After studying Theatre Studies at university, I trained first as a director at NIDA in Australia, and then as an actor. I then trained and worked in Poland for many years with companies in the post-Grotowski lineage – Gardzienice, Song of the Goat Theatre, and most recently as a member of Theatre ZAR, resident company at the Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw. While in Poland I also also trained with Zygmunt Molik, one of Jerzy Grotowski’s main actors for many years.

I have taught acting and directed at a number of drama schools in the UK and abroad. I spent eight years teaching acting, movement and directing at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. I also currently teach and direct at Drama Studio London and Fourth Monkey Acting Training Company.

I have experimented over the years with many acting processes and approaches, and developed ways of integrating ceratin approaches in the Stanislavsky lineage with the more physical approach of the post-Grotowski work. 

As both acting teacher and director, I grew increasingly frustrated with the seemingly ‘accidental’ nature of acting techniques in terms of their ability to help the actor consistently connect to the moment and to their inner life as character. This sparked an interest in the seemingly fleeting nature of the creative state, and led me to an increasing interest in the nature of the creative process in general. This was the beginnning of a years long journey of exploration into the psychology of the creative process, and to a passion for helping actors to achieve a sense of creative freedom, beyond any technique.

When I came across the Demidov Organic Acting Technique – introduced to me by my colleague Professor Andrei Maleav-Babel – I instantly connected with it as a process I had been heading towards intuitively for many years. This has been my own journey of exploration for the past five years – of its riches, promises and possibilities.

I run regular workshops in the Demidov Technique. Please see the news page for details.

I also work with actors individually to help them prepare for auditions, dissolve perceived obstacles or to help them find freedom in their work.

In parallel to this for many years I developed a process of teaching movement that drew as a foundation on the post-Grotowski work – with a focus on rhythm, impulse and musicality. I alo researched and explored many approaches to movement and work with rhythm – which I felt was fundamental – and techniques that focused on sensitivity, listening, and release. These included Feldenkrais, Laban/Bartenieff and Gaga Movement, which I believe has much potential for actors. For the past 10 years or so I have been developing movement work based on the Five Rhythms movement technique. This was created as an ecstatic dance practice, but I have been using it to develop a process for actors that gives them an embodied understanding and experience of specific rhythms, of the difference between inner and outer rhythm, and of the relationshp between rhythm, meaning and action,  In latter years I have been filtering all this through the principles of the Demidov work, and created etudes as a structure within which to explore this.