1816: The Year Without A Summer

Wilf Offord: John Polidori

Wilf is an actor based in Cambridge, where they have been involved in a range of student film, musical and non-musical theatre productions, including The Crucible (ADC Theatre, 2024), Merrily We Roll Along (Trinity Hall, 2024), Sweet Charity (ADC Theatre, 2025), Red (Corpus Playroom, 2025), Jack And The Beanstalk (Footlights pantomime 2025), Into The Woods (ADC Theatre, 2026), and One Too Many Slices (short film, 2026). Wilf is currently preparing the role of Rat in The Wind In The Willows at the ADC Theatre in Cambridge, and most recently has joined the National Youth Theatre. They can’t wait to bring to life the John Polidori beyond the pages of his diary in this retelling.

Kate Woodman: Mary Shelley

Kate Woodman is an actor/director and has trained at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama before attending Cambridge University. She has been involved in productions both on stage and screen including the Annie UK tour (2015/2016), Fifteen Love (Amazon Prime) and The Count of Monte Cristo directed by Bille August (Palomar). She directed and acted as Cecily Cardew in “The Importance of Being Earnest” at the Edinburgh Fringe (2024) and some of her favourite musical roles to date have been ‘Wednesday’ in “The Addams Family”, ‘Velma’ in “Chicago” and ‘Penny’ in “Hairspray”.

Oliver Kingston: Lord Byron

Oliver Kingston, a final year MSt Writing for Performance student at Cambridge, is a performer and writer whose life has been slowly taken over by theatre - not that he’s complaining! This is his fourth run of 1816 after performing as Lord Byron at Theatro Technis, the Lion and Unicorn, and the Corpus Playroom. He is a current Trinity College Cambridge Musical Theatre Programme Student and is grateful to have been coached by the wonderful Cameron Richardson and Dan Bowling. He is currently preparing for the role of Mole in the ADC Theatre’s Production of The Wind in the Willows. He has performed across York and Cambridge and his previous credits include: Leaf Coneybear in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Friargate Theatre, dir. Emilia Stevens), Lucas Beineke in The Addams Family (Greg’s Place, dir. Darcey Chambers), and Ernst in Spring Awakening. (Theatre @ 41 Monkgate, dir. Abena Abban). His previous film and television credits include: Antlers (dir. Sam Howard), and Undergrad: Season Two (YSTV).

Kaitlin Pryce: Claire Clairmont

Kaitlin Pryce is an actor and writer, part of the original cast of 1816. She has previously performed in Lucy Cavendish College’s “Much Ado About Nothing” as Beatrice, in Bloody Poetry at the ADC Theatre, and in Ill-Divining Souls, a student-written piece at the Corpus Playroom. Kaitlin is also the New Writing Rep for the Fletcher Players, and she is passionate about bringing this group of Romantics to life.

Danny Andrews: Percy Shelley

A cellist, composer, actor, and singer, Danny Andrews currently reads music at Cambridge University. Primarily a classical musician, he was principal cello of the Junior Guildhall Symphony Orchestra and String Ensemble. A passionate chamber music player, he plays in Leystone Piano Trio, performing in London, Cambridge, and Estonia. He is an eclectic performer embracing contemporary classical, his own music and pit-banding roles alongside the staples of the classical and romantic canon. He has combined improvisation with composition in projects with avant-garde visual and performance artists and enjoyed acting and stage roles in school theatre and musical productions. Since joining Cambridge University in 2026 Danny has been increasingly involved in theatre, debuting as an on-stage cellist for an innovative production of Ibsen’s ‘Ghosts’ in his first term. He is ecstatic to be making his fringe debut as a cast member of 1816!

Francesca Sakura: John Polidori

Francesca Sakura is a London-based performer, who made her Camden Fringe debut with 1816. Her recent credits include Sweet Charity (ADC Theatre, 2025), Sister Act (ADC Theatre, 2024), Anything Goes (Gala Theatre, 2024) and Un-Decided (Edinburgh Fringe, 2024). In addition to performing, Francesca has enjoyed roles as a choreographer and movement director, most recently including a production of Grease (Caedmon Hall, 2024). Francesca graduated from University of Cambridge and started her professional training at LAMDA in Autumn 2025.

Kate Woodman: Mary Shelley

Oliver Kingston: Lord Byron

Oliver Kingston is an actor and writer interested in using the gothic tradition to tell queer stories. He has performed across York and Cambridge in student and amateur stage and screen productions. He is currently pursuing an MSt in Writing for Performance at Cambridge, and is otherwise based in South Wales where he is developing a portfolio of gothic stage and screen scripts. His stage credits include Spring Awakening as Ernst (Theatre@41, 2022, dir. Abena Abban), The Addams Family as Lucas Beinecke (Theatre@41, 2023, dir. Darcey Chambers), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as Leaf Coneybear (Friargate Theatre, 2023, dir. Emilia Stevens). His screen credits include Antlers (2024, dir. Sam Howard) and Undergrad: Season Two (2023-2024, YSTV).

Kaitlin Pryce: Claire Clairmont

Kaitlin Pryce is an actor and writer. She has previously performed in Lucy Cavendish College's “Much Ado About Nothing” as Beatrice, in Bloody Poetry at the ADC Theatre, and in Ill-Divining Souls, a student-written piece at the Corpus Playroom. Kaitlin is also the New Writing Rep for the Fletcher Players, and she is passionate about bringing this group of Romantics to life.

Joe Davies: Percy Shelley

Joe Davies is an actor and singer. He has previously been involved in CUMTS' Gala (2025, dir. Theo Chen) and Parfumerie (2024, dir. Ivan Ampiah). He is a member of the Downing College choir and has begun to explore writing through a role in the 2025 CUMTS 24-hour musical. Joe loves a Gothic novel and aims to explore the tales behind the tales.