Preview: Teechers at Durham Gala Theatre

Meet the cast set to take audiences back to school

Teechers

Durham Gala Theatre

Monday 6 May to Saturday 11 May 2019

A trio of north east actors are preparing to take audiences back to school laughing.

The Gala Theatre’s Teechers is sure to bring back old school memories as it introduces three school leavers who decide to perform an end of school tribute about their time in secondary school. Their play revolves around an idealistic new teacher, whose passion, enthusiasm and belief rubs off onto his pupils.

Mahsa Hammat Bahary, Sarah Boulter, Louis Roberts
as school pupils in upcoming play, Teechers. 

Written by John Godber, the third most performed playwright in the UK after William Shakespeare and Alan Ayckbourn, Teechers promises fast-paced, well-crafted comedy.          

                 

Bringing this dose of nostalgia to life are three local actors, who will portray a number of identifiable characters between them, including the school bully, an array of teachers and the three drama pupils, around which the wider play hinges.

Sarah Boulter is thrilled to be returning to the Gala again, after spending a sparkling festive season as Miranda the Mirror in Snow White and even more recently as Mrs Linde in the Ibsen classic, A Doll’s House.

She said: “Teechers is a play we can all relate to in some way or another. School is a huge part of our lives, when we develop our identities and often our career paths. This was certainly true in my case as it is where I found my love of drama and it shaped where I am today. 

“School can be the best (or in some cases worst) times of our life. But the characters are so identifiable and I think that’s what makes this play so relatable and so humorous. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

“I love playing multiple roles and I’m really looking forward to working with director Tom Wright and the cast to bring these characters to life. I can’t wait to go back to school, this time, not only as a student, but as a teacher and a caretaker too.” 

Mahsa Hammat Bahary trained at Project A, an intensive acting course at Newcastle's Theatre Royal. During the course, she appeared as Michelle Russell in Herons, as well as various parts in Bluebird, Debris and Much Ado About Nothing.

Since graduation last year she has appeared as the lead role of Farida in regional short film Falling and has been a part of a Theatre in Education tour throughout the north east.

Mahsa said: ““I’m very excited to be a part of Teechers. I think it has a great message, it’s important to show people the importance of drama in school. I’m also so looking forward to working with the cast and our director and can’t wait to get started.” 

After recently finishing a Christmas tour, Louis Roberts has been training under Gillian Hambleton at Northumberland Theatre Company as Associate Director, but when the opportunity to audition for Teechers came along, he jumped at the chance. Previous shows include Apples and Peter Pan by Northern Stage, The Machine Gunners by Customs House, Dracula the Travesty, Beauty and the Beast and The Comedy of Errors by the NTC.

Tom Wright returns to direct this witty drama, building on previous success of the Gala's recent production, Two.

Tickets:

Performances will be held at 7.30pm from Monday 6 May to Saturday 11 May, apart from on Wednesday when the evening show starts at 6pm. Additional performances will also take place at 1pm on Tuesday and Thursday.

Tickets are priced from £10 to £16, available at https://www.galadurham.co.uk/galapost/teechers/ or by calling the box office 03000 266 600.