The Gastronaut team
Gareth Baston
Tour Manager & Science Communicator
Gareth choreographs all his own dances.
Lulu Frenett
Performer & Stage Manager, The Utterly Revolting Science Show
Lulu Frenett is a performer and Stage manager specialising in children's theatre and entertainment. She trained at the University of Hull where she studied Classical music and Theatre. She recently has finished working with Talegate Theatre productions where she performed throughout their winter season whilst also company managing other pantomimes touring across the UK. She is currently working on a one woman show with her own company, Dead Fool Society, with the hope to tour it in 2027.
Stefan Gates
Producer, Writer & Science Communicator
Stef has written and presented 23 TV series (mostly for the BBC) and is an author of 13 books about science and food. He has written and performed around 3,000 science stage shows for the most prestigious organisations and festivals in the UK and won lots of gongs.
His favourite fact is that your lips are a type of sphincter.
John Hinton
Performer & Science Communicator, The Utterly Revolting Science Show
John is a science communicator, actor, writer and educational singer-songwriter. His ‘Scientrilogy’ of musical comedies about Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein and Marie Curie have toured internationally and won awards at Edinburgh, Brighton and Adelaide Fringe Festivals. He has written science song cycles for Kew Gardens, Eden Project, Natural History Museum, National Railway Museum, Brooklands Museum and others. He is the Artistic Director of Ensonglopedia, an educational arts charity who teach science through theatre, music and video. www.whoisjohnhinton.com
John’s favourite fact: a starfish eats by regurgitating its entire stomach and then part-digests the food outside its body before swallowing the whole lot back up again.
Becky Tarry
Production Co-Ordinator
Rebecca is a Creative Producer, with a background in making the arts more accessible for young people and local comunity groups. She has a degree in Biology from The University of Birmingham, and has spent the last 25 years performing on stage in many a play and musical. She loves bringing these two passions together and making science fun for audiences across the UK. Her favourite kind of fart is a silent but deadly one!
Her favourite fact is that manatees can regulate their underwater buoyancy by expelling gas. This helps them control their rise and fall while underwater, essentially using their farts to swim!
If you need to talk about one of our productions or speak to one of our team, you can contact her at:
Jan Croxson
Agent
Jan is an amazing agent at DML Talent, She sorts all our contracts and talks to theatres to set up each tour. If you have a theatre and want to discuss a show, you can contact her at:
Georgia Glynn Smith
Creative Director
Georgia looks after our overall creative direction and keeps us from getting too big for our boots.
Bob
Bob is a head. A weird head, but a head nonetheless..
Babs
Babs is easily the coolest memebr of the team, despite all the snot, pus, vomit and ear wax.
Blue
Company dog.
Blue is only happy when you’re playing with him. Otherwise he’s very unhappy.
Cheeky
Company cat.
She almost looks sweet, doesn’t she? She’s not. She’s evil. Although we quite like her anyway.