United Kingdom
I have been an actor for over 35 years and a Shakespeare Consultant for nearly 20, training actors, students and directors, either in production, workshop or privately. I aim, through my approach to Shakespeare, to give the actor or student a technical mastery of classical verse and language, rhetoric and form, so that they can make detailed and exact technical choices to uphold their interpretation of character and give them absolute ownership of their text. As an actor, I have worked extensively in the theatre as well as in television, film and radio. I have worked at the National Theatre, in the West End, on Broadway, at the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as at numerous provincial theatres, including the West Yorkshire (now Leeds) Playhouse, Chichester Festival Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse and the Birmingham Rep. See my CV at http://www.spotlight.com/interactive/cv/1/M17985.html
Last year I had an amazing time working as the Text Consultant on Rachel Bagshaw's production of 'The Duchess of Malfi' in the Wanamaker Theatre, starring Francesca Mills, Arthur Hughes, Oliver Johnstone and Olivier Huband. ‘Thanks for your brilliant, concise, encouraging notes. Super clear and helpful’ Arthur Hughes; 'I’m genuinely inspired by the work you do' Shazia Nichols. This was followed by the award-winning 'Antony and Cleopatra' at the Globe, directed by Blanche MacIntyre and starring John Hollingworth and Nadia Nadarajah. the production was bilingual spoken English and BSL. It was an extraordinary experience to translate my usual techniques with speaking actors into usable techniques for signing actors. I learnt SO much about the possibilities of non-verbal communication, and the wonders of BSL, SSE (Sign Supported English) and - my personal favourite - VV (Visual Vernacular).
I have been an actor for over 35 years, appearing predominantly in the theatre, with recent credits including 'The Knight's Take' (Manchester), 'The Shadow in the Mirror' (Sonning),' The Mirror and the Light' (West End), 'Twelfth Night' & 'Christmas Carol' (RSC), 'This House' (NT, Chichester & West End), 'Wolf Hall & Bring Up The Bodies' (RSC, West End & Broadway), 'King Charles III' (National Tour & Sydney) and many, many more. Television appearances include Stephen Poliakoff's 'Friends and Crocodiles', 'Foyle's War' and 'Stuart: A Life Backwards' with Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy. Films include 'Orlando', 'Tom and Viv' and 'The Princess Switch: Switched Again'.
I have worked as a Shakespeare Consultant on professional productions for nearly 20 years, including 'Antony & Cleopatra' at Shakespeare's Globe, dir. Blanche MacIntyre, 'The Duchess of Malfi' at the Wanamaker Theatre, dir: Rachel Bagshaw, 'The Tempest: Re-imagined' at the Open Air and Unicorn Theatres, dir: Jennifer Tang, the RSC's 'Dido, Queen of Carthage' dir: Kimberley Sykes, 'The Comedy of Errors (Royal Exchange) dir: Roxanna Silbert, 'As You Like It' (WYP) dir: Ian Brown, 'Romeo & Juliet' (Globe tour) dir: Raz Shaw, 'Much Ado About Nothing' & 'Romeo & Juliet' (Open Air Theatre) dir: Timothy Sheader, 'The Tempest' (Open Air Theatre) dir: Liam Steel, and 'Pericles' (Open Air Theatre) dir: Natalie Abrahami. Here are some comments by both directors and actors: "Thank you for being such a wondrous collaborator on 'Pericles'. You are a super-talent and a delight to work with" - Natalie Abrahami (director) “Thank you for all your gorgeous work with the actors” - Rachel Bagshaw (director) “I couldn’t have asked for a better compadre on my first Shakespeare” - Jennifer Tang (director) “You have given the cast such confidence with your wisdom and energy” - Roxanna Silbert (director) “Your work has been invaluable. It truly shows on stage." - Timothy Sheader (director) “Thank you so much for all your help. Your bottomless wealth of knowledge has been priceless. This production wouldn’t be the same if it hadn’t been for you” - Tristan Shepherd (actor) “You illuminated the text brilliantly and helped me a lot technically, without once squashing my instincts.” - Liz Crowther (actor) “A guru, a guide, an inspiration” - Jim Hooper (actor)
I introduce students on the BA, MA and MFA courses to techniques required to tackle Shakespeare, by way of an intensive two-day, four-day and five-day workshops covering verse, rhetoric, rhyme and form. I have also directed - on the BA, MA and MFA courses - productions including 'Othello', 'Scenes From An Execution', 'Measure For Measure', 'Our Country's Good', 'As You Like It', 'The Merry Wives of Windsor', 'Richard II', 'Julius Casear' and 'Richard III', the latter with listing HARTT students from America.
Having first introduced 1st Year Acting (MT) students to the techniques of classical verse, rhyme, rhetoric and form, I then direct them in a production of a Shakespeare comedy. Most recently 'Love's Labour's Lost', 'Much Ado About Nothing', a gender-switched 'The Taming of the Shrew', 'As You Like It', 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'The Two Gentlemen of Verona', 'Twelfth Night', and 'The Comedy of Errors', concentrating on their clarity of verse-speaking, use of the language, and an absolute commitment to the emotional stakes of their characters.