Who’s who in Pipeline Theatre’s new post-Brexit staging of Drip Drip Drip? The taboo-busting play shines a light on the NHS’ dependence on immigrants. Check out full bios and rehearsal photos – and then get booking!
Written and directed by Jon Welch, Drip Drip Drip launches on tour at The Drum, Plymouth Theatre Royal from 11 February 2020 before transferring for a three-week season at London’s Pleasance Theatre from 3 to 21 March.
Amidst the backdrop of Brexit Britain, Pipeline Theatre’s latest play takes a look at Britain’s much-loved NHS and the complexities, and often uncomfortable truths, faced when taboos are confronted by reality. Drip Drip Drip takes us into a microcosm where an NHS care team finds itself treating an alt-right Islamophobe and disgraced academic, who happens to be terminally ill and desperately clinging on to his own sense of entitlement and toxic beliefs.
Drip Drip Drip is designed by Pipeline core team members Alan and Jude Munden, with music and sound by writer, director and fellow founder Jon Welch. The cast are David Keller, Lydia Bakelmun, Micheal Workeye, Girum Bekele and Alan Munden.
The new tour of Drip Drip Drip visits Plymouth’s The Drum (11-15 February), Bristol’s Wardrobe Theatre (19-20 February), Bath’s Rondo Theatre (22 February), Sheffield’s Theatre Deli (26 February), Birmingham Mac (27 February) and then The Pleasance in London (3 to 21 March).
Rehearsal photos
Bios
Lydia Bakelmun
Lydia Bakelmun (plays Dr Rahmiya, Bhatia) – Graduated from Drama Studio London in 2016. Credits include: Babylon Beyond Borders (Bush Theatre), Polstead (Eastern Angles), Wild Boy (Lamphouse Theatre), The Palestinian in the Basement is on Fire (Southwark Playhouse), Hecuba Birangona (Kali Theatre, Tristan Bates Theatre), The Bashful Lover (Read Not Dead, Shakespeare’s Globe) and Wallenstein: SchillerFest (The Faction, The Bunker Theatre).
Girum Bekele
Girum Bekele (plays Yonas Mebrahtu) – Girum is a professional circus artist from Ethiopia who began his acting career performing in The Jungle at the Young Vic Theatre in London in 2017. Theatre credits: The Jungle, Yohannes, Good Chance/Young Vic/National Theatre, Stephen Daldry & Justin Martin; Slaa R&D workshop, Acrobat/Juggler, National Theatre Studios, Justin Martin; The Crown Season 3, Fire Breather/dancer, Netflix, Stephen Daldry.
David Keller
David Keller (plays David Jeffs) – At 15, David Keller became an apprentice professional football player with Aston Villa Football Club. After an injury curtailed his career, he then went on to train as an actor at RADA. Credits include; ‘Claudius’ in Hamlet (Theatre Clwyd); ‘Macbeth’ in Macbeth (Gadansk Shakespeare Festival, Poland); ‘John Merrick’ in The Elephant Man (Theatre Royal, Plymouth/Boulevard Theatre, London); ‘Dr Dysart’ in Equus (Burton Studio Theatre, Oxford); ‘Iago’ in Othello (Courtyard Theatre, London). More recently, David played the role of ‘Robert’ in Pulitzer Prize-winning play Proof at the Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester before going on to play his most recent role, ‘Old Dooley’ in Maggie May at the Finborough Theatre, London.
Micheal Workeye
Michael Workeye (plays Daniel Mebrahtu) – Michael has just graduated from ArtsEd where he won the Lilian Baylis award and was shortlisted for Carleton Hobbs & the Spotlight prize after submitting a piece he’d written himself. He’s due to feature in BBC One’s ‘Sitting in Limbo’ later this year. This is his stage debut.
Alan Munden
Alan Munden (plays Steven) – Alan is a theatre and film designer-maker. He has designed and built over 70 shows including award-winning shows for English Touring Opera and Miracle Theatre. Alan was production designer for the Oscar-nominated short film “Sailcloth” starring John Hurt. He is a founder member of Pipeline theatre and is often their acting stage manager.
