Musical Director / Composer: Benjamin Cox
Benjamin Cox joined Team Ruby at the start of 2011 as Musical Director and accompanist and has performed with them all across the UK. Which is where he gained 5 big sisters! Ben studied music at Cambridge University, specialising in composition and conducting. He was Organ Scholar at St. Catharine’s College and toured Internationally with the chapel choir. Here he also helped to found the first collegiate girls’ choir in the UK.
He is currently Deputy MD & keys on Operation Mincemeat in the west end. He was MD on Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends in the west end and recently completed the anniversary stadium global tour of Les Miserables. In 2009 his string quartet ‘In Memoriam’ was chosen by the Imperial War Museum and Royal Philharmonic Society for the sound archive in the museum’s new gallery, resulting in a position as RPS Young Artist. His first opera ‘Sursum Corda’ was written and performed under his direction in 2010, and he has more recently had works premiered in St. Paul’s Cathedral. He was nominated for an Off West End Award for Best Young Musical Director for the critically acclaimed Sweeney Todd, which transferred to Broadway and works regularly for ‘Heritage Opera’ performing across the UK.
Ben composed The Ruby Dolls' 2014 production Fabulous Creatures.
Ruby Family past & present
Executive Producer: Vanessa Stone
Vanessa Stone joined Team Ruby at the start of 2012. Vanessa brought many years of experience as a producer to the team, having produced work extensively for Theatre Royal Stratford East and was resident producer at The Royal Court Theatre. She also brings invaluable creative insight and perspective to the creative team and is an all-round legend.
producer: Suzie Kirk dumitru
Suzie produced the national tour of The Brides Of Bluebeard in 2016-17.
stage manager: roshan conn
Roshan stage managed Fabulous Creatures in 2014, the scratch performances of Into The Night We Go in 2015 and she stage managed the national tour of The Brides Of Bluebeard in 2016-17. Roshan is the best, most capable, imperturbable stage manager any team could wish for. And she is utterly legit hilarious.
director: Iain Johnstone
Iain Johnstone is a musician, composer, actor and director. He worked with The Dolls 2015 - 2017 directing The Brides Of Bluebeard. Iain has has worked extensively in UK theatre with companies such as the National Theatre of Scotland, Improbable, National Theatre Wales, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Stadsteatern Stockholm, Communicado, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, Dundee Rep, Northern Stage, the Lyric Hammersmith, Regent’s Park Theatre and Théâtre Sans Frontières. He is an Associate of the critically acclaimed Told By an Idiot theatre company. He added his velvety Scottish bass tones to the voice of ‘The Bear’ in our production of Bluebeard & his lovely doggie became a fixture of our rehearsal room.
Director: Dominic Burdess
Dominic Burdess is a director, writer and actor. He directed Fabulous Creatures which premiered at Edinburgh 2014. He also co-directed Rubies In The Smoke which premiered at the St James Theatre in London in 2013. Dominic trained with Jacques Lecoq in Paris. As Associate of Theatre O, he devised four projects at the National Theatre Studio and The Young Vic. As Artistic Director of Blow-Up Theatre, Dominic co-created the Total Theatre Award-winning clown duo The Illusion Brothers & Somebody To Love which toured internationally and was filmed at the Young Vic and released on DVD by EMI/Parlophone. Other theatre includes directing After Mikuyu (Oval House), clown consultant on Ayckbourn's Drowning on Dry Land (Salisbury Playhouse) and development work with, among others, the Young Vic, Company FZ, and Cirque Du Soleil.
Writer: Abigail Burdess
Abigail Burdess is a comedy writer for TV, radio and stage. She wrote Fabulous Creatures for the Dolls, which premiered at Edinburgh in 2014. TV writing includes; Watson and Oliver, Sorry I've Got No Head and That Mitchell and Webb Look. Radio includes Lucy Montgomery's Variety Pack and That Mitchell and Webb Sound. Her play All The Single Ladies (starring Leslie Ash, Brooke Kinsella and Tara Flynn) toured the UK in 2012. Her new short play Adultery was staged at the Miniaturists at the Arcola in April 2014. Abigail is also an actor and stand up comic. As an actor TV includes The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff (BBC2) Comedy Cuts (ITV2) and radio includes Before They Were Famous, Vent and Concrete Cows (all Radio 4) She is author of the thrilling novel Mother’s Day.
Director: Laura Casey
Laura Casey directed Rubies In The Attic for The Ruby Dolls in 2012. She is Artistic Director of Magpie Blue Productions and an Artistic Associate of Upstart Theatre. She now lives in Cologne in Germany, where she is supporting women as a birth doula.
The Ruby Dolls enjoy creating and collaborating with a wide range of practitioners, and we are grateful for all we continue to learn from our broader artistic community. These people include:
Katharina Reinthaller, Jessica Beck, Susannah Tresilian, Sarah Dickenson, Greg Veit, Russell Turner, Jack Shanks, Zoe Lally, Ruth Rogers, Finn Caldwell, Gene David Kirk, Sarah Sigal, Matthew Duggan, Jack Shanks, Gary Bowman, Jon Stone, Jim Tuck, Matthew Lambart, Hywel John, Tshari King, Richard Crawley, Fitzrovia Radio Hour and LAMDA.