ABOUT THE SHOW
January 1920
Newly ordained Peter Horne, receives an urgent invitation to come to London and meet with his childhood, aristocratic friend, Albert.
Eager to hear his news, Peter turns up at the home of the eccentric and mysterious Etta Florence. After some "pleasantries", music and plenty of wine, it becomes apparent that Peter has been lured to Etta's home for more than just a casual catch up with his old friend.
Having left the conflict of WWI, Horne’s Descent follows the journey of a young priest as he spirals into the depths of his own moral conflict. After the fog and fumbling of war, can you ever go back to the way things were? Touching on themes of classism, religion and free will, this production is a psychological interrogation into whether we have the power to change the course of our lives.
Written by Nina Atesh (The Drought, Tales From the Hellfire Club) and directed by Chloe Cattin (Twigs, Deck the Stalls) comes a dark new drama exploring the destruction of man, set against the backdrop of a broken England, trying desperately to pull itself out of the shadow of war.
CAST
ALEXANDER HACKETT as PETER HORNE
ALEXANDER HACKETT as PETER HORNE
ALEXANDER HACKETT as PETER HORNE
Alexander is a Northern actor originally from Yorkshire. He graduated from the Guildford School of Acting in 2018 and has since appeared in sttage productions including Sink (The Space) & The History Boys (South London Theatre). He is also currently starring in the hit fantasy web-series Ren; The Girl with the Mark in the leading role "Hunter" which is releasing this March on Youtube.
BETHANY SLATER as MARY FLORENCE
ALEXANDER HACKETT as PETER HORNE
ALEXANDER HACKETT as PETER HORNE
Bethany grew up in the North and came down to London fresh at 18 ready to study Musical Theatre. Over the course of her career she has shot awarding winning shorts, had the chance to star in some brilliant commercials and performed at the Guildford fringe festival in John Godber’s Shakers. A recent Austrian film she featured in just made
Bethany grew up in the North and came down to London fresh at 18 ready to study Musical Theatre. Over the course of her career she has shot awarding winning shorts, had the chance to star in some brilliant commercials and performed at the Guildford fringe festival in John Godber’s Shakers. A recent Austrian film she featured in just made its world premiere at Berlinale 2024. She’s thrilled to be performing Hornes Descent as Mary Florence alongside this brilliant cast and crew at the wonderful Old Red Lion Theatre
CICI CLARKE as HENRIETTA FLORENCE
CICI CLARKE as HENRIETTA FLORENCE
CICI CLARKE as HENRIETTA FLORENCE
Cici originally trained at Rose Bruford, and graduated from the MA Applied Theatre course at Central School of Speech & Drama in 2023. Originally from Birmingham, Cici has been London based for over twenty years and works across both stage and screen. She has played classic tragic characters Hedda Gabler, Medea and Lady Macbeth, but also
Cici originally trained at Rose Bruford, and graduated from the MA Applied Theatre course at Central School of Speech & Drama in 2023. Originally from Birmingham, Cici has been London based for over twenty years and works across both stage and screen. She has played classic tragic characters Hedda Gabler, Medea and Lady Macbeth, but also enjoys comedy roles and has played Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor and last Summer played Faye in Alan Ayckbourns A Chorus of Disapproval at Hever Castle. A fan of new writing, she played Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride & Prejudice - The Gay Panto at the White Bear Theatre, and 'S' in The Plunge at The Space Theatre, both in 2022. She has a love of physical theatre and improvisation and believes that theatre has the power to change the world! She is represented by Smile Casting.
MAGNUS GORDON as ALBERT PALMER
CICI CLARKE as HENRIETTA FLORENCE
CICI CLARKE as HENRIETTA FLORENCE
Magnus trained at The Oxford School of Drama. His theatre credits include Three Sisters (The North Wall Arts Centre), Small (Soho Theatre), Awful Auntie (UK and Ireland tour), The Play with Speeches (Jack Studio Theatre) and Sense and Sensibility (UK tour). TV and film credits include The Critic directed by Anand Tucker, 1 in 200, Lo Sgua
Magnus trained at The Oxford School of Drama. His theatre credits include Three Sisters (The North Wall Arts Centre), Small (Soho Theatre), Awful Auntie (UK and Ireland tour), The Play with Speeches (Jack Studio Theatre) and Sense and Sensibility (UK tour). TV and film credits include The Critic directed by Anand Tucker, 1 in 200, Lo Sguardo (Short film - London Film School) and Bismarck: 24 hours to Doom (Channel 4).
Creating the world
Take a deep dive below into the mind of set and costume designer Miranda Cattermole, and how she approached creating the world for Horne's Descent...
"I JUST REALLY WANTED TO WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT A PRIEST"
Writer, Nina Atesh, doesn't shy away from the dark...
It's November 2022, my brain is fried from spending almost a whole year on a show about nasty British Naval officers and the acrid disintegrating dry seabed. 'Next show I write will be something jolly!' I tell myself. 'Something set in the present, and something with women in!'
Well, one out of three ain't bad I guess?
Unfortunately, (for any audience members that were expecting something light-hearted from me), this little seed of an idea I had back in the winter of 2022 isn't going to leave and I find myself determined to write a show about a priest. Not just any old priest mind you, a priest fresh out of the First World War, a priest fresh out of being ordained, and a priest with some seriously questionable morals. I just can't help myself.
Horne's Descent comes from an interestingly personal place; it wasn't something I gave much thought when I was in the preliminary stages of penning that first draft, but it started to become more obvious the more and more I thought about it. Why am I so interested in the church? I'm an atheist! Why am I so interested in the past? I was born in 1989! Why am I so interested in writing about men? Men who take issue with class and war and have an inherent, built in desire for violence? Perhaps these are questions that should be aimed at a psychiatrist...
But I'm no stranger to the church, to the stuffy rituals of an Anglican belief system and feeling like there must be something out there, something more powerful than just you and me and us. I grew up believing in God (up until the age of about 21, when I discovered Derren Brown, and mentalism, and the psychology of mind control and why ouija boards don't actually have spirits moving through you to communicate with the living world). And you know, if I’d still been an active member of the church, I’m sure they would’ve told me I was being tempted by the Devil. But religion does still fascinate me. People who are religious fascinate me. People with blind faith, the pure and utter acceptance that their religion will guide them, will help them. That is fascinating. And in the same way, isn’t the class system another box, another form of controlling masses and placing society into neat little packages that determine who you are, where you’ll live, how you’ll live, how you’ll speak, who your friends will be? I don't want to get too political, but these are things so embedded within the psychology of humanity (particularly the English), which give cause to an endless possibility of interesting character traits. And these are the themes which always come back to pique my creativity when it comes to writing characters.
And If I'm being honest, I just really wanted to write something about a priest. It just so happened that the world around Peter fell into place the more and more I wrote it. He was always the centre, the focal point of what was happening around him. These characters came into their own when I was writing them, and they somehow took on a life of their own... it feels odd to see them on stage now. Odd and wonderful, like seeing your child all grown up and flying the nest. I remember feeling a weird sense of grief when I finished my final draft, as though I had to say goodbye to them and pass them over to the (brilliant) actors. But it's been an honour watching it come to life. Working with Chloe has been a dream, and I couldn't be prouder of what we've managed to accomplish. I just hope others enjoy watching as much as we've enjoyed creating it.
CREATIVES
NINA ATESH - Writer/Producer
MIRANDA CATTERMOLE - Set & Costume Designer
NINA ATESH - Writer/Producer
Nina runs Pither Productions and is a writer, performer and producer living and working in London. She studied Film & Media at Brighton University before training at Identity School of Acting. She recently completed a Director's short course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama ran by the Olivier nominated director Amy Hodge. In 202
Nina runs Pither Productions and is a writer, performer and producer living and working in London. She studied Film & Media at Brighton University before training at Identity School of Acting. She recently completed a Director's short course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama ran by the Olivier nominated director Amy Hodge. In 2021 she penned her first play, The Drought, which went on to win London Horror Festival’s Playwright competition and an Offie Commendation award. It debuted at the Kings Head Theatre in 2022 and ran for a further four nights at the Old Red Lion Theatre as part of their first GrimFest season. She is passionate about working with new writing on the fringe scene, and last Halloween collaborated with three other writer's to produce Tales From the Hellfire Club an anthology of short horror stories which performed as part of the GrimFest ‘23 season, which she also associate produces alongside Jack Robertson of Medium Rare Productions. She enjoys the psychological aspect of horror and dark drama, instead focusing on the more human nature of what drives a story into a downward spiral rather than the more obvious gore and violence which is sometimes prevalent in the genre.
CHLOE CATTIN - Director
MIRANDA CATTERMOLE - Set & Costume Designer
NINA ATESH - Writer/Producer
Chloe is a Director, Theatre Maker and facilitator from Zimbabwe and was selected to take part in Katie Mitchell’s directing intensive at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Chloe has a BA (Hons) Degree in Theatre and Performance (Theatre Making) from the University of Cape Town where she was a member of the Golden Key Society a
Chloe is a Director, Theatre Maker and facilitator from Zimbabwe and was selected to take part in Katie Mitchell’s directing intensive at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Chloe has a BA (Hons) Degree in Theatre and Performance (Theatre Making) from the University of Cape Town where she was a member of the Golden Key Society and was on the Deans' List. Chloe was the youngest member invited to join the Lincoln Centre Theatre Directors Lab in New York and she is an alumnus of the Directors Lab Mediterranean in Barcelona. She has worked with the Young Vic on numerous projects, Work Light Productions, Mark Rubinstein Limited as well as directed work at the Drayton Arms Theatre and Hope Theatre. She also worked on Nina's first play The Drought as SM for their first run at the Kings Head Theatre and then as associate director for the transfer to the Old Red Lion shortly after.
MIRANDA CATTERMOLE - Set & Costume Designer
MIRANDA CATTERMOLE - Set & Costume Designer
MIRANDA CATTERMOLE - Set & Costume Designer
Miranda is an artist and performance designer based in London. Her approach to design is character driven, and she seeks to utilise psychological or emotional states to inform the visual storytelling of her costumes and environments. She is interested in designing surreal and expressive spaces that explore the relationships between visual
Miranda is an artist and performance designer based in London. Her approach to design is character driven, and she seeks to utilise psychological or emotional states to inform the visual storytelling of her costumes and environments. She is interested in designing surreal and expressive spaces that explore the relationships between visual art and theatre.
The act of making is at the centre of her practice, and her use of artistic processes such as painting, drawing, collage and printmaking are an important part of her concept development and outcomes. She is interested in further exploring how the textures, movement and optical qualities of these media might translate into three dimensional space.
KIMIA ALLAHYARI - Original Music
KHUSHBOO SHAH - Movement & Intimacy Coordinator
MIRANDA CATTERMOLE - Set & Costume Designer
Kimia is an Iranian musician, composer, and film maker based in London. Born in Tehran, she started playing music at the age of ten with Iranian instrument, the Tar. Afterwards, she started to learn oboe at age of 14 and pursued classical oboe in the university of Tehran with a bachelor degree. During her studies, she learned music compos
Kimia is an Iranian musician, composer, and film maker based in London. Born in Tehran, she started playing music at the age of ten with Iranian instrument, the Tar. Afterwards, she started to learn oboe at age of 14 and pursued classical oboe in the university of Tehran with a bachelor degree. During her studies, she learned music composition by herself, simultaneously. She is now studying composition at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
NATHAN FRIEND - Stage Manager
KHUSHBOO SHAH - Movement & Intimacy Coordinator
KHUSHBOO SHAH - Movement & Intimacy Coordinator
Nathan is a freelance Stage Manager soon to graduate from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Recent credits include: CSM for Santa's On His Sleigh (Imagine Theatre), Tech SM for Assembly Festival at the Edinburgh Fringe, Stage Manager for Deck The Stalls (Chloe Cattin), and Production Manager for SU Fest (Central Students' Uni
Nathan is a freelance Stage Manager soon to graduate from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Recent credits include: CSM for Santa's On His Sleigh (Imagine Theatre), Tech SM for Assembly Festival at the Edinburgh Fringe, Stage Manager for Deck The Stalls (Chloe Cattin), and Production Manager for SU Fest (Central Students' Union).
Credits in training include: Stage Manager on Fuente Ovejuna (Jim Manganello), Stage Manager on Richard II (John Haidar) and ASM on Curtains The Musical (Beth Wilkinson).
He's thrilled to be a part of the team bringing Horne's Descent to life.
KHUSHBOO SHAH - Movement & Intimacy Coordinator
KHUSHBOO SHAH - Movement & Intimacy Coordinator
KHUSHBOO SHAH - Movement & Intimacy Coordinator
Khushboo Shah is an Indian theatremaker. Her foundation in movement and performance stems from her training in Bharatanatyam (Indian Classical Dance form). She has directed and performed in several Indian dance-dramas reinvigorating mythological stories shedding light on feminist and environmental themes. Credits include Kirtankars (Arham
Dance Production Company); Shakti (Shivoham Institute of Performing Arts), and Mahabharata (Intrinsic Expressions). She is also trained in the Laban Movement technique, Contemporary Dance and physical theatre styles of Gecko and Frantic Assembly. Her recent training in stage direction includes short summer courses like Directing with Katie Mitchell at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD) and A Practical Approach to Directing at Yale Summer School where she was introduced to Intimacy Direction and Co-ordination by Claire Warden.