Steve Hay
Overview
- Ethnicity
- White / European Descent
- Age Range
- 40 - 50
- Height
- 5' 10" (1m 78cm)
- Weight
- 10st. 9lb. (68kg)
- Hair Colour
- Brown
- Eye Colour
- Blue
- Build
- Slim
Video
-
video fileSteve Hay 2018 Showreel
Agent
- Agent
-
0207 437 3202Contact
- Website
-
Soho VoicesAgent
-
+44 (0) 207 437 3202Contact
- Website
Credits
Year | Job Title Project Type |
Project Name Director / Company |
Location |
---|---|---|---|
2023 |
Pioneer(s)
Event |
The Macallan Pioneers Experience Debora Weston/The Macallan |
The Macallan Estate, Easter Elchies, Aberlour AB38 9RX Scotland |
2022 |
Voice Artist
Voiceover |
Scottish Government Speed Awareness Campaign Aidan O'Mara/The Leith Agency |
|
2022 |
Voice Artist
Voiceover |
Laphroig Richard Acland/Design Bridge |
|
2022 |
Ian
Film |
Sinphony: A Clubhouse Horror Anthology Mark Pritchard/Garbo Films |
|
2021 |
Pioneer(s)
Event |
The Macallan Pioneers Experience Debora Weston/The Macallan |
The Macallan Estate, Easter Elchies, Aberlour AB38 9RX Scotland |
2021 |
Narrator
Voiceover |
Only A Little Bit (Scottish Government Road Safety Campaign) The Leith Agency |
|
2020 |
Cheesemonger/narrator
Voiceover |
Seriously Su Kaur / Storyboard London |
|
2020 |
voice artist/narrator
Voiceover |
Cancer Research UK film Isabel Barker / Conran Design |
|
2020 |
storyteller/director/casting
Theatre |
Short Stories Aloud Sarah Franklin / Short Stories Aloud |
Old Fire Station, Oxford |
2020 |
patients
Theatre |
GPNRO selection process roleplays Tamsin Heatley / NHS south Central |
Kassam Stadium, Oxford |
2020 |
patient
Theatre |
Communication skills Oxford University |
|
2019 |
Zebekiah
Film |
The Book of Laws Dan Lowenstein / TBZ Productions |
Isle of Wight |
2019 |
voice artist
Voiceover |
Starling Bank Phoebe Mead / Theobald Fox |
|
2019 |
Scottish dwarf ADR voice artist
Voiceover |
The Witcher Vanessa Baker / Blend Audio/Hocus Pocus Productions |
|
2018 |
Series narrator
Voiceover |
World's Wildest Holidays Eddie Sharp / Kalel Productions/FiveStar |
|
2018 |
voice artist
Voiceover |
Radisson Red Glasgow Tom Heath / Brandcap |
|
2018 |
ADR voice artist
Voiceover |
Mary Queen of Scots Josie Rourke / Focus Features |
|
2018 |
voice artist/Wickerman
Voiceover |
Alton Towers SW8 Victoria Munday / TBWA Manchester |
|
2018 |
voice artist
Voiceover |
Glenlivet Mood Elizabeth Cowie / Louder Productions Ltd |
|
2018 |
Richard
Film |
Eazy Meets Grace Williams / Aversion Films |
Bath, UK |
2018 |
Macbeth
Theatre |
Macbeth Sarah Berger / Orzu Arts/So and So Arts Club |
National Academic Drama Theatre, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan |
2018 |
Dr Andrew Moir
Film |
The Anatomist Nicci Thompson / Crow House Projects |
The Anatomy Rooms, Aberdeen and various, Aberdeenshire |
2018 |
Minister
Film |
The Hanging Branch Shaun Hughes / Tripswitch/Factotum Productions |
Crathes, Aberdeenshire |
2017 |
voice artist
Voiceover |
Jura Journey Tristan Dampney / John Knowles Ritchie |
|
2016 |
ADR voice artist
Voiceover |
In Plain Sight John Strickland / World Productions |
|
2016 |
Major Neil Lawson
Theatre |
Too Long The Heart Andy Corelli / Awkward Stranger |
The Biscuit Factory, Edinburgh |
2016 |
Steve/MAN/Judge
Theatre |
Tomorrow Never Knows Tania Higgins / The Oxford Triptych |
Akademicki Ośrodek Inicjatyw Artystycznych (Academic Centre of Artistic Initiatives), Lodz, Poland |
2016 |
distillery guide
Commercials & Industrials |
Glenfiddich - Journey into the Mind of the Malt Master 360 VR Danny Vaia / The Space Agency |
|
2016 |
Frank
Theatre |
Yellow Moon Polly Tisdall / Ruskin Theatre Platforms |
Ruskin Theatre |
2016 |
Danny
Theatre |
Oh Danny Boy (Turning Leaves) John Retallack / Rust and Stardust Productions |
Old Fire Station, Oxford |
2016 |
ADR voice artist
Film |
Tommy's Honour Jason Connery / Gutta Percha Productions |
|
2015 |
ADR voice artist
Voiceover |
Macbeth Justin Kurzel / See-Saw Films |
Warner Bros, De Lane Lea |
2015 |
Danny
Theatre |
Oh Danny Boy (Turning Leaves) John Retallack / Rust and Stardust Productions |
Suite Grassmarket, Edinburgh Fringe |
2015 |
young Anthony
Theatre |
Mercy Jake Murray / So and So Arts Club/Frontier Productions - Ever Hopeful Rep season |
So and So Arts Club |
2015 |
Roy
Theatre |
Two John Retallack / Ruskin Theatre Platforms |
Ruskin College, Oxford |
2015 |
Dr Vivien Houghton
Theatre |
Collider Katie Read / SatMatCo |
Old Fire Station, Oxford |
2015 |
Dougie the homeless
Theatre |
What I Do Zoe Sharp / The One Festival |
The Space Theatre |
2014 |
Gypsy #1
Television |
Outlander Metin Huseyin / Sony/Starz/Tall Ship Productions |
|
2014 |
Father
Theatre |
This Child John Retallack / Ruskin Theatre Platforms |
Ruskin College, Oxford |
2014 |
Danny
Theatre |
Oh Danny Boy John Retallack / Ruskin Theatre Platforms |
Ruskin College, Oxford |
2014 |
Steve
Film |
You Jim Quayle / Warpline Films |
|
2014 |
Dougie the homeless
Theatre |
What I Do Lucy Appleby / Rapid Write Response/Theatre 503 |
Theatre503 |
2014 |
Prison psychiatrist
Film |
A Quiet Courage James Card / Thorny Devil Productions |
|
2014 |
Boxing fan
Film |
Corinthian Mark Brown / Brainehownd Films |
|
2014 |
Butler
Video |
Candy Says / Chad Beckim Mala / Cork on the Fork Productions |
|
2013 |
various/deviser
Theatre |
Hidden Spire II Lizzie McBain / Crisis/Arts at the Old Fire Station |
Old Fire Station |
2013 |
Russ
Theatre |
Spare Prick Joe Graham / Balancing Act |
Old Fire Station, Oxford |
2013 |
JM Barrie
Theatre |
The Mythmakers Sarah Berger / So and So Arts Club in association with PurpleHays Productions |
New York International Fringe Festival 2013 |
2013 |
Tom
Film |
Worst Date Ever Nicki Perkins / Eavesdrop Films |
|
2013 |
Gronar
Film |
The Search for Simon Martin Gooch / Gothic Manor Ltd |
|
2013 |
Gallery guard, various eccentrics
Video |
Candy Says / Favourite Flavour Becks / Cork on the Fork Productions |
|
2013 |
various/deviser
Theatre |
Hidden Spire Lizzie McBain / Crisis/Arts at the Old Fire Station |
Old Fire Station, Oxford |
2013 |
Terry
Film |
Heckle Robbie Moffat / Palm Tree Entertainment |
|
2013 |
DCI Malcolm Cullen
Film |
Shrinking Violet James Card / Thorny Devil Productions |
|
2012 |
Sgt Jack McCracken
Theatre |
Dalgety by David Greig Cecily Boys / Old Bomb Theatre/Theatre Uncut |
The Bussey Building, Peckham |
2012 |
boxer
Video |
Candy Says (formerly Little Fish) / Melt into the Sun Becks / Cork on the Fork Productions |
A barn in Bicester |
2012 |
Senior Tutor Dr Adrian Wilson
Theatre |
High Table - An Oxford Trilogy Stuart Lee / Oxford Playwrights |
Old Fire Station, Oxford |
2012 |
JM Barrie
Theatre |
The Mythmakers, the unexpected friendship of JM Barrie and Scott of the Antarctic Kenneth Michaels / Celtic Circle |
Charing Cross Theatre WC2N 6NL |
2011 |
performer
Theatre |
Living Word Walks Didcot Rebecca Mordan / Scary Little Girls/The Theatre, Chipping Norton |
Didcot |
2011 |
performer
Theatre |
Living Word Walks Chipping Norton Rebecca Mordan / Scary Little Girls/The Theatre, Chipping Norton |
Chipping Norton |
2011 |
Tommy
Theatre |
Quiz Night at the Britannia Tania Higgins / The Deck Theatre |
upstairs at Copa (Oxfringe 2011) |
2011 |
Mal Norman
Theatre |
The Pillbox Tom Blackmore / Top Edge Productions |
Bampton Village Hall |
2011 |
driver with bald tyre
Commercials & Industrials |
McConechy's Tyres Alasdair MacCuish / Beesnees |
Glasgow |
2011 |
Derek
Theatre |
Subs Hamish MacDougall / Good Night Out Presents |
The Cock Tavern Theatre. Kilburn |
2010 |
sonneteer
Theatre |
Sonnet Walks Chipping Norton Rebecca Mordan / Scary Little Girls/The Theatre, Chipping Norton |
Chipping Norton |
2010 |
Ken Bunten
Theatre |
Fun Run Joe Graham / Balancing Act |
Old Fire Station, Oxford |
2010 |
Luka
Film |
The Oracle Shamus Maxwell / Cruellest Month |
|
2010 |
Captain Simon Jones
Theatre |
Never Tell Them (OXfringe 2010) Stuart Lee / Front Row Productions |
New Road Baptist Church, Bonn Square, Oxford |
2010 |
Poet/host/swashbuckler
Theatre |
Jam on That? Steve Hay / Purple Hays Productions |
The Jam Factory, Oxford |
2009 |
Various characters
Theatre |
Guilty Parties wr. Simon Farquhar / independent |
|
2009 |
Silhouette
Commercials & Industrials |
The Identity Project Mission 21 |
The Wellcome Collection, London |
2009 |
Dr Vivien Houghton
Theatre |
Collider Katie Read / The Oxford Saturday Matinee Club |
EOCC |
2009 |
Robert
Theatre |
Storm/Pork Joe Austin / Oxford Playhouse |
Burton Taylor Theatre |
2009 |
Henry
Film |
After Chris Sinclair / Taxis Seventeen |
|
2009 |
Barry
Theatre |
A Fistful of Mondays Joe Graham / Balancing Act |
Old Fire Station Studio, Oxford |
2009 |
Reg Armitage
Theatre |
A Last Belch for the Great Auk Sarah Dodd / MakeSpace |
Old Fire Station Studio, Oxford |
2009 |
Man
Theatre |
The Intricate Workings of a Sherbet Lemon Sarah Dodd / Playbites |
Oxford Playhouse |
2008 |
Kyle Graffin
Film |
Reunion Mike Stuart / Doorway Films |
|
2008 |
Charlie
Film |
The Cheap Hit Shamus Maxwell / Saxon Films |
|
2008 |
Reg Armitage
Theatre |
A Last Belch for the Great Auk Sarah Dodd / MakeSpace |
Oxford Playhouse |
2008 |
Captain Simon Jones
Theatre |
Never Tell Them/Tri-umph Joe Austin / Oxford Playhouse |
Burton Taylor Theatre |
2008 |
Lion tamer
Video |
Long Insiders / All the tears I've cried Tim Winter / Atomic |
|
2008 |
Andy
Film |
The Pianist Adam Hoare / UnGnome Productions |
|
2008 |
various staff
Commercials & Industrials |
Corporate training video Somerfield |
|
2008 |
Baxendale
Theatre |
Reflections in a Distorting Mirror Rio Fanning / OAN |
Burton Taylor theatre |
2007 |
talking head
Commercials & Industrials |
Sony Trade show Made in the Shade |
|
2007 |
psychotic clown
Film |
Encouragement Ben Martin / Cautious Horses |
|
2007 |
Bert
Theatre |
Every Mother's Son Sarah Dodd / Oxford Playhouse |
Burton Taylor Theatre |
2007 |
Vic
Film |
Inside Blue Shamus Maxwell / Saxon Films |
|
2006 |
John
Film |
An' Me Wi' A Bad Leg Tae Angeline Ferguson / Bad Leg Productions |
Glasgow |
2005 |
Shane
Film |
Drinkypoos Rodger Griffiths / RSAMD |
Glasgow |
2005 |
Chorus
Theatre |
The Fence in its Thousandth Year Howard Barker / The Wrestling School |
Oxford Playhouse |
2005 |
Various
Theatre |
Glass Onion Steve Hay/Pete House / PS Theatre |
Holyrood Tavern, Edinburgh Festival |
2004 |
Actor
Theatre |
In The Dark Anneke Hay/Sorted Theatre |
|
2003 |
Isaac
Television |
Ultimate Force II Richard Holthouse / Bentley Productions |
|
1999 |
Private Billy Meechan
Theatre |
In That Summer of Sweet 16 Jane Clark / I'm A Camera |
Old Red Lion, Islington |
1998 |
Legal secretary
Film |
The Tichborne Claimant David Yates / The Bigger Picture Company |
|
1998 |
Sam Nicholls/Dr Delane
Theatre |
Merriel the Ghost Girl David Halliwell / Wychwood Depiction Engine |
Charlbury Arts Festival |
1997 |
Private Billy Meechan
Theatre |
The House David Halliwell / Wychwood Depiction Engine |
Charlbury Arts Festival |
Education
Year | Qualification | Where |
---|---|---|
2001 | two-week intensive film acting course | The Actors Centre - The Actors Cut |
1994 | 2 yr. Acting | Oxford School of Drama |
About me
OUTLANDER on Starz (US) and Amazon Prime (UK)Host of JOURNEY INTO THE MIND OF THE MALT MASTER
(Glenfiddich 360VR campaign)
Voice artist on Jason Connery’s TOMMY’S HONOUR and Justin Kurzel’s MACBETH
HECKLE, SHRINKING VIOLET and A QUIET COURAGE premieres at CANNES
THE MYTHMAKERS - official selection NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL
Additional skills:
Juggling, poetry, journalism, most sports, comedy (former member of The Awkward Silence, currently one half of Wilson and MacLoon
Additional information:
Press reviews (edited extracts)
The Mythmakers New York International Fringe Festival 2013, August 9-25, 2013. A So and So Arts Club Production in association with PurpleHays Productions. Dir. Sarah Berger
Friendships can be tricky, especially when people are as seemingly different as J.M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, and R. F. Scott, the Antarctic explorer. They are the subject of The Mythmakers, a UK import for the New York International Fringe Festival, now playing at Teatro Latea August 20, 24 and 25.
Written by Rose MacLennan Craig and Richard White, The Mythmakers addresses the relationship between two men at the top of their game.
The intimate 70-minute production examines an Edwardian friendship loaded with affection and respect, but kept at a certain emotional distance. Barrie and Scott are adept at articulating their passions, but less successful at dipping into the subtle recesses of the heart.
At first glance, they may seem an unusual pair; but their relationship, portrayed with great feeling by Steve Hay (Barrie) and Jonathan Hansler (Scott), is quietly engaging.
Both were celebrities in pre-World War I England. Barrie had once dreamed of becoming an explorer, but pursued a literary career instead, to great acclaim. Conversely, Scott, heralded from his first South Pole expedition, longed to be a writer, but family pressure pushed him into a naval career.
What they share is a passion for adventure; though Barrie's exists in the realm of imagination. He dreams of accompanying Scott to the South Pole, which the explorer describes as a place of "terrible beauty" with "ice as architecture." Scott is poetic in his imagery, lured by the dangers of the icy kingdom. Barrie is envious of his fearlessness. Yet Mythmakers, nicely directed by Sarah Berger, records the moment they became estranged, just before Scott left for his final, deadly journey.
In fact, when Scott died in 1912, Barrie was heartbroken. Among Scott's undelivered letters, found when his body was discovered, a poignant one to Barrie read: "I never met a man in my life whom I admired and loved more than you..."
Today, movies often reduce male friendship to a silly bromance of boys who refuse to grow up. Barrie and Scott remind us that adult friendships are based on deep, abiding connections. And though both are better at discussing big themes versus their respective domestic travails, The Mythmakers provides a peek into the mind-set of two compelling figures.
Fern Siegel, Huffington Post 19/8/2013
“You complete me,” is a sentence JM Barrie and Captain Scott never utter in the short play, The Mythmakers, and I am sure also never uttered in their real lives. But it is certainly how they felt.
The Mythmakers is a one act bio play that explores the relationship between the author of the iconic, Peter Pan, JM Barrie, played by Steve Hay, and the iconic Antarctic explorer, Captain Robert Scott, played by Jonathan Hansler.
On a minimalist set of white sheets, a small tent of white, two chairs and a steamer trunk Hay, Hansler, and the director, Sarah Berger, bring to life the self-doubt and longings of Barrie and Scott. The play opens after Scott's frozen death at the South Pole with Barrie reading aloud apologetic letters he has written to Scott but never sent. Scott, large and masculine, looms in the background, unseen by the diminutive and boy-like Barrie, and speaks to Barrie of his love for him and his hurt after their estrangement.
The play (like I am certain Barrie and Scott themselves) is extremely verbal and intelligent, so much so that I needed a slower pace. There is so much revealed about these two men, who lived such grand and large lives, that I wanted to savor, to ruminate on. For that I needed more build up to each climax, their very personal revelations, and more space between the one and the next. Hay and Hansler play their parts with great verbal ability and both excellently inhabit the physicality of the famous men they play.
The Mythmakers tells the story of two great men who find in each other a missing side of themselves. Barrie, stunted at age 14 physically and emotionally, longs to fly, to voyage, to have adventures, to have children (sons). Scott, large, an explorer by default not choice, with a wife he feels he can not hold on to, men whose lives rest in his hands, and a secret desire to write, longs to fly, to be admired for his intellect rather than his prowess, to live the comfortable life of the English gentleman.
Barrie's and Scott's love for each other was not the love that dare not speak its name. It was the love, respect and admiration of a now lost ancient form of deep friendship that can teach us, living in these times of electronic friendships that ask little of us, and that from which we dare not demand anything, that there once was a time when friendships mattered profoundly.The Mythmakers, Written by Rose MacLennan Craig and Richard White for Celtic Circle; Directed by Sarah Berger; Produced for The So and So Arts Club in Association with PurpleHays Productions. Cast: Steve Hay (JM Barrie), Jonathan Hansler (Captain RF Scott).
Constance Rodgers, Usher Nonsense. 11/8/2013
The Mythmakers, a two-hander by Rose MacLennan Craig and Richard White, explores the friendship between the author of Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie and celebrity explorer, R. F. Scott. Produced by The So and So Arts Club and Purple Hays Productions, the play is a selection for the 2013 New York International Fringe Festival running now through August 25th.
Just as Scott returned from his famed “Discovery Expedition” to the Antarctic, Barrie made a big splash with his play about the boy who wouldn’t grow up. The two friends were both adventurers: one in the literal sense and one in the literary sense. The play depicts how Barrie, marred by his weak constitution, longed to be a literal adventurer, while Scott longed to be a writer. The two see their dreams in each other’s lives and seem to be two sides of the same coin. A falling out leaves the friendship forever broken when Scott parishes on his second Antarctic expedition.
These figures who were prominent 100 years ago have been largely lost to us as celebrities. This play doesn’t exactly reintroduce us to them in terms of their legacy, but simply explores a friendship as the two argue back and forth concerning Barrie’s desire to write a play about Scott’s adventures. The draw to this play is its subjects, but their greatest points of interest are not revealed. Steve Hay as Barrie, looks right in period sportsman’s garb and bushy mustache while giving a clear Scottish accent. Jonathan Hansler as Scott looks properly rugged and ready for exploration. The two have a maturity in their performance that lends credibility to the presentation of these legends.
Michael D Jackson. Examiner.com 19/8/2013
Quiz Night at the Britannia, by Stuart Lee, Upstairs at Copa, through June, July and August 2012. The Deck Theatre. Dir. Tania Higgins
Stuart Lee’s play offers a very different night out. If you have an old-fashioned mind set of ‘going to the theatre to be entertained’, you will enjoy it as a thought-provoking look at the demise of much of our pub culture. If, however, you like the pub quiz and a great night out with friends, the evening will really take off and you’ll become fully involved.The upstairs bar of the Copa has been used to its best potential by the talented Tania Higgins. She has directed a competent set of actors, too. Principally, Steve Hay gives another thoughtful and multi-layered performance as the wise-cracking regular, Tommy. Sarah Wilkins, as the troubled Brenda, hostess of the ‘Brittania’ provides him with a brilliant foil. Their duologues are rich in humour. So, too are Lucy Hoult and Adie Gargan, who play middle class toffs with huge energy, fun and enough integrity to avoid caricature. It is a very entertaining evening. You may even win the quiz prize. Not many theatre experiences offer that!
A really fun and different type of theatre - a play about a pub quiz night where the audience is part of the play and also gets to do a quiz. And it works! Gathering pace as the evening went on, it is Steve Hay’s performance as the rough layabout that really moves the audience at the end.
If you want a great night out that’s a bit different - go for this.
Daily Information, July 2012
Short Stories Aloud. Curated by Sarah Franklin. Old Fire Station. May 29, 2012
It is a hot evening and we’re right at the top of The Old Fire Station. Not the most comfortable setting to listen to ‘Stories Aloud’. It is a measure of just how well these programmes are put together that disbelief is immediately suspended and a capacity audience is transported away on the literary power of the spoken word. Choosing the selection and hosting it is clearly a lot to do with its success. Sarah Franklin was hosting her third meeting. She had a chosen for us a menu of startlingly fresh and original stories read by two accomplished actors, Steve Hay and Julie Mayhew.
Caroline Smailes’ book, ‘Freaks’ was the source for ‘Magic Beans’ and ‘Before I lost You’ - touching and humorous with much to consider. Ben Johncock’s short stories include ‘The Rocket Man’ a hauntingly futuristic adventure told from a child’s perspective. Steve Hay controlled the piece perfectly and used his rich vocal range to excellent effect.
After a short interval, we heard ‘Soup’ and ‘She Sees Two’, culminating in a longer story from Rebecca Makkai. Rebecca is a hugely talented American writer who has had stories regularly chosen for the ‘Best American Short Stories’ anthology. Julie Mayhew’s flawless reading of this masterpiece of concise analysis of contemporary American life was a splendid climax to the readings.
The format is deceptively simple - six short stories, refreshments and afterwards a chance to ask questions of the writers. In an era of I-Pods, I-Pads and electronic entertainment of all kinds, it is fair to wonder why it should work at all. It reaches us all, because it is delivered with professional skills and with a social ambience that is universally involving. It simply could not be more accessible or engaging. If you enjoyed being read to as a child, you’ll enjoy it even more now. Many of the people present had been to previous meetings. Many hadn’t, but I suspect most will not wish to miss the next offering of literary delights on June 26th. (This will also be at The Old Fire Station at 7.30pm)
Gwilym Scourfield, Daily Information removed
The Mythmakers, the unexpected friendship of JM Barrie and Scott of the Antarctic, by Rose MacLennan Craig and Richard White, Charing Cross Theatre, WC2N 6NL. March 18-25, 2012. Celtic Circle. Dir. Kenneth Michaels.
I expected nothing of the actor who, by the unique power of the theatre, was about to become Barrie in this place, but a certain sense of friendship and respect was soon born in me when last Sunday I began to witness the work of Steve Hay. He incarnates a Barrie both impish and sad, a Barrie both tormented and carrying a strange enthusiasm, a Barrie in despair and terribly alive, displaying his personal interior ghosts--thus becoming one himself at least on the symbolic level.
Steve Hay serves Barrie with a great deal of honesty and a certain clear perspective.
Celine Albin-Faivre, author and JM Barrie expert, http://rosesdedecembre.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/mythmakers-londres-2012.html?m=1
Quiz Night at the Britannia, by Stuart Lee, upstairs at Bar Copa, June 15-17, 2011. The Deck Theatre. Oxfringe 2011. Dir. Tania Higgins.
Quiz Night at the Britannia is now finished. But if in future if you see anything by the writer Stuart Lee then go along. If you don't, you'll miss a script bursting with originality, verve and insight - whatever the genre.
This particular vehicle for Stuart's talents was a comedy. For its success - which was great, judging by the enthusiastic applause at the end - a deft script might have been enough but the words were enhanced by splendid acting, not least from Steve Hay (as Tommy) and Hannah Morrell (Brenda).
So - what was Quiz Night actually about? Well, it consisted of a quiz, set against a series of background squabbles and crises: Brenda with her battles against brewery changes; Tommy, Joe and Berne fighting the Faceless Bureaucrats and all the time there is a Public Inquiry in the new hotel round the corner. Back-handers and politicians, the Big Society and Coalition Government (with its record 12 U-turns so far). This was a very human drama set against the comedy that is politics.
Excellent work - well-directed by Tania Higgins - and a credit to all involved.
Chris Sivewright, Daily Information. 20/06/11
Quiz Night at the Britannia was original, interesting and very entertaining. All actors gave wonderful performances, in particular Steve Hay as Tommy was excellent. The dialogue was a thought-provoking and a timely assessment of political ideals - big society - and how it impacts on the individual.
The story is presented in a staccato of short scenes all in the same setting, the pub, jumping from various crises affecting the characters each in his/her own way. The authentic setting of the Copa Bar enhanced the performance considerably. Although genuinely funny - I laughed lots - the play was at times quite sad as it was very easy to identify with the plight of the characters. You empathise with them and imagine what will become of them after the play has finished and the adjustments they will have to make. All in all very entertaining but also plenty to think and talk about after the laughing stops.
Daily Information, 01/07/11
Subs by R J Purdey, Cock Tavern, Kilburn, January 5-29, 2011. Good Night Out Presents. Dir: Hamish MacDougall
The Cock Tavern Theatre is getting good at spotting hits.
This is a tale of two men: wiry, whisky-fuelled chief sub Derek (Steve Hay) and his 'dour from the Gower' Welsh deputy Finch (Michael Cusick). Drop a quietly ambitious junior and a confident female freelancer onto the page and the stage is set for a showdown.
Hay and Cusick are worthy sparring partners but then they do get the best lines.
It's an entertaining 90 minutes.
Nancy Groves, What's On Stage
Light-hearted entertainment with a touch of drama.
This is reticent of Kreon's fall from grace in Greek theatre but for a more modern and modest era.
It is this fall from grace that provides the drama where the audience really did seem to lean forward and come into the action.
Steve Hay as the Chief Sub-editor, Derek, handled the complexities of a likeable character turned power happy and finally falling with grace with skill and ease.
These moments and indeed these relationships are the strength of the piece.
It is within these relationships that Director Hamish MacDougall's eye for detail really shines as the dominant male characters lose their strength. He captures the dynamics of the office environment beautifully not even letting it slip in scene changes that make even the most simple of office activities watchable.
Vicky Bell, The Public Reviews
Derek, one of life's losers, is the chief-sub. With a depressed wife, two children and empty hopes of a promotion, it is no wonder he takes it out on his deputy. Finch, the deputy sub, is obnoxious, lazy and terrified of women: so when he learns a woman will be joining the team he is more than a little flustered.
Hamish MacDougall's production is fast-paced, well staged and captures the politics and in-fighting of an office.
Steve Hay as Derek has a good turn as the hopeless boss and Finch's sparring partner.
It is an enjoyable evening of banter, in-fighting and politics - well worth a trip if you've not already had a day of that at the office.
Elizabeth Davies, Kilburn Times
Fun Run, by Joe Graham, Old Fire Station, George Street, Oxford. May 18-22, 2010. Balancing Act Productions. Dir: Joe Graham
The office sets the scene for Fun Run, a play that weaves office politics with issues of relationships and sexual frustration. Steve Hay skillfully navigated the role of the moody manager Ken who at one point spectacularly gets butt naked. He brought some poignant moments and successfully grounded the comic premise of the other characters. The play descended into betrayal, scandal and explosive sexual tension in an uplifting ending that left the audience apparently titillated. Pete (The Temp) Bearder, removed . Daily Information.
Fun Run was just that. A funny, fast-paced romp with some excellent characterisations from Steve Hay, Katie Mansfield, James Card, Sam Mansfield and Louise Cobb. All the actors excelled at delivering farce, but Steve Hay had the greater challenge of ensuring a darker under current throughout both acts, which he delivered in an appropriately measured manner amidst the wackiness of the design crowd. An enjoyable and memorable evening in the final weeks of the Old Fire Station. MAF, removed . Daily Information.
This was a good old-fashioned British farce, pulled off by an accomplished cast. The characters were larger than life as one would expect in such a play, though Steve Hay managed to engender genuine sympathy for his character (Ken) who has to tackle genuine problems whilst around him chaos breaks out as his staff attempt to advertise, and then take part in, a fun run. Daily Information, 26/5/2010
Never Tell Them, by Stuart Lee, New Road Baptist Church, Bonn Square, Oxford. March 24-27, 2010. Part of Oxfringe 2010. Front Row Productions. Dir: Stuart Lee
Set in the aftermath of the First World War, Never Tell Them, by Stuart Lee, certainly had its humorous elements. It begins with a woman consulting a medium. He thinks she wants to contact her fallen husband. Simon Holden-White was hilarious as 'Professor' Bailey, while Hannah Morrell as Celia the bewildered wife brought great pathos to this fundamentally tragic story of what we now call survivor guilt. Her husband Captain Jones (Steve Hay) was powerfully played with honesty and strength. Several cunning plot twists kept me on the edge of my seat. It's a complex piece, which the accomplished company brought to eerie life. Angie Johnson removed Oxford Times
The taut, atmospheric play, set in 1918 ... calls for sustained, deeply-felt performances. Hannah Morrell, Simon Holden-White, Steve Hay and Michael Fraser do that effortlessly. If you like theatre that makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, it's for you.
Daily Info April 2010
Collider by Shaun McCarthy, East Oxford Community Centre, Saturday November 14, 2009. The Oxford Saturday Matinee Club. Dir: Katie Read
As Collider opens, Dr Cydney Lavelle (Holly King), a key scientist working on the Large Hadron Collider experiment, is meeting American evangelist Pastor Nathanial Goodman (James Card). In the background, wild-haired physicist Vivien Houghton (Steve Hay) obsessively practises a juggling act with some apples. Things get much more entertainingly complicated when the Pastor's wife Martha (Amy Enticknap) appears. With her gyrating body and curve-hugging clothes, she is not the obvious wife for a pastor from North Carolina.
Relationships collide, as problems with the Collider itself mount up. McCarthy writes well, and has a good ear for a telling one-liner. If his play has a fault, it's that he tackles too many issues almost simultaneously: male chauvinism, racism, science versus religion, transparency, world poverty, and - of course - sex, they all get an airing during Collider's one-hour running time. But that's so much better than a single point, hammered home time and time again. Above all, McCarthy is extremely good at moving relationships in unexpected directions, with humour.
The play was very well served by the professional cast, working under Katie Read's direction. Using only simple props, and no stage lighting, atmosphere and characterisations were expertly established. Altogether, the production was an auspicious start for this new venture. Giles Woodforde, removed Oxford Times
A Fistful of Mondays by Joe Graham, Old Fire Station Studio, Oxford, June 30 to July 4, 2009. Balancing Act. Dir: Joe Graham
A Fistful of Mondays is very well scripted and choreographed with excellent casting, in particular Barry the Barman (Steve Hay) and Tom Jones (Sam Mansfield) the karaoke singer (no, not that one). The performances from all eight actors were flawless, funny and the cast had good chemistry between them. My favourite scene was when Barry caught Tom cheating on him with the Munching Mule and storming off in a huff with his plastic cactus (you really have to see it to appreciate it) - a really well scripted scene and the funniest of the show. The subplot running through the play was the loss of the local pub and social club in favour of the cheap chains springing up all over the country, and Barry's battle to fight the local rival chain to keep the social club open. The audience loved the show and were engaged throughout. Marie Jones, 01/07/09, Daily Information
A feel-good musical about a line-dancing group has burst onto the Oxford stage. A Fistful of Mondays follows the trials and tribulations of the club who meet at Walbeswick Sports and Social Club every Monday night. Throughout the action the cast entertain with line-dancing routines and rousing classic songs from artists such as Johnny Cash and Shania Twain. They clearly enthused their audience into clapping along and whooping in all the right places - despite the tropical heat in the theatre.
Barry (Steve Hay), the club's barman, is a grumpy Scot determined to get the punters to buy drinks at his club rather than at his rival the nearby Munchin' Mule pub. Hay plays the witty, sardonic and astute bar-tender in a brilliantly deadpan way, making Barry one of the most comic and memorable characters.
There are some very funny lines and scenarios which provoke laughter from the audience throughout the show. Ros Miles, Oxford Times, July 2, 2009
A Last Belch for the Great Auk, by David Halliwell. Old Fire Station Studio, Oxford, April 1 and 2, 2009. Makespace Productions. Dir: Sarah Dodd
A birdwatcher and a model are forced to confront their prejudices in David Halliwell's off-the-wall comedy A Last Belch for the Great Auk. Reginald Armitage, an ornithologist studying the long extinct Great Auk, sub-lets the flat of model Dymphne Pugh-Gooch while she is in New York. She writes to explain she is to return earlier than expected and his imagination is thrown into a frenzy. When we first meet Dymphne it is as a figment of Reg's fevered brain. She is unbelievable snooty, spoilt and stupid, a wholly two-dimensional stereotype. Near the start of the play Reg also makes an appearance in the mind of Dymphyne. He is a complete bore whose only joy in life seems to be the lack of pleasure he gets from being outside in the cold waiting for his life's only excitement, the appearance of a rare bird. Of course these are their preconceived ideas made into physical entities. These crude imagined versions of themselves meet three times and engage in blazing rows before the real characters finally meet. Happily, the actual Reg and Dymphne are infinitely more likeable than their notions of each other, and the pair strike up a kind of friendship. But when the real characters fall out, dialogue used by their imagined selves is repeated in their argument.
The piece is well written, clever and laugh out loud funny.
Steve Hay is every bit the cardigan-clad Reg, extolling with gusto his views on women, models, frivolity and the joy of birds, in broad Scottish tones. Alexa Brown effortlessly transforms herself from the awful imaginary Dymphne to a sympathetic real Dymphne, who is unpretentious and has the same problems as anyone else. The spirited performances make the production, by Oxford company MakeSpace, a fun and thought-provoking watch. Rosalind Miles, Oxford Times 16/4/2009
It is a testimony to the strength of Oxford's emerging Fringe festival, that it is providing opportunities for artists around the city to bring to life projects which otherwise may have remained hidden. A Last Belch for the Great Auk is one such example. Written by David Halliwell (he of Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs) this was a piece that possibly would have never seen the light of day if it wasn't for the enthusiasm of Steve Hay, a friend of Halliwell's, who encouraged Sarah Dodd to take up the production for the Oxford Fringe.
The play rests on a simple pretense - an ornithologist, Reginald Armitage (Hay), trying to finish his life-time study on the long extinct Great Auk, thinks he has landed on his feet by finding a short- term rent on a London flat; only to discover that the flat's owner, the wonderfully-named model Dymphne Pugh-Gooch (played by Alexa Brown), is coming back unexpectedly to live there. Yet this simple story becomes a multi-perspective narrative as we alternate between the real characters, and how they imagine their counterparts to be, until eventually prejudices and preconceptions collide when the two meet at the flat. Viewpoints are challenged, dismissed, and then re-emerge as the two get to know each other.
This was a wonderfully funny and engaging play, and a debt of gratitude is owed to all the cast and production team for bringing it to the public. The ever-versatile Hay balanced the righteous indignation of the academic confronted by the fashion world with a dry cynicism. He was matched by an equally strong performance by Alexa Brown who pulled off the very difficult task of playing the imagined Dymphne to its full dreadful effect, and then creating genuine sympathy for the real one. The sparring between the two presented some first-class comic moments. Credit must also go to Sarah Dodd's direction on timing, and also for keeping the narrative moving despite the numerous short scenes and jump-cuts. Stuart D Lee, Oxford Prospect
What starts as slightly stilted action between Steve Hay's exaggerated Scottish bird-lover and Alexa Brown's poised but irritating English model, soon relaxes into an engaging and believable discourse. Hyperbole being a key feature of A Last Belch for the Great Auk, the reason for this over-action of each stereotype becomes clear when we realise that the script is making slick and fast-paced switches between reality and imagination. Brown and Hay successfully distinguish between their different 'selves', displaying an interesting progression in their relationship during the one act and providing what becomes a brief yet entertaining glimpse of our worst habits, our flaws, and our intolerances. The tangents of the Great Auk and the life of a fashion model add to the comedy of Halliwell's script, and allow the actors to enjoy the potential of this endearing and amusing piece. Emily Shirtcliff, Daily Information
A challenging two-handed one act play which intrigues its audience by presenting two different perceptions of a situation.
Steve Hay is Reg Armitage, a slightly curmudgeonly Scottish ornithologist who finds himself living in model Dymphne Pugh Gooch's flat whilst she is away. Unfortunately Dymphne, beautifully played by beautiful Alexa Brown, needs to reclaim her living space sooner than expected and the two find themselves sharing the flat.
David Halliwell's play might be examining an existential theme but at least it has enough wit to hold the audience rather than baffling them entirely. Sarah Dodd's production is simply staged with little more than a couple of chairs, a table, two plinths and some white lines to define the space and she is served well by strong performers who have to deliver some fairly hefty monologues alongside the more snappy dialogue as Reg, Dymphne, and thus the audience, discover their ideas of who they are and how the other will react are often way off mark.
The actors were strong, with Steve Hay particularly good at engaging the audience, and although both characters could have been unlikeable they succeeded in winning over both us and each other. Ruth Curtis, www.remotegoat.co.uk
Never Tell Them, by Stuart Lee. Burton Taylor Theatre, Oxford, September 2008. Dir: Joe Austin
Never Tell Them, by Stuart Lee, concerns the rage for Spiritualism after the First World War. The distressed wife and the conman who exploits her predicament are skillfully acted by Jo Myddleton and Cymon Snow, and the most challenging role, that of Captain Jones, is taken by Steve Hay and carried off very convincingly. Julia Gasper, Oxford Prospect
Stuart Lee's 50-minute play Never Tell Them takes us back to the aftermath of World War One. A gripping performance is solicited by Director Joe Austin from Steve Hay who as Captain Simon Jones struggles with the guilt of surviving the battle. A strong chemistry is built up between Hay and on stage wife played by Jo Myddelton who seeks the aid of eccentric medium Professor Brailey (Cymon Snow) to try and connect her husband to his fallen comrades. Lita Doolan, Daily Info, Oxford
Glass Onion, Hollyrood Tavern, Edinburgh Festival August 2005. PS Theatre. Dir: Steve Hay, Pete House
They introduced the Beatles to a new generation. Like two mates in a bedsit, this was like a Beatles appreciation society. Ultimately, a good thing! The admiration was truly sincere. Three Weeks Daily
In That Summer of Sweet 16 by David Halliwell. Old Red Lion Theatre. I'm A Camera. Dir: Jane Clark
Subtle, expectation-denying exploration of the tension between the need to speak and the pressures to repress the horrors of war. It makes for thought-provoking, theatre. Meticulously directed by Janey Clarke and acted by an all-round strong cast. Hero of the piece is Steve Hay, a convincing Private Billy Meechan, who grows from bullying yet likeable rabble-leader to shell-shocked victim. Barbara Lewis, The Stage
The psychotic Scot who can't wait to kill more Jerries rails against the doctor who diagnoses him as shellshocked. Nick Curtis Evening Standard
Steve Hay as Billy Meechan is a splenetic Scot randy to get back to the killing fields of northern France. Robert Lloyd Parry. Highbury & Islington Express
License & Passport
Driver's License: | Yes |
Skills
Accents/Dialects | American - General, Irish, Northern Irish, Scottish, Scottish - Central, Scottish (Aberdeen, Dundee), Scottish (Edinburgh), Scottish (Glaswegian), Scottish (Hebrides), Scottish (Highland, Inverness), Scottish (Lowland, Broad Scots), Scottish (Shetlands), Scottish (West Coast) |
---|---|
Vocal Types | Tenor |
Organisations / Memberships | BECTU (UK), Equity (UK), PACT (UK) |