Ty Jeffries is a prolific composer, lyricist, pianist, singer, and character comedian, whose critically acclaimed works are influenced by the combination of his classical training and his love of both the golden age of Hollywood and the Great American and British Songbooks. He is the son of the late British character actor, screenwriter, and director Lionel Jeffries, who is famous for starring in Camelot and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Jeffries is best known for his onstage persona of Miss Hope Springs, a blonde ex-Vegas showgirl alter-ego who plays the piano and sings cabaret songs. Jeffries plays Springs as a tragicomic ?“recovering showgirl” looking back on her life and career. The character is inspired partly by memories of fading Hollywood icons visiting his childhood home, as well as memories of him and his father watching old black-and-white films together.
Jeffries won Best Cabaret Brighton Fringe in 2011 and was invited to open the new cabaret room The Crazy Coqs in London.
Studio Safar is a design agency and publisher with offices in Beirut and, now, Tiohtia:ke (Montréal). The studio adopts an experimental approach to design. Evoked by its name, the studio is concerned with notions of communication across cultural and linguistic barriers. Projects span different media and design frameworks such as communication strategies, publications, visual identities, exhibitions and sets, and websites. Most of the work services the extended cultural sector, and is engaged in social and political discourse.