Peter Kenny

Summary

Peter Kenny is a voice-over artist,[1] actor, singer and designer living in South West London.[2] Raised on Merseyside he gained a BA(Hons) in Drama from the University of Hull.

Career edit

Early career edit

Initially Peter worked for Edinburgh District Council, at the now defunct Nelson Halls, building, amongst other things, trick props and Cinderella's Coach for the King's Theatre Pantomimes. He then went on to work for the Royal Lyceum Theatre at their Roseburn Studios. After four years working as a freelance, including projects for Perth Rep, Scottish Theatre Company, Scottish Heritage and The City Gallery; he moved to London and took up his career as a performer.

Puppetry edit

His first engagement as a performer was with Playboard Puppets in the stage version of the popular children's Television Show, Button Moon. Roles included: Queen Wibbly, Ragdoll, Fairy Fungus, and Little Bottle. He subsequently remained with the company on a freelance basis as a puppet maker and operator, including ad campaigns for Robertsons Fruit Drinks, McDonald's, and the pilot episode of Spooks of Bottle Bay.

Acting edit

In theatre he has worked for a wide range of companies including: The Royal Shakespeare Company, as Ferdy the male soprano in Peter Gill's production of John Osborne's A Patriot For Me.[3][4] He appeared as the lead role of Henry in the award-winning short film The Take-Out[5] Directed by Jamie Thraves. As a member of Greg Thompson's A&BC Theatre Co. He toured the world in their iconic production of Shakespeare's The Tempest and created the role of Pilate in Greg's play, If I Were Lifted Up From Earth. In 2006 he composed the music for A&BC's production of Shaw's Saint Joan at the Fischer Center in New York, in which he also played La Hire and The English Soldier. As part of the RSC's "Complete Works" season at Stratford upon Avon, Peter played Thomas Cromwell and was the "ethereal soprano"[6] (Michael Billington, The Guardian) singing from the darkened nave in Greg Thompson's production of Henry VIII.

From 1993 to 1994 he was a member of the BBC Radio Drama Company which he describes as, "...the best vocal training I ever had!"[7] where he worked alongside some of the greatest names in the British Entertainment industry.[8] He has subsequently worked as a freelance performer in a whole host of productions on UK national radio.

He was an active member of the Staging the Court Project,[9] which endeavoured to bring academic study and theatrical practice together to recreate a performance of a play in the Great Hall at Hampton Court as it may have been performed before Henry VII.[10]

In 2011 he joined the Tell Theatre Company and has performed in their first two productions Marriage by Gogol and A Respectable Wedding by Bertolt Brecht.

Audio books edit

Following a chance meeting on a tube with Matthew Walters, a producer he had worked with at the BBC, Peter started recording unabridged audio books as a reader for the charity Listening Books. Titles included: Junk by Melvin Burgess, Face and Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah, Consider Phlebas, Look To Windward, Player of Games,[11] Surface Detail, The Wasp Factory, and Transition[12] by Iain M. Banks.

He subsequently recorded The Wasp Factory as a commercial recording twelve years later for Iain Banks' publishers Hachette and Little Brown, and was generously reviewed by Sue Arnold in The Guardian.[13][14] In 1998 he was invited to record books for the RNIB and has since recorded a large range of titles including: Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, Revolution Day by Rageh Omaar, One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson and At My Mothers Knee by Paul O'Grady.

Kenny is now an established audiobook reader with over fifty titles recorded. He regularly records the Library editions of Mandasue Heller's dark northern thrillers for ISIS Publishing,[15] and the abridged and unabridged recordings of Iain M. Banks' space operas about The Culture. He has recorded W. J. Burley's crime novel, Wycliffe and the House of Fear for Orion Publishing,[16] Medicus and the Disappearing Dancing Girls by R. S. Downie, The Prestige by Christopher Priest, Mother's Milk by Edward St Aubyn and Young Wives' Tales by Adele Parks. Kenny has also recorded the Audiobook version of "The Witcher" books by Andrzej Sapkowski, which have seen increased popularity after the adaptations to video games and a Netflix show.

The table below chronicles Kenny's audiobooks. It is incomplete.

Release date Title Author
Mar 2007 The Steep Approach to Garbadale Iain Banks
May 2007 Young Wives' Tales Adele Parks
Mar 2008 The Wasp Factory Iain Banks
Apr 2008 The Prestige Christopher Priest
Sep 2009 Transition[17] Iain M. Banks
2010 Surface Detail Iain M. Banks
2011 Consider Phlebas Iain M. Banks
2011 The Player of Games Iain M. Banks
2012 Use of Weapons Iain M. Banks
2012 The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared Jonas Jonasson
2012 The Hydrogen Sonata Iain M. Banks
2013 Excession Iain M. Banks
2013 Inversions Iain M. Banks
2013 Use of Weapons Iain M. Banks
2013 The Crow Road Iain Banks
2014 The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August[18] Claire North
2014 Blood of Elves[19] Andrzej Sapkowski
2014 The Last Wish[20] Andrzej Sapkowski
2014 Baptism of Fire[21] Andrzej Sapkowski
2014 Time of Contempt[22] Andrzej Sapkowski
2014 The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden Jonas Jonasson
2014 Look to Windward Iain M. Banks
2014 The State of the Art Iain M. Banks
2015 Sword of Destiny[23] Andrzej Sapkowski
2016 The Swallows Tower[24] Andrzej Sapkowski
2016 Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All Jonas Jonasson
2017 Lady of the Lake Andrzej Sapkowski
2017 Puck of Pook's Hill[25] Rudyard Kipling
2018 Season of Storms Andrzej Sapkowski
2018 84K[26] Claire North
2019 The Pursuit of William Abbey[27] Claire North
2020 The Tower of Fools[28] Andrzej Sapkowski

Video games edit

Kenny has lent his voice to a few video games.

Release date Title Role
1996 Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars[29] No specific role
2014 Divinity: Original Sin[30] No specific role
2014 Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire [31] Elias Zelen / Furrante / Shrimp (voice)

Corporate voice work edit

Kenny has voiced an extensive set of training videos for Romonet Software Suite, the flagship product from Romonet.

Singing edit

As a singer he has frequently been cast in roles such as Ferdy, Feste and Balthasar.[citation needed] He was a member of the early music group Passamezzo,[32] with whom he recorded four CDs.

References edit

  1. ^ "Peter Kenny- Bio, Albums, Pictures – Naxos Classical Music". Naxos.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Peter Kenny - Voice". Peterkenny.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  3. ^ "A Patriot for Me by John Osborne, Barbican Theatre, 1995". Archived from the original on 28 August 2006. Retrieved 27 August 2006.
  4. ^ "Production of A Patriot for Me | Theatricalia". Theatricalia.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  5. ^ "The Take Out". IMDb.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Henry VIII, Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon". The Guardian. 26 August 2006. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Spotlight: PETER LUKE KENNY". Spotlight.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  8. ^ "BBC - Press Office - Network Radio Programme Information BBC Week 38 Sunday 19 September 2010". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  9. ^ [1] [dead link]
  10. ^ [2] [dead link]
  11. ^ "Audiobooks & Original Audio Shows - Get More from Audible". Audible.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Audiopolis, audiobook reviews: April 2010". Audiofilemagazineaudiopolis.blogspot.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Audio roundup: Apr 5". The Guardian. 4 April 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Sue Arnold reviews the new audiobook of 'The Wasp Factory' for books". Iain-banks.net. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Peter Kenny". Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  16. ^ "Kenny, Peter - Orion Books". Archived from the original on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  17. ^ Diorio, Geri (December 2009). "TRANSITION by Iain M Banks Read by Peter Kenny | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine.
  18. ^ McCarty, Joyce E. (May 2015). "THE FIRST FIFTEEN LIVES OF HARRY AUGUST by Claire North Read by Peter Kenny | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine.
  19. ^ "Blood of Elves Audiobook | Andrzej Sapkowski | Audible.co.uk". Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  20. ^ "The Last Wish Audiobook | Andrzej Sapkowski | Audible.co.uk". Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  21. ^ "Baptism of Fire Audiobook | Andrzej Sapkowski | Audible.co.uk". Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  22. ^ "Time of Contempt Audiobook | Andrzej Sapkowski | Audible.co.uk". Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  23. ^ "Sword of Destiny Audiobook | Andrzej Sapkowski | Audible.co.uk". Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  24. ^ "The Tower of the Swallow Audiobook | Andrzej Sapkowski | Audible.co.uk". Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  25. ^ Harris, David M. (July 2017). "PUCK OF POOKS HILL by Rudyard Kipling Read by Peter Kenny | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine.
  26. ^ McGarrigle, Dale E. (August 2018). "84K by Claire North Read by Peter Kenny | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine.
  27. ^ The Pursuit of William Abbey. 13 May 2019. ISBN 978-1-4055-3527-4.
  28. ^ Langella-Sorgie, Maria (January 2021). "THE TOWER OF FOOLS by Andrzej Sapkowski David French Trans Read by Peter Kenny | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine.
  29. ^ "Broken Sword: Circle of Blood". IMDb.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  30. ^ "Divinity: Original Sin". IMDb.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  31. ^ "Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (Video Game 2018) - IMDb". IMDb.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  32. ^ "Passamezzo - about us". Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2011.

External links edit

  • Peter Kenny Web Site