Our Story!
The Beginning
Luke Cheadle and Billie Hindle met through their work as actors for Merlin Entertainments at The Blackpool Tower Dungeon. A friendship that blossomed amidst a mutual love of history, the arts and comedy led them to set about on an adventure in 2021 to set up their very own theatre company. Luke had written a script, “Henry’s End,” which was an original tragicomedy based on the deathbed of the infamous King Henry VIII.
(Pictured: Luke Cheadle and Billie Hindle in Henry’s End. Photo by Claire Griffiths)
The friends decided that, after all, the best way to get this play produced was to do it independently. They recruited more performers that they had met through their work and before they knew it, the show was playing to a sell out crowd at The Old Electric theatre in Blackpool in March 2022. The play was a smashing success and was dubbed by the Blackpool Gazette as “a gruesome comedy with a heart of gold.”
(Pictured: Emily Hobbs, Luke Berryman and Dan Wilson in Henry’s End. Photo by Claire Giffiths)
There was demand for a second showing and later that year, the show hit Manchester at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation on the 6th October! Once again the show was received well but it was time to focus on something new and the King passed on.
Fast forward to 2025, and after a hiatus for numerous reasons, Octavius are back. Production of 1984 by George Orwell is now in full swing!
(Pictured: Dan Wilson and Charlie Hindle in Henry’s End. Photo by Billie Hindle)
Now…
This year we put on a new version of “1984 by George Orwell” at Salford Arts Theatre. Bigger than anything we’d tackled before, the show was a smashing success!
This September, the steering committee met to discuss our next steps! Keep an eye out for announcements on our 5th anniversary! 19th October 2026!
1984 poster edit and photos by Billie Hindle, starring Lloyd Mitchell, Emily Hobbs and Ashton Taylor
