About Us

Cheryl Knight

Performer

Cheryl created ‘Turn Back the Clock’ to celebrate Joyce's centenary year. Her previous work includes Miss Santiago in ‘Buddy’, various roles in the tour of ‘Spend, Spend, Spend’, Thaisa in James Roose Evans’ production of ‘Pericles’, and numerous television commercials. Having spent the past few years running the shoe department at the Royal Opera House, this show marks her return to the stage. Cheryl is delighted, not only by the response so far, but to be introducing Joyce Grenfell to a new youthful audience as well as bringing back many happy and nostalgic memories to those who have enjoyed Joyce's work in the past.

Paul Knight

Director

As a writer/composer, Paul’s output includes the ballet ‘City Slick’, the musicals ‘Bunter’, ‘Ello Ello Ello Dinosaur’, ‘Heroine’, ‘The Happy Prince’, ‘Rights of man’, ‘Turn of the Screw’, as well as eight shows for Oxford Playhouse. He has written instrumental and vocal scores for Box Clever, Oxford Shakespeare Co, and the Bedouin Shakespeare Company. He has also produced a new socially distanced panto ‘Snow White and ...’. As an actor/musician, he has appeared in ‘42nd Street’, ‘Forbidden Broadway, and with Rosemary Ashe in ‘Call Me Merman and Adorable Dora’. His new musical based on the story of masque Macabre is in pre-production.

You can find out more on his website.

Tim Astley

Artistic Director

Tim trained at the Guildford School of Acting and, shortly after graduating in 2010, founded Apollo Theatre Company with whom he has since produced over 25 productions. Tim made his directorial debut with Apollo’s first production, Sir Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter and went on to direct productions of Blue Remembered Hills, Our Town and Carrie’s War in which he also played the role of Billy. A lifelong fan of radio comedy, Tim fulfilled a long-time dream in 2015 when he produced and directed the 50th Anniversary Tour of his all-time favourite radio show, Round the Horne which has now toured the UK five times and played for eight weeks in London’s Museum of Comedy.

Bitten by the bug of recreating comedy classics, Tim has produced several otherclassic radio comedies in The Goon Show, Hancock’s Half Hour and Steptoe & Son as well as tributes to Kenneth Williams and, of course, Joyce Grenfell.

You can find out more the Apollo Theatre Company's website.

‘Ode to Joyce’, also in its previous incarnation of ‘Turn Back the Clock’, has been on the road for over 11 years. As both director and now pianist, it has been wonderful to experience the joy this show has given to countless audiences across the nation. Having met Joyce in the late 70s, when she came to visit a school in the East End of London, where I taught music (dressed in her own words ‘as a pirate’ due to the eye patch she had to wear at that time in her life), I know Cheryl’s performance is as authentic and true to life as you get. Yes, it’s nostalgic, but the topics are as relevant today as they ever were and continue to speak into all our lives.