Fifth Twilight is a small company with Fran King and Jonathan Francis at the helm. It is run from an old, and apparantly haunted, 18th building building in the historical village of Winster. We are proud of our rural location and do what we can to promote the media and the arts in the area.
Derbyshire is well known to be one of the most haunted
counties in Great Britain and this has served us well through
our work in the paranormal. The area makes a great training
ground for crews and a development playground for the creative
team as they trial ideas in haunted locations across the county.
Even the office itself has been investigated and though no
major activity was recorded, a tale which we were later able to
verify historically was recounted by one of our mediums about a
girl who hanged herself in a now demolished wing of the
building.
Staff have reported hearing footsteps, and doors opening when there is simply no one there. Equipment mysteriously switches itself on and off, and a pair of antique scales have been seen to tilt in the windowledge of the adjoining building.
THE CREATIVE TEAM
FRAN KING
Creative Producer
Fran trained at LAMDA and at Goldsmiths College, London, graduating with a degree in Theatre Arts.
She has had a varied career as both an actor and stage-manager. She has played The Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Maggie in Dancing at Lughnasa, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Beatrice in Much ado about Nothing, Big Boss in Trust and Polly Bagnall in Terreus and Philimela.
She has also worked as a stage manager; working at The Macowan Theatre, Earl's Court; Upstairs at at The Gatehouse, The George Wood, and other venues throughout the UK on The Duchess of Malfi, Peaches by Nick Gross, The Way Things Would Be by Jacqui Honess-Martin, and Judith by Howard Barker. As a dramaturge she has worked on such diverse plays as Betrayal, by Harold Pinter, Bed by Jim Cartwright, Beside Herself by Sarah Daniels, The Tempest, and Terreus and Philomela. Other works include Welcome to the Monkey House and After Play by Brian Friel for the Gate and Geilgud Theatres.
Fran continues to search out ideas for production, and has solely produced all Fifth Twilight's work since 2004.
JONATHAN FRANCIS
Creative Director
Jonathan trained at Rose Bruford College, London and graduated with a BA(Hons) degree in Directing.
He began working in television in 1999, for Carlton Television's Peak Practice. He then spent much of his time working in theatre directing, As a freelance director: A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Winter's Tale, What the Butler Saw, The Seagull, and his own musical The Curse of the Sorcerer's Scissors
He then became Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Chelmsford Opera, where he conducted The Marriage of Figaro, Aida, Cavaleria Rusticana, and Cosi Fan Tutte. He then directed Carmen , and Benjamin Britten's The Beggar's Opera . He has also been Director of Music for “The Blindingly talented” Zygo, (Time Out Critic's Choice of the year company, 2002. Guardian ««««« ) for The Dog Beneath the Skin at BAC, and Musical Director and Composer for The True History Of The Tragic Life And The Triumphant Death Of Julia Pastrana The Ugliest Woman In The World, and The False Corpse by Shaun Prendergast at the Theatre Royal Brighton, for The Brighton Festival 2005 as part of a co-production with Ambassadors Theatre Group, Trademark Theatre, and Zygo.
Jonathan is passionate about new writing and amongst others has directed Walls by Russell Tovey as part of the Double-Up new-writing season at BAC and the Cow Play at the Nightingale Theatre, Brighton and the Burton Taylor Studio at Oxford Playhouse. As assistant director has worked both at the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and ICA.
Jonathan continues to work widely across the UK as a musical director and conductor, and in his spare time conducts The Matlock Operatic Society now in its one-hundredth year.
For Fifth Twilight, he has directed all major projects since 2004, including pilot episodes of Restless Spirits and Spirit Level.
