Theatre South East

Sammi O’Neill

Editor, Founder and all round theatre lover! I love to work on Theatre South East and hope that you enjoy reading it and find it useful.
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@theatre_se  & @sammioneill

Roberta Guarini

Roberta is a freelance writer living and working in Brighton since 2019. She loves writing about live entertainment, whether it’s music, theatre, or dance. She is a regular writer for Theatre South East and City Girl Network.

Jill Lawrie

For me theatre has it all, such a powerful and engaging form of entertainment from the script, to the costumes, the set and the lighting that all come together to inspire the magic of performance.  For many years I worked backstage with a couple of theatre groups as well as being Deputy Stage Manager for Chichester Festival Theatre’s big millennium production The Barchester Chronicles.  I have also notched up over a decade as a theatre reviewer most recently joining the team here at Theatre South East. 
I have been a theatre goer for as long as I can remember, developing my love of live theatre from visiting the West End musicals with my parents.  I have passed this passion on to my children and grandchildren so singing, dancing and acting are a regular feature at family get togethers.

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Patric Kearnes

Having studied Pure Mathematics at the University of Nottingham, Patric turned his back on statistics and embarked on an acting career at the start of which he met his wife Jane. They now have two daughters and live in Brighton. Patric is still an actor and Director and has toured extensively both in the UK and abroad. Patric made his West End debut in 1997 at the Duchess Theatre as George in Don’t Dress for Dinner and has recently recorded an audio play, The Curse of the Daleks for Big Finish in which he plays Captain Redway. He also directed The Axeman Cometh: Mervyn Stone’s Last Story which has recently been released by Big Finish. He has just filmed Mission 2:Redemption, The Dark Channel, Deep in the Woods, 18 Weeks and Dress Rehearsal. He is also a Stand-Up comedian and is in a Retro Electro Dance Band called Is that your Peacock?
Patric can be seen in Sky Atlantic’s critically acclaimed I Hate Suzie. and is currently filming a full length film called Disco.

Read Patric’s Reviews
@OCDPat

Gill Ranson

For as long as I remember I have always loved going to live performances, from Shakespeare to Alan Bennett, comedy to tragedy,  modern dance to classical ballet.   Having a ticket or two on my mantelpiece means always something special to look forward to.  All theatre performances excite me and although I’ve never been directly involved as a performer, on occasion I have been termed a bit of ‘drama queen’!  

Moving to West Sussex 4 years ago has given me the wonderful opportunity of working within Front of House at Worthing Theatres and Museum, and very recently I joined their Development and Fundraising Team.

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Stephen Sheldrake

Since graduating in a media and creative writing degree from Chichester, Stephen has setup to build a career of creativity in the arts. After working at the Chichester Festival Theatre he has now moved to Worthing Theatres Marketing team. He aspires to see as many productions as possible and loves theatre, film and storytelling.
@SMSheldrake
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Lily Sitzia

Lily has recently graduated from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on the MA Acting Course and has been working as a professional actor on stage, for many years. Having previously studied English Lit and Theatre at Warwick University, Lily absolutely loves writing about and engaging with theatrical works, and having the opportunity to see so many new, wonderful shows  with Theatre South East, is very exciting!

Read Lily’s Reviews