Isabel Ford

Granny

Theatre credits include : Zara (Mind the Gap); Whisky Galore (Oldham Coliseum co-pro with Hull Truck and New Vic); Hard Times (Oldham Coliseum); Spring and Port Wine (Oldham Coliseum); Brassed Off (Oldham Coliseum); Chinese Elvis (Bolton Octagon and Hull Truck); The Full Monty (David Pugh Ltd); Spin (Oldham Coliseum); Come Closer (The Royal Exchange); The Hummingbird (Imagineer Productions); Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Oldham Coliseum); The Witches (Birmingham Repertory Co.); Palace of Fear (Leicester

Haymarket Theatre); Rumpelstiltskin (Coventry Belgrade Theatre); The Mysteries (Belgrade Theatre); Dick Whittington (Hornchurch); Ghost Train (Queen’s Hornchurch); Jane Ayre (Queen’s Theatre Horncurch); The Twits (Coventry Belgrade Theatre); 101 Dalmatians (Coventry Belgrade Theatre).

Television credits include: Emmerdale (ITV); Coronation Street (ITV); Hollyoaks (Lime productions); Bodyfarm (BBC); Worried About The Boy (BBC/ Red Production Company).

Film Credit: Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger (Entertainment One Ltd).

Justin Davies

Ben

Justin Davies is a Welsh actor, born and raised in the South Wales Valleys. Justin first started acting when he was 12 years of age, and starred in Sky One’s comedy drama series Stella for 6 seasons from 2012-2017. In 2013, Justin was nominated for the Breakthrough Award at the BAFTA Cymru Awards for his role in Stella.

Justin graduated in 2018 from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where he gained a BA Hons in Acting, having also starred in Tim Burton’s 20th Century Fox film Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children in 2016. Justin has since gone onto work with the Birmingham Stage Company on two previous occasions, Tom Gates: Live on Stage (2019) and Horrible Christmas with Car Park Panto (2020).

Justin feels Gangsta Granny will be his most exciting and thrilling project to date and hopes you all enjoy the show and that it puts a smile on your faces!

Jason Furnival

Dad & Mr Parker

Jason has worked extensively in Television, Film and Theatre throughout his career.

Jason has toured nationally and internationally, most notably in the National Theatre’s War Horse where he played Carter and Colonel Strauss from 2013 to 2015 touring the UK, Ireland and South Africa.

His other theatre credits include: Dirty Laundry (Claybody Theatre); Richard III (Hull Truck/Northern Broadsides); The Kitchen Sink (New Vic Theatre); Chamaco (Home – Manchester); Wind In The Willows and Father’s Day (Library Theatre); The Tempest (The Stageworks); A Kick In The Baubles and Kissing Married Women (Hull Truck); The Bells, Antigone, Henry V, A Woman Killed With Kindness, Macbeth and King Lear (Northern Broadsides); Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare Factory); La Serva Padrona (Broomhill Opera); Emilia Galotti (Trilogy Theatre) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Broomhill Theatre).

Jason’s extensive television and film credits include: Downton Abbey, Emmerdale, Home Fires, Scott and Bailey, Heartbeat, Blue Murder, Boy Meets Girl, Coronation Street, Dead Clever, Cracker, Northern Lights, At Home With The Braithwaites (ITV); A&E (ITV); Unforgiven (Red); Shameless, Gold Plated, Bradford Riots, Phoenix Nights and Hollyoaks (C4); All At Sea (CBBC); Grimbsy (Big Talk Films); Doctors, The Accused, Candy Cabs, Doctors, Paradox, Waterloo Road, Innocence Project and Linda Green (BBC).

Jess Nesling

Mum & Queen

Jess was born in south Wales and is a graduate of the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA), where she achieved a MA (Hons) in Acting, having first graduated with a BA(Hons) in Drama and French from the University of London.

Film and TV credits include Armed Interpol Officer in The Hitman Wife’s Bodyguard (Millennium Films), Armed Response Officer in Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunchbreak (Belstone Pictures), Rebecca in Plot A Lot (Suzy Catliff / Fantastic Garlands), Katherine’s Security in Suspicion (Apple TV) and Alison in Long Distance Call.

Stage credits include Hermione/Mopsa in The Winter’s Tale, Lady Castlemaine/Louise de Keroualle in Nell Gwynn and Elvira in Blithe Spirit (all UK tours for Changeling Theatre), Mariana in Measure For Measure (Greenwich Theatre), Pamela Maitland in Up The Bunty (Suzy Catliff /Lion & Unicorn Theatre), Arwen in The Quarry Clock (Liverpool Everyman) and Ensemble in Lovely Ugly City and The Treatment (both at The Almeida).

Jess is a skilled mezzo-soprano and has conversational French. She toured India with the musical Resonance (Toccata Productions) and is an accomplished cabaret singer training with Paul Knight. She is highly qualified in stage combat and firearms/handgun training.

Irfan Damani

Raj & Flavio

Training: London College of Music.

Theatre credits: Raj in Billionaire Boy (Garrick Theatre), Sidney in Aladdin (Chipping Norton Theatre), Father in Ishq the Musical (Sadlers Wells). Credits whilst training: Bud in Bat Boy & Action in West Side Story.

Film and television credits: Shop manager in Breeders Season 2 (Sky One), Saleem in EastEnders (BBC One), Dancer/Funny guy in Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again & Muscle Man in Namaste England.

Commercials include: McDonalds, Amazon and Dave (UKTV).

Paul Duckworth

Doctor & Policeman

Theatre credits include: Gorgeous Georgians & Vile Victorians (Birmingham Stage Company); Lost in Colomendy (Royal Court Liverpool); Horrible Christmas (Birmingham Stage Company); The Menlove Avenue Murder Mystery (Royal Court Liverpool); Sweeney Todd (Everyman); Brick Up The Mersey Tunnels 2, Yellow Breck Road, The Scouse Cinderella, Lonesome West, Scouse Nativity, Brick up the Mersey Tunnels, Down the Dock Road, Father O’Flaherty, Mam! I’m ‘Ere, Reds and Blues The Ballard of Dixie and Kenny, The Little Scouse on the Prairie, Scouse Pacific, Slappers and Slapheads (Royal Court Liverpool); Paint Your Wagon, Othello, The Big I Am (Everyman Company 2018 season), Bright Phoenix, The May Queen, Unprotected, Urban Legend and Twelfth Night (Everyman); Snow White (Trio Entertainment); Hot Stuff (Oldham Coliseum); Dreaming of a Barry White Christmas (Echo Arena); Beating Berlusconi (Turf Love); Sink or Swim, Backwater, Jason and the Argonauts, Madam I’m Adam, The Man Who Cracked and The True Tales of Baron Munchausen (Spike Theatre Company); Family Business (M6 Theatre Company); The Quiet Little Englishman (ZHO Productions); Microdots (Contact Theatre, Manchester); River Fever, The Pied Piper, You Are Here and The Man Who Stole a Winter Coat (Unity Theatre, Liverpool); Waiting for Brando, The Corrupted Angel (Unity Theatre / UK Tour) and The Golden Boy (Unity / Everyman / UK Tour)

TV credits include: Mobile (Granada); The Courtroom (Lime pictures); Brookside (Mersey Television) and 4 O’Clock Club (CBBC).

Film credits include: I’ve Got a Bad Feeling about This (Hap Hazard productions); Backbeat; Saturday and Hollyoaks.

Radio credits include: Tin Man (BBC Radio 4).

Audio credits include: Voyage of Slaves, Outcast of Redwall and The Long Patrol.

Jemma Geanaus

Matron & WPC

Training: Masters Performing Arts Collage.

Theatre credits: Taming of the Clueless (The Show Must Go Online); Dick Whittington (Hackney Empire); Peter Pan (Troubadour White City Theatre); Tina, The Tina Turner Musical (Original Cast – Aldwych Theatre); Jack and the Beanstalk (Salisbury Playhouse); Spamalot (English Theatre Frankfurt); American Idiot (Arts Theatre & UK Tour); Dusty

(Charing Cross Theatre); Hairspray (York Opera House); The BFG (Birmingham Rep); Bare (Greenwich Theatre).

Screen work includes: Matilda (due for release in 2022); Call The Midwife (BBC); Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again; One Man Walking; Boy Blue Entertainment.

Commercials: Freeman’s: Be More Free; Just Eat: Magic is Real; Subway: Groundhog Day.

Arena: London 2012 (Queen Elizabeth Olympic Opening Ceremony).

Iskandar Eaton

Ensemble & Understudy

Iskandar is a recent 2020 graduate from Mountview.

Being from Sheffield, he first got into theatre by going to see shows at local theatres such as the Crucible, before moving down to London at 19 to study.

Since graduating he has appeared as Abe in Metcalfe Gordon’s Romeo and Juliet, Tesco’s lets cook range commercial, and Romeo in Boxclever’s Romeo and Juliet.

Mared Lewis

Ensemble, Understudy & Dance Captain

Training: Performance Preparation Academy.

Theatre credits: Ensemble/ Swing in Billionaire Boy WEST END & UK Tour, Penny Pingleton in Hairspray (Gaiety Theatre).

Credits whilst training include: Joan in Dames At Sea, Ensemble/Dance Captain in 9 To 5 the Musical, Ensemble Choir in Vernon God Little and Ensemble in The Producers.

Mared is thrilled to be back with The Birmingham Stage Company with this fantastic cast of Gangsta Granny and would love to dedicate her performance to her own Grandmother, who supported her every step of the way!