Vera is a London-based actress. She founded and runs saltpeter, a progressive theatre company that believes in creating bold, beautiful, and risk-taking performances.
***NEWS: This Christmas, Vera is appearing in the title role for Theatre by the Lake's production of Philip Pullman's, The Firework Maker's Daughter. Details including reviews, images and sound clip from the show can be found here***
Image by Ruben Alfaro.
Vera grew up in Malaysia. She read Human Sciences before gaining an MA in Archaeology and Anthropology from The Queen's College, Oxford. Vera then went on to train as an actress at The Poor School.
On screen, Random 11 by vertigoheights, as yet unreleased, has already been garnering international interest. Vera has a host of shorts under her belt, and has worked for multi-BAFTA-winning Daniel Mulloy, Turner Prize winner Gillian Wearing, Sue Dunderdale (BBC), Optimistic Productions, Aliale Productions and artist-filmmaker Lucy Pawlak. She has appeared on TV both in Malaysia and in the UK.
On stage, she has performed in lead roles across the UK for Eastern Angles, TARA and New Perspectives, premiered new writing at Soho Theatre, Theatre 503, and the BAC, and appeared in exciting revivals for Primavera and The New Factory of the Eccentric Actor. Most recently, she featured in Wallace Shawn's The Fever at Brighton Fringe, which won 5 stars and made the Outstanding Production list. Prior to that, Vera played Yelena in Uncle Vanya and Ygraine in the Peter Morris world premier of The Death of Tintagel , both directed by Royal Shakespeare Company's Vik Sivalingam (also Headlong, Old Vic, Almeida).
She is particularly interested in clowning, visceral approaches to performance and other performance styles which focus on direct relationships with the audience and the sense of play. Vera has workshopped extensively with the likes of Spymonkey, Told by an Idiot, Shared Experience, Barry Grantham, Mick Barnfather, Lorna Marshall, Fran Barbe. She is currently in Paris studying with Philippe Gaulier and looks forward to training with Andrew Morrish.
At Oxford, Vera toured Japan with a Thelma Holt/OUDS production of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, performed with the Experimental Theatre Company (ETC), reinstated The Egglesfield Players, co-produced the Oxford New Writing Festival and founded and successful theatre company, the nihilists. For the nihilists, she directed sell-out runs of David Edgar's Pentecost (in conjunction with One World Week, a city-wide festival exploring global awareness), and a surrealist version of Debbie Isitt's Matilda Liar!, and produced an arts festival at The Queen's College and an evening exploring the bharatanatyam form. As assistant director, she collaborated with Sebastian Kalhat Pocicovich's Quartet After Laclos by Heiner Muller.
Image by Katherine Leedale 2011
Rehearsal shot, Victory Over the Sun, dir. Gary Merry
Film still. The Games, Optimistic Productions. East End Film Festival Audience Award.
On location, short film. Siren, dir. Brandon Osterman.
Film still. Nemesis of Man, dir. TS Ukpo, vertigoheights. Watch the teaser here.