Philip Oakland

Manuel

Philip spent three and a half years working for Disney, playing the hysterical hyena Ed in ‘The Lion King’, in which he also went on to play Timon, Zazu, and the deliciously evil Scar. Other non-human roles include a hobgoblin in ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’, a stag in ‘Robin Hood’ (Greenwich Theatre), the King of the Trolls in ‘Peer Gynt’ (Hackney Empire), and a mardy 1932 Fordson N Type Tractor in the NTC tour of ‘These Things Do Happen’. Philip was speechless when he got his West End debut as Marcel Marceau  in ‘The Vaudevillains’ (Les Enfants Terribles); in this freaky burlesque meets Cluedo, Philip originated the role of Gaston Garceau, the ‘silent but deadly’ mime artist. He says he’s extremely grateful to ITI for letting him play Manuel -  a human being who actually gets to speak (albeit in Spangish)! Phillip also plays Ray/Ricky in  ITI’s ‘Confetti & Chaos’. As well as mucking about on stage, Philip has been known to masquerade as a playwright, ‘We’ll Call You’  (the Mercury Theatre, Colchester) and ‘The Arrangement’ (NTC, Alnwick). Oh, and if you have enjoyed tonight’s show half as much as Philip, then he’s had twice as much fun!