around: Stereophonics Musical” (Musical Director & Arranger), “Tiger Bay The Musical” at the Wales Millennium Centre (Keys/Accordion & Orchestration), “Cabaret” at the RWCMD (Musical Director), and “Sweat Factory” at Sadler’s Wells for Youth Music Theatre UK (Musical Director).

Other credits include “The Goonies In Concert” (UK Tour), “Bridget Jones’s Diary In Concert” (UK Tour), “The Italian Job In Concert” (UK Tour), “West End Does: Bond” (Leicester Square Theatre), “The Wizard of Oz in Concert” (London Palladium), “Katherine Jenkins: Home For Christmas” (Brangwyn Hall - BBC), and “1000 Voices - The Music of the Movies” (Motorpoint Arena - Hybu).

As well as Music Directing and playing, Nathan also composes and works within music technology roles such as audio mixing and video production. In 2015, Nathan won the London Welsh Chorale Dylan Thomas composition competition for his a cappella choral setting of “The Hand That Signed The Paper”. Nathan also holds the positions of Assistant MD for Neath Male Choir, and Musical Director for his own pop choir, Rechoir.

Kev McCurdy

Kev is Fight Instructor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where he trains students in stage combat techniques. He is also the Co-Founder, Chairman, Fight Examiner and Senior Stage Combat Tutor of the Academy of Performance Combat (APC).

Selected Theatre credits include: Les Misérables (Sondheim & UK Tour); Miss Saigon (Prince Edward, UK and European tour); The Whip, Antony and Cleopatra (RSC); King Lear, Frankenstein, Hamlet (Royal Exchange, Manchester); An Octoroon, Macbeth UK Tour & Olivier, Anthony & Cleopatra, Pericles, Mosquitoes, Barbershop Chronicles (National Theatre); Othello, Eyam, Love's Labour's Lost, The Taming Of The Shrew; Henry IV pt I (Shakespeare’s Globe); The Crucible (Old Vic); West Side Story (Curve); Glory (The Dukes, Lancaster & UK tour); Only Fools and Horses (Theatre Royal Haymarket); The Odyssey: Missing Presumed Dead, Romeo and Juliet, The Conquest Of The South Pole, Fiddler On The Roof, The Big I Am (Everyman, Liverpool); The Comedy About A Bank Robbery (UK Tour); Sylvia (Old Vic); As You Like It (Theatre By The Lake); Hamlet (Almeida); Fairview, Things Of Dry Hours (Young Vic); Glengarry Glen Ross (Ambassadors); White Noise (Kiln); All About Eve (Noel Coward Theatre); American Nightmare, Hela (The Other Room).

Television includes: Eastenders; The Story of Tracy Beaker; Hetty Feather; Hollyoaks; Pobol Y Cwm; Keeping Faith; Craith/Hidden; 4 Stories; 15 Days.

Film includes: Lady of Heaven, Season Of The Witch; John Carter Of Mars; Journey’s End; Kenya; Canaries; Carmilla.

Matt Lush

Matt has built a reputable career as an enthusiastic and engaging freelance performer, conductor and educator. He has a broad range of musical abilities including piano, drum kit, trumpet and composition. Recent show credits include “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “Footloose”, “Cinderella”, “The Wedding Singer”, “Sister Act”, “The Addams Family Musical”, “HONK” and “High School Musical”. 

Matt attended Cardiff University with a 6-month exchange to The University of New Hampshire. He graduated with First Class Honours and the 'John Morgan Lloyd Scholarship for Meritorious Students’ before continuing his study with a Masters in Music (composition) under full scholarship, graduating in 2018 with a Distinction.

Patrons

Andrew Wright

Andrew is a double Olivier Award nominee, double WhatsOnStage and Carl Alan Award winning choreographer. Andrew choreographed the incredible “Broadway to the Bay”  at the Wales Millennium Centre which the students of Ascendance Theatre Arts proudly performed and we have been in love with his choreography ever since! 

Andrew trained with the NYMT and Arts Ed and has had a phenomenal career in Musical Theatre. Highlights include, directing and choreographing “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat”, “The Witches Of Eastwick” for which he was nominated for Best Choreographer in the Broadway World Awards 2019, “Gypsy” and “Carousel” to name but a few. 

Andrew has choreographed “Oklahoma”, the National Tour of “Nativity”, “Five Guys Named Moe” for which he was nominated for Best Choreographer in the WhatsOnStage Awards 2018, “Half A Sixpence” for Cameron Mackintosh (Chichester Festival Theatre, Noel Coward Theatre) for which he won Best Choreographer WhatsOnStage Awards 2017, “Singin’ In The Rain” (Chichester Festival Theatre, Palace Theatre, UK National Tour, Japan, Asia, Russia and Australia) winner of Best Choreographer WhatsOnStage Awards 2013 and nominated for Best Choreographer Olivier Awards 2012, Helpmann Awards 2016 and Broadway World Awards 2011/2016. “Guys and Dolls” (Chichester Festival Theatre Phoenix, Savoy Theatre and National Tour) Best Choreographer nomination Olivier Awards 2016 and Broadway World Awards 2014/16. “Barnum” (Theatre in the Park, Chichester and National Tour) Best Choreographer nomination Broadway World Awards 2013. The world premiere of “Mrs Henderson Presents” (Theatre Royal, Bath, Noel Coward Theatre and Toronto) Best Choreographer nomination Broadway World Awards 2016 and Oliver (Curve, Leicester).

Andrew was assistant director and co-choreographer for “Chess in Concert” (Royal Albert Hall) starring Josh Groban and Idina Menzal and seven productions of “The Night Of 1000 Voices” (Royal Albert Hall and Odyssey Belfast). He choreographed The WhatsOnStage Awards 2008 (Lyric Theatre)/ 2009/10 (Prince Of Wales Theatre) and Elaine Paige’s 2006 Concert (Lyceum Theatre and European Tour). 

Andrew’s past performance credits include “Scrooge” (London Palladium), “Mary Poppins” (Prince Edward), “Anything Goes” (Drury Lane), “Cats” (New London), “Follies” (Festival Hall), Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” (Dominion and National Tour), “Mack & Mabel” (Piccadilly), “Oliver” (Sadler’s Wells), “Fred Astaire – his daughters tribute” (London Palladium), “A Chorus Line” (Derby Playhouse and National Tour), “Pickwick (National Tour)” and “The Time Of My Life” (Bristol Old Vic). He appeared in two Royal Variety Performances and recorded five Original London Cast Recordings.

Sophie Evans

Sophie hails from Tonypandy in South Wales. Sophie has most recently performed as Glinda in “Wicked” on the West End but she is best known for being a runner-up out of 10,000 hopefuls in “Over the Rainbow”, Andrew Lloyd Webber's search for Dorothy in 2010, featured on BBC One, resulting in her becoming alternate Dorothy at the London Palladium at only 17 years old.  Sophie has since gone on to perform all around the world in concerts with amazing performers such as Alfie Boe, Michael Ball and Kerry Ellis.  She has performed in many major venues and arenas around the world, including, the Lyric Theatre on Broadway, The Colosseum at Caesars Palace and in Las Vegas with 'Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance'.  Sophie has also done TV and Film work, including working with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost on their film “The Worlds End”. 

We are delighted to welcome Sophie to the Ascendance family! As a company based in South Wales it is important to us to have patron who appreciates our values and local culture and who will inspire our students that they too can go “Over the Rainbow”. 

Benjamin Mundy

Ben has been supporting Ascendance Theatre Arts for many years and frequently visits to teach West End Workshops. We always love going to see him in productions and his backstage tours are inspirational. 

Ben trained at Arts Educational Schools before starting a successful career in Theatre. Ben has most recently been Dance Captain/Swing/Understudy Aaron/Understudy Bobby in “Curtains” (West End, UK and European Tour). Previous credits include Dance Captain in “The Producers”, Dance Captain in Sasha Regan’s All Male “Iolanthe”, Dance Captain/Pollux in “Orpheus The Mythical”, Assistant Dance Captain/Swing/Bert Healey in “Annie” for the West End Revival, South Africa, UK & European Tour, Eugene Florczyk in “Grease”, Coricopat/ Understudy Rum Tum Tugger in “Cats” in the UK and International Tour as well as the revival at the London Palladium which was also performed on “Sunday Night at the Palladium”, featured on ITV.

Workshops and concert credits include Band Member in the new Take That musical “The Band”, a dancer for “Kerry Ellis in Concert” at the London Palladium and a dancer at “The Oliver Awards” at the Royal Opera House. 

Becky- Jayne Poole

Becky has been teaching at Ascendance Theatre Arts since 2012. Becky’s passion for our students and their training here has been invaluable so we honour her with this Patronage in recognition of her hard work and dedication to our company. 

Becky completed her foundation degree at Bird College and her degree at Trinity Laban, gaining a first class honours in Musical Theatre. Becky then joined the 'The GoGoGo Show' which was put together by Mike Stock of Stock, Aitken and Waterman and went on to feature on Nickelodeon! Becky is most well known for her role as ‘Belle’ in Beauty and the Beast at the Cardiff New Theatre. Becky’s other credits include three RCT pantomimes as first cover, dancer and aerial artist alongside the late Frank Vickery, ‘Alice’ in Alice in Wonderland by Theatr Nanog and Citrus Arts. She also toured in Welsh is Magic with Martyn Geraint. Becky now lives in Rotterdam in the Netherlands where she works for STET, the English Theatre Company and Theatre of Engtanglement as a freelance practitioner as well as teaching fitness.