Joint Artistic & Executive Producers
Matt Pinches
First Shakespeare you saw: The Taming of the Shrew
Favourite part you’ve played: Benedick
Favourite play: The Comedy of Errors (closely followed by Hamlet)
Favourite place in Guildford: The Mount & Henley Wood
Originally from Worcester, Matt trained at University College Bretton
Hall in West Yorkshire, graduating in 1998 with an honours degree in Dramatic
Art. Open-air theatre gave him his first job, playing D'Artagnan in The
Three Musketeers in Manchester. Since then he has continued to work in
all forms of theatre from panto to TIE, from national No.1 tours to village
halls.
It was in 2002 whilst playing the Emperor of Lilliput in Gulliver's Travels that he met Sarah, playing the Empress of Lilliput, with whom he co-founded GSC in 2006. As well as acting and producing, Matt
also lectures on Shakespeare and is an Associate Tutor at the University
of Surrey.
He’s extremely proud of GSC and is looking forward to many happy
and productive years of site-specific theatre in Guildford and Shakespeare
in Surrey!
Sarah Gobran
First Shakespeare you saw: Romeo and Juliet
Favourite part you’ve played: Katherina (Kate)
Favourite play: Twelfth Night, Much Ado, King Lear...it’s an impossible
decision..
Favourite place in Guildford: The River Wey Walk
Sarah's passion for theatre and performance began at the age of seven with her discovery of Pam Ayres, regularly subjecting her classmates to a rendition of the latest poems she had learnt that week!
Sarah moved to Guildford in 1995 to train at the Guildford School of Acting and since graduating has performed in a variety of theatre and film, including a spell at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Alan Ayckbourn's Sugar Daddies . Sarah has also worked for many local theatre companies including The Phoenix, in Bordon, playing Bathsheba in Far From The Madding Crowd, and for Proteus in Basingstoke, as Wendy in Peter Pan. For both companies she toured to local communities in Surrey and Hampshire.
Sarah is delighted to have set up Guildford Shakespeare Company and by the tremendous response that they have received from the community, who appear to be as passionate as she is about Open-Air Shakespeare coming to life in Guildford!
GSC Trustees
Alex Brayshaw
Keith Churchouse
Joanna Read
Jane Shepperd
Karin Walker