The Pickle King - Bios

Jacob is an Arts Foundation Laureate and is a founding partner of Indian Ink. He collaborated to create Krishnan’s Dairy, The Candlestickmaker, The Pickle King, The Dentist’s Chair and The Guru of Chai and has performed them throughout New Zealand and internationally. Jacob has won an accolade for acting excellence and was nominated for the Stage Award for Best Actor at the Edinburgh Fringe. Jacob has featured on New Zealand TV series (Outrageous Fortune  and Shortland Street).

Jacob's family originates in Kerala, Southern India. He was born in Malaysia and immigrated to New Zealand at the age of four. Jacob has a degree in microbiology, a teacher’s diploma and is a graduate of Toi Whakaari – The New Zealand Drama School.

Justin is a founding partner of Indian Ink and has collaborated with Jacob to create all the company’s works. He has managed numerous national and international tours of Indian Ink's productions.  His shows have won two Production of the Year Awards and two Edinburgh Fringe Firsts.

Justin founded and is on the board of Q Theatre, and organisation that has raised NZ$ 21 million dollars to build a new 350 seat theatre in central Auckland, NZ.  Justin was recently given an award by the Kaupapa Oranga Trust for his services to theatre. He has a Bachelor of Arts in History and Italian and is a graduate of the John Bolton Theatre School in Melbourne, Australia.

Jacob is an Arts Foundation Laureate and is a founding partner of Indian Ink. He collaborated to create Krishnan’s Dairy, The Candlestickmaker, The Pickle King, The Dentist’s Chair and The Guru of Chai and has performed them throughout New Zealand and internationally. Jacob has won an accolade for acting excellence and was nominated for the Stage Award for Best Actor at the Edinburgh Fringe. Jacob has featured on New Zealand TV series (Outrageous Fortune  and Shortland Street).

Jacob's family originates in Kerala, Southern India. He was born in Malaysia and immigrated to New Zealand at the age of four. Jacob has a degree in microbiology, a teacher’s diploma and is a graduate of Toi Whakaari – The New Zealand Drama School.

Carl is an Auckland based actor. He trained at Chelsea School of Art in London and at the Central School of Speech and Drama and has extensive experience on both stage and screen.  His film credits include I’ll Make You Happy (dir Athena Tsoulis) for which he was nominated for Best Actor at the 1999 Nokia NZ Film Awards, Whole of the Moon (dir Ian Mune), No Way Out, Queen City Rocker, Rushes and the TV drama series Rude Awakenings. Other credits include Mataku, P.E.T Detectives, Street Legal, Xena Warrior Princess, City Life, and Hercules. Recent stage appearances include Head (2005 Chapman Tripp winner for most original production),  King Lear (Downstage), Hamlet (Watershed), Romeo and Juliet, Savage Hearts, Ladies Night, Yo Banfa, The Bed Show, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and The House of Doors, Camels, and Laundry Warrior.

Carl has worked with Indian Ink on The Dentist's Chair and The Pickle King (George Reaper in the 2002 NZ tour).

Ansuya graduated from NIDA (Sydney - Australia) in 1999 where she performed in The Libertine, The Imaginary Invalid and Whale Music. In 2001, she produced The School of Night for Cabin Crew at the Old Fitzroy Theatre and promptly joined the Tamarama Rock Surfers, the independent theatre company that run the venue. Ansuya spent a good deal of 2002 in New Zealand working on The Pickle King for which received two Chapman Tripp award nominations, including Most Promising Newcomer and Best Actress. She then returned to Sydney and the Old Fitzroy to perform in A Moment on the Lips, a new Australian play which was both a critical and commercial success.

David has worked with Indian Ink since 2004. He composed, musically directed and performed the music for The Guru of Chai and The Dentist’s Chair, for which he was nominated for “Most Outstanding Composer” at the 2008 Chapmann Tripp Theatre Awards.

He also performs the music and sound effects for The Candlestickmaker and Krishnan’s Dairy in NZ and abroad and has worked on Red Leap Theatre’s production of The Arrival, which premiered at Auckland Festival 09. David is a jazz graduate of the Wellington Conservatorium Of Music and composes and performs in many different musical settings: jazz, blues, improvised music, country, bluegrass and original projects.

http://www.myspace.com/davidwardmusician

Isaac Smith has recently completed a Bachelor of Jazz Performance majoring in Double Bass from the New Zealand School of Music. His experience in theatre and live performance range from work with Ake Ake Theatre Company (shows include Our Secret Garden and Lari Tomsin; One Youth's Tragedy and musically directing the circo-arts performance of Ship Song for the 2007 Capital E Children's National Arts Festival); Redmole (shows include This Unquiet Planet & Radio Shade:Project Antigone) to directing and composing music as a part of the Wellington International Jazz Festivals and collaborations with Mumbai based Bollywood artist Vaishali Samant as a part of the 2007 Crossings Contemporary Indian Culture Festival.

Isaac has also been involved with the Massey University Textile Department researching an interface between dance, composition, improvisation and textile. Isaac frequents the Wellington jazz and creative music scene performing solo, and in larger ensembles directed by himself or in projects led by other creative forces in the Wellington music scene

Murray has been dramaturg on all of Indian Ink’s productions. A poet and founder of Town and Country players (NZ),  Murray is the Professor of Drama at Auckland University where he heads the Drama course.

Jeremy Fern has been designing for theatre and contemporary dance for the past 7 years.

Companies include Black Grace Dance Company (Surface, Human Language, Objects), Massive Theatre Company, (Up Close Up Loud), Silo Theatre Company (Clockwork Orange, Take me out, Plenty, Bare, Three days of Rain, The Real Thing, Based on Auckland, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore) and 88 in the Shade (The End of The Golden Weather

John has worked on all of Indian Ink’s productions. With over 30 years experience John is a leading designer with an extensive portfolio of work including designs for NZ Opera, Auckland Theatre Company, The Large Group and many others.

Justin is a founding partner of Indian Ink and has collaborated with Jacob to create all the company’s works. He has managed numerous national and international tours of Indian Ink's productions.  His shows have won two Production of the Year Awards and two Edinburgh Fringe Firsts.

Justin founded and is on the board of Q Theatre, and organisation that has raised NZ$ 21 million dollars to build a new 350 seat theatre in central Auckland, NZ.  Justin was recently given an award by the Kaupapa Oranga Trust for his services to theatre. He has a Bachelor of Arts in History and Italian and is a graduate of the John Bolton Theatre School in Melbourne, Australia.

Justin is a founding partner of Indian Ink and has collaborated with Jacob to create all the company’s works. He has managed numerous national and international tours of Indian Ink's productions.  His shows have won two Production of the Year Awards and two Edinburgh Fringe Firsts.

Justin founded and is on the board of Q Theatre, and organisation that has raised NZ$ 21 million dollars to build a new 350 seat theatre in central Auckland, NZ.  Justin was recently given an award by the Kaupapa Oranga Trust for his services to theatre. He has a Bachelor of Arts in History and Italian and is a graduate of the John Bolton Theatre School in Melbourne, Australia.