Ray Shell

Ray Shell is an American film, TV and stage actor, as well as an author, director and producer. He is known for creating the roles of Nomax in Five Guys Named Moe and Rusty in Starlight Express. He is a Creative Director of the Giant Olive Theatre Company, resident company at the Lion & Unicorn Theatre in Kentish Town.

Ray Shell
Born
USA
Occupationactor, author, producer

Career

His 1993 novel, Iced, was a commercial success. The novel tells the story of an upper-middle class black American man destroying himself with crack-cocaine.

In 2008, Shell wrote about his appearance in, and the closure of, the musical Gone with the Wind for The Guardian newspaper.[1] After arriving in London in 1978 with producer Oscar Johnson's Gospel musical Little Willie Jr's Resurrection, Shell immediately became part of London's New Wave music scene, recording with Howard Devoto's Magazine, covering Kate Bush's "Them Heavy People". He went on to record with his own band The Street Angels featuring a "pre-Simon Cowell" Sinitta, Carl McKintosh and Charita Jones.

Summer 2011, Shell was the performance coach for Adrian Grant's Respect La Diva starring Sheila Ferguson, Zoe Birkett, Katy Satterfield, Denise Pearson and Andy Abraham. In winter 2011, Shell was James Earl Jones' standby in the London West End production of Driving Miss Daisy, starring Boyd Gaines and Vanessa Redgrave in the title role.

In March 2012, Shell's TAIP (Total Artist in Production) produced The Gaddafi Club, a new play. In spring 2012, Shell toured the UK as MC Romeo Marcell in Dancing in the Streets. In 2012, he directed A Dream Across the Ocean, a new British musical produced by Samuel Facey and Dave Prince from ChurchBoyz Entertainment.[2] Also in 2013, Street Angels Books published Spike Lee: The Eternal Maverick, a biography by Shell. In 2015, Shell began production of the film version of Iced and published Feedin' Miranda, a new novel. He also appeared as Bill Devaney in the newly created West End musical The Bodyguard, based on the movie of the same name.[3] He appeared as The Bishop in the Bush Theatre production of Perseverance Drive;[4] Shell recently established his popular London TAIP (Total Actor In Production) sessions at the Ripley Grier Studios in New York City, USA.

Credits

References

  1. Shell, Ray (June 12, 2008). "Goodbye, cruel wind. Gone With the Wind was set to be the biggest show in town. Cast member Ray Shell gives the inside story as to why it flopped so badly". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  2. "Ray Shell, Dream Across the Ocean", Afridiziak, 23 July 2012.
  3. "The Bodyguard", West End Theatre.
  4. Matt Trueman (11 July 2014). "Perseverance Drive, Bush Theatre, review: 'profound'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  • "Momma Cherri". The Sunday Times. August 21, 2005. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
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