Jowanna Rose

Since graduating from Bretton Hall College with a first class Hons. Degree in Theatre, Jowanna Rose has gone on to work extensively in both theatre and television. Theatre work includes national tours with Open Hand Theatre Co. with The Mouse and His Child and the award winning Fecund Theatre performing in Face to Face and The Pleasure Dome. Other theatre credits are Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with C’est Tous Theatre, Paulina and Polixenes in a 4 handed all female production of The Winter’s Tale and various projects with Yorkshire Women's Theatre including Out of The Blue and Sun Stories. 

Notable television credits are ITV’s A&E, Donovan, The Forsyte Saga series I and II, Wall of Silence, Coronation Street and the BBC’s Sea of Souls. Jowanna will soon be appearing in ITV’s new drama See No Evil

For Dark Smile Productions, Jowanna has played the part of Woman in Obsessions  and most recently Mrs X in Ratty Ep 1 and Ratty Ep 2

Bernard Nugent

Born in Glasgow but bred in Clifton Green, Bernard Nugent used to work at Wickes’s Building Supplies, hence his nickname around Swinton of “The Bald Bloke From Wickes’s”. He’d never acted in his life, but was lured from the straight and narrow by evil influences (Simon and Iain) to play Steads in Map & Steads and Gemma and Map & Steads and The Irwell Pike, which he did worryingly well - possibly because he didn’t have to act very much.

Bernard returned to the character of Steads in Riverside Blues, Squid in the Sink, The Wake, and Fireworks Night, and the most recent episodes The Calamari Ring and Wedding Bell Blues. He also played the part of Ox in Ratty Ep 2. When not acting or working he can usually be found depleting the stocks of one or another of Swinton’s alehouses, so if you see him, he’ll have a pint of Holts’s.

Simon Denmark

Born in 1968 of genuine Salfordian parents, Simon Denmark first appeared on stage at the age of 11 in Walter Greenwood’s play Hanky Park.  Five years of state schooling later and with numerous amateur appearances under his belt, Simon began a series of educational courses leading to a BTEC National Diploma in performing arts from Salford college of Technology and a BA (Hons) from Bretton Hall.

Since graduation, Simon has been involved with several theatre companies including Cragrats, Action Transport, The Royal Exchange, Active Drama and most recently Manchester Actors Company.  For Manchester Actors Company, Simon has played 2^nd Witch, Banquo, Duncan, MacDuff, Doctor, Porter and Manservant; Old Capulet and Friar Lawrence; Macbeth.

For Dark Smile Productions Simon played the parts of Schwartz - a German officer, a 1930’s barman and a hired thug in The Mid-land , and Hedingley and Mark in Life in Pieces.

Ian Dogherty

After playing Bugsy Malone at the age of 11, a rather manic Willy Wonka at the difficult age of 16 and a melodramatic Thisbe at 18, Ian Dogherty proceeded to do absolutely no acting until called upon to learn Lysander in 2 weeks at 30. He was magnificent. A series of amateur roles including Darcy and Dickie Winslow ran alongside several brave attempts to perform his own monologues and poems at Studio Salford.

For Dark Smile Productions, Ian has played various roles in the Salford Voices project including a euphoric wine expert and a man who likes Bovril. He played Marv the singing snake and Gwynfor the squid in the Map & Steads plays Riverside Blues and The Squid in the Sink respectively. He has recently reprised the role of Gwynfor for The Calamari Ring.

Ian Curley

Ian Curley became a pro (actor that is, although he's open to offers!!) after graduating from Salford University. He has lived and worked in Salford on and off for the last ten years.

A few television appearances which include Coronation Street and bizarrely Holidays Undercovered have kept him in milky bars over the last year (that's seven by the way), but the majority of his work has been on the stage. Recent theatre pieces include The Weir, A Game of Two Halves, Fire in the Park and Paperboys by Cathy Crabb at the Buxton Theatre Festival, for which he was nominated for best actor.

A singing songwriter of comedy songs Ian recently entered the scary world of stand up, as well as starring in a number of short films and commercials playing amongst others a drug dealing baddy, a train driver and a world war one soldier with a gun. His six year old inner child is delighted with his choice of career.

For Dark  Smile he recently took part in Salford Voices as well as playing the part of Pat in Map & Steads : Fireworks Night,  which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Kate Gilbert

Kate Gilbert's theatre work includes Here in the Night (2005) and this years Owen Parker as part of the Manchester 24:7 Theatre Festival.  Kate also performed at Studio Salford in Othello and Life's A Gatecrash (2004).  Her film work includes Alice - Off Balance by Freeley Moving Productions and Love Among the Udderheads - a film by Tam Hinton.

For Dark Smile, Kate took part in the Salford Voices project in the pieces Domestic Bliss and Independent Salford . She most recently breathed life into the character of Eileen in Map & Steads: The Wake, and has reprised the role for The Calamari Ring and Wedding Bell Blues.

Lynn Roden

Lynn Roden graduated in 1997 from Salford University with a BA hons degree in Media Performance.  She is currently in rehearsals for Moving Pictures at Oldham Coliseum theatre, and has recently finished Salt of the Earth, a John Godber play at Hull Truck Theatre. 

Lynn has had many TV roles such as Heatbeat, Cold Feet, Linda Green, Pheonix Nights, Coronation Street, The Chase, Shameless  and Emmerdale to name but a few.

For Dark Smile, Lynn can be heard in the Salford Voices pieces The Tower and The Trials. She played Jean in The Wake, and also recorded the short story Music on The Hill for the Spine Chillers CD of ghost stories. 

Dan Atkinson

Dan Atkinson landed his first role 3 years ago as Jamie in the stage play Jam, which was performed as part of the 24:7 Theatre Festival. Following that Dan was a member of the cast of the highly successful 36 Hours – The John Cooper Clarke Story. More recently he played Pete in Mike Heath’s Game of two halves. His television roles have seen him appear in No Angels, for Channel 4, and the new BBC drama Innocence. This November (2006), Dan will make his feature film debut when he appears in Mischief Night directed by Penny Woolcock for Company Pictures.

For Dark Smile, Dan played several characters Salford Voices, including a Marmite junkie and a disgruntled wine expert in Salford Sketches, plus the character of Thomas in Blind Date. Most recently he played the part of Harv the singing snake in Map & Steads: Riverside Blues.

Bronwyn Ebdon

Bronwyn Ebdon's first outing on the stage was with the Crucible Theatre, in a production of Romeo & Juliet back in 1994, and from this moment she was hooked. Whilst training, Bronwyn worked with the Birmingham Opera in their touring production of Votzeck. Since graduating, Bronwyn has been lucky enough to be a working actress for various theatre companies as well as finding the time to fit in a few festivals and short films.

Bronwyn first came to Manchester in 2005 to perform in the 24:7 Theatre Festival as the Joker in Nowhere Man. Returning the next year as Claire in Seeds of Doubt and Dream Girl in My Life's Work. Other parts include, Emilia in Othello for Artemis Theatre and Anna in Closer for Trickster Theatre; both at Studio Salford.

It was at Studio Salford that Bronwyn first came across the Dark Smile bunch and was asked to read for Salford Voices in Holy Moley, by Simon Bestwick. Bronwyn has since recorded the ghost story Miller's Close for the Spine Chillers CD.

Julia Nelson

Julia Nelson completed her Honours degree in Media and Performance in 1997 at The University of Salford, after which she went on to achieve a PGCE from The University of Greenwich in 2000.  She went on to lecture in drama in FE for four years before beginning work on the Open Minds project in 2004 at The Manchester Museum. 

She often works as a Guest Director at The University of Salford, staging productions with undergraduate Performing Arts students.  A founder member of theatre collective Studio Salford, she has worked extensively with a number of their companies and is the co-ordinator for the highly successful and influential ‘Embryo’ nights.

For Dark Smile, Julia has played parts in Salford Voices, and most recently Sarah (Stead's Mum) in Map & Steads: Wedding Bell Blues