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Oli Brooks

@olibrooks85

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London to Berwick! Here I am!
My Personal account.
Actor / Director
Operational Director @thestrawyardberwick
Associate Director @tortivetheatre

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Come and see what in-real-life art club and life drawing was like.

This weekend we joined in for @berwickopenstudios,and @pithsupply kindly let us use this gorgeous studio space. LOOOOK at it 😍 🤤

Thank you to everyone who came along! Thank you to Celia our brilliant life model! Thank you thank you!

We did have grand plans of writing everyone’s IG handles down and tagging everyone but Katie lost the piece of paper so please do tag yourself if you see yourself in a photo. (Photos by all of us, but the good ones were taken by @gerry.turley)

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Reimagine in Colour - Portraits 2/3
These days were so much fun & I loved working with so many cool people & animals!

Assistant @amber.e.6
Archive images courtesy of @photocentreberwick

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JUST FOR FUN!
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The brilliant Berwick Literary Festival approaches!
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We thought it would be a bit of fun to see what you all think the caption should be for this photograph taken at The Straw Yard during last year’s festival!
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Ideas in the comments below please!

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SNEAK PEEK
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Here’s a little sneak peek inside our Green Room.
Still a work in progress, but it is now a usable space for visiting creatives!
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Exciting times here at The Straw Yard!

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WEST END WORKSHOP 🎭🎼
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Here’s a Oli performing The Smell of Rebellion from Matilda the Musical.
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Join The Straw Yard’s very own West End Performer, Oli Brooks for a fabulous day of musical theatre!
Seriously, you will laugh all day!
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Oli has been working in professional theatre for 20 years and will teach you the songs, scenes and steps from two globally renowned musicals…
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Matilda the Musical

and…drum roll…

Hairspray!
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This is a brilliant opportunity for you to learn what it takes to be a performer in the West End and on Broadway.
You will get to sing some of the fantastic songs from these two iconic shows, as well as learning some of the choreography and working on the scripts under Oli’s professional direction.
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He will share some of his tips & tricks in how to hone your unique performance skills…and he might even share some behind the scenes (or BTS as the kids say) knowledge and funny backstage stories as well!
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Oli played multiple roles, including Miss Trunchbull in The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Matilda the Musical in the heart of the West End for two glorious years. He then went on to play Edna Turnblad in the Broadway version of Hairspray, performing in America and for Royal Caribbean Productions.
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This workshop is for people aged 18 years and above.
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You do not need to be a professional performer to take part, but it would be great if you have a real interest and passion for musical theatre!
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This is for all abilities, whether you simply just LOVE musicals or you are wanting to work professionally in the musical theatre industry, this workshop is for you!
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BOOK NOW:
www.thestrawyard.co.uk

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WORKSHOPS @ THE STRAW YARD
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Here is a list of all of our upcoming workshops here at The Straw Yard!
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30th August - STONE CARVING WORKSHOP
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8th September - INTUITIVE DRAWING WORKSHOP
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21st September (Afternoon) - WILLOW SWALLOW WORKSHOP
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22nd September (Morning) - WILLOW TRELLIS RINGS WORKSHOP
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22nd September (Afternoon) - WILLOW FLOWERS WORKSHOP
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23rd September - WILLOW BASKET WORKSHOP
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25th September - WILLOW BASKET WORKSHOP
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27th September - MUSICAL THEATRE WORKSHOP
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13th October - CERAMICS WORKSHOP
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For more info & to book:
www.thestrawyard.co.uk

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WE’RE OPEN TODAY!
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Having a walk around the walls?
Heading to see what upcoming programming we have on?
Looking to swap your kids books?
Been to a service at Holy Trinity Church?
Off to the cinema?
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Well, why not pop in and see us for a drink and sit down! The bar is open from 10am until 4pm, serving hot & cold drinks (alcohol from 2pm)
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We have indoor and outdoor seating, with customer loos onsite!
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Today, for one day only we have our FREE KIDS BOOK SWAP!
It’s simple, head over to The Straw Yard between 10am and 4pm today. Then leave a book that you and your family have finished reading and pick up a new book for you all to enjoy!
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The book swap will be set up inside our studio and will be an honesty drop in.
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Any books left at the end of the day will be donated to charity!
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See you there!
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www.thestrawyard.co.uk

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2 YEARS OLD!
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Celebrating two years of The Straw Yard!
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My goodness what a rollercoaster it has been so far! We’ve loved every minute!
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Since opening in 2024:
- Over 350 events!
- Over 4,500 tickets sold!
- Over 1,600 on our mailing list!
- 1000 followers on instagram!
- 1000 followers on Facebook!
- A phenomenal team of loyal volunteers!
- 3 brilliant Production Assistants! Bodhi, Hannah & James.
- Lastly & most importantly, a community of loyal and kind customers!
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We want to thank all of you for supporting us through the last two years. We are overwhelmed with the passion & enthusiasm that people have for our “rustic-chic” arts venue.
We are truly honoured and so lucky to have been involved with so many local events and to have collaborated with a wealth of businesses, creatives & members of the community! Let’s keep it going!
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THANK YOU & SEE YOU SOON!
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Alice, Ben, Oli & The Straw Yard Family

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That’s all folks…
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What a fantastic Berwick Food & Beer Festival and none of it would have been possible without the two legendary Festival Directors, Millie & Ray McRobbie! The dedication, passion, drive & energy they have is incomparable and we, The Straw Yard are proud to have been a small part of their beautiful 5 year reign. We have shared three glorious years with the fantastic festival team and it’s been beautiful!
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We also want to thank the joyous and phenomenal volunteers! Wow! What an incredible group of humans, whether you were in the high-vis or serving behind our bar, we salute you!
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Thank you to all of you who popped into our sunny courtyard this weekend, whether it was for a Berwick Breeze cocktail, a few Peronis or to see the brilliantly funny comedy provided by Damp Knight! We’ve loved having you and we’ll see you soon!
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We’re having a couple of well deserved days off, but we’ll be back from Wednesday with some fantastic events!
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Check the website for more information about what’s happening at The Straw Yard!
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www.thestrawyard.co.uk

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Very proud of my bro @olibrooks85 for directing this powerful play @windchimesplayas as part of @thecamdenfringe with @joe.thorpee,@bethchurch_xx and cast. Thank you @lucymellows for being my wing-woman 🥰

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That’s all folks! ⚔️
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Well, that’s a wrap on our Summer production…
THE THREE MUSKETEERS…SORT OF!
29th July - 9th August, 2026
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This was our first in-house open air production at The Straw Yard, so we wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who came to support us and to those who didn’t…it’s a shame you missed out! Ha ha!
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This was a Yardlight Production created in Berwick for Berwick.
The Three Musketeers…Sort Of! was written, directed and performed by Ben Humphrey.
The costume & props were designed by Alice Humphrey.
Oli Brooks was associate director and set designer.
With sound design by Bodhi Turnbull, lighting by Howie Craggs and thank you to The Maltings for the loan of the outdoor lighting rigs.
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A special thanks to Roger & Susan for looking after the boys! ♥️
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A massive thanks to our amazing creative volunteers; Vanessa Marshall and Jane Porter for costume and Jane Munro & Ross Whatmore for set.
James Sanderson assisted with Front of House Management cover and as always we would not have been able to do this without our phenomenal TSY Volunteers!
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The ridiculously amazing cast were as follows:
Ben Humphrey as Porthos
Hannah Webb as D’Artagnan
Jennifer Barron as Aramis
Ross Graham as Athos
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No baguettes were harmed during the making and performing of this production!
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Au revoir pour now!

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