Rukhsana Ahmad is a British writer of Pakistani origin. Her stage plays include Homing Birds (shortlisted for Best Stage Production by Asian Media Awards) and River on Fire (runner-up for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize). Her books include: The Hope Chest, The Gatekeeper’s Wife and other stories and Mistaken: Annie Besant in India. She has scripted several original plays for BBC Radio 4 and World Service. Her many adaptations include Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children (nominated: Sony award) and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (nominated: Best Adaptation by the Writers’ Guild Award).
Rukhsana will be offering a course in creative writing inspired by a real life story.
Saul Boyer is an actor, comedian and award-winning writer (RSC-Marlowe Other Prize 2014), who trained at ArtsEd and Cambridge University. He has written for stage, audio and is in the process of developing a screenplay with a prominent film production company.
Saul is also a tutor of nine years’ experience and has a degree in English Literature from Cambridge University.
Saul is offering sessions on playwriting, screenwriting and how to write narrative and sketch comedy, as well as home tutoring sessions for kids and adults. He is also offering voice and performance coaching.
Anton has written ten plays championing the need for roles for women in theatre, all focusing on the lives of celebrated women of the 19th and 20th centuries. His plays include Bette & Joan, starring Greta Scacchi and Anita Dobson (Arts Theatre) and Mrs. Pat, starring Dame Penelope Keith (Chichester Festival Theatre).
His first contemporary play, Year of the Virgin, was recently read at The Charing Cross Theatre, starring Sian Thomas.
His plays have been performed worldwide and are published by Samuel French Ltd.
Anton is offering coaching on how to create a play for the stage, whether from an original idea or an adaptation from an existing work.
Joanna is an actress working principally in Theatre and television, including Romeo and Juliet (National Theatre), Let The Wind Carry Me Home (National Studio, Southwark Playhouse), Twelfth Night (Noel Coward Theatre), Bodyguard, DCI Banks and Extras.
She is offering sessions to enable you to find your authentic voice and maximize your potential as a communicator, and more…
Lee is a yoga teacher and physical theatre performer. Since training as a Sivenanda yoga teacher in 2005, she has been teaching private clients, companies and institutions including the BBC, The London School of Economics and Wandsworth Prison. As a physical theatre performer she has performed with Ockham’s Razor and Tilted. Lee also works alongside the charities Aching Arms and Sands, creating physical theatre and storytelling workshops that give voice to those who have experienced miscarriages or stillbirths.
Lee is offering yoga classes for all ages and abilities, and movement classes to individuals and groups.
I am a singer and actor with many years professional experience in West End and regional theatres (inc. Much Ado About Nothing/Love's Labours Lost - RSC, Theatre Royal Haymarket, Malory Towers - Emma Rice, Wise Children, Precious Little Talent - Orange Tree Theatre). I am also part of the Nannying agency, Bea & Co. I’ve had extensive experience as a tutor as well as a child entertainer.
Rebecca is offering: tutoring, coaching & entertainment for kids + tuition in acting or singing
I am a TV, film and stage actress, and have played regular roles in comedy and drama productions from Skins, Fresh Meat and Cuckoo to Back to Life, PhoneShop and Pulling.
My special skill is helping to spot the gaps in an actor's presentation and helping with ‘branding’, which basically means finding your unique acting ability – and the one that is most saleable.
I am offering one-to-one sessions for actors and aspiring actors.
Sarah is a former dancer with the Royal Ballet. After graduating from RADA, she worked as an actor in lead roles in theatre companies including RSC, Out Of Joint and Citizens Theatre Company. Sarah currently coaches JPYA singers at the Royal Opera House in movement and performance. She also privately coaches students and professionals and has recently worked with principal dancers of the Royal Ballet.
Sarah is offering performance coaching sessions.
Simon is a theatre and screen actor, most recently seen as General Quinn in Star Wars 9 and Douglas Carswell in Brexit An Uncivil War. On stage his many roles include Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe), Malvolio in 12th Night (National) and The Once-ler in Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax (Old Vic), which was described by the Guardian as ‘the best family show since Mathilda’.
Simon and his son Theo will be reading Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax.
A specialist voice coach for 20 years, Milly has worked alongside some of Britain's finest actors, including Sir John Gielgud, Sir Michael Gambon and Dame Helen Mirren. Since 2004 she has been coaching business leaders and managers in the UK, Europe and the Far East through her company Be Heard. She has also collaborated on projects with John Malkovitch, Willem Dafoe, Nicholas Cage, Miranda Richardson, the Royal Ballet and Sadler’s Wells as well as directing several documentaries for C4 and the BBC.
Milly is offering one-to-one mentoring to help you become an effective public speaker.
Nathan is a poet and performer. His first poetry collection, Threads, was longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize 2017 and his work has been presented at major venues including Royal Court Theatre, Southbank Centre and Latitude Festival as well as on Channel 4. He is also a puppeteer and puppet-maker and has created puppets for Soho Theatre and run puppet-making workshops for Little Angel Theatre.
Nathan is offering puppet-making sessions for children and adults and he is curating personalised poetry readings for our Supper Sessions.
Ailon Freedman is an artist, comedian, clown and storyteller (secretly disguised as a yoga teacher). He has taught clowning internationally after developing his own humour-based workshops known as ‘Clown Healing’.
Ailon is offering Clowning, Games and Playfulness sessions (for kids of 7 +) as well as Clowning for Beginners for individuals and groups.
Richard Henders is an Olivier nominated actor of over thirty years experience. He has worked extensively at the National Theatre, RSC, Donmar Warehouse and the West End, most recently performing in Company at The Gielgud.
Richard is offering one to one drama tuition. If you are preparing for an audition or simply wanting to give acting a go, Richard’s wealth of experience and knowledge with a kind and practical approach will help you unlock your potential as an actor.
Vayu Naidu is a storyteller, performer and writer. Her novels include The Sari of Surya Villas, Sita’s Ascent and Under the Banyan, as well as several collections of children’s stories. Vayu is also credited with coining the term 'performance storytelling' and her stories of Indian and European mythologies have been performed on stages in the UK, Scandinavia, Europe and India. She won the Arts & Humanities award for her teaching Storytelling at University of Kent, Canterbury.
Vayu is offering a creative writing course using world Myths as inspiration for your own stories
Jane is a London based, North American actress, with extensive experience in theatre, film, tv and voice-over. She has worked with and learned from actors including Tom Hanks, Daniel Day Lewis, Paul Thomas Anderson, Matthew Weiner, and Patrick Dempsey. She recently won Performer in a Leading Role for Returnal's Selene at the BAFTA Games Awards 2022.
Jane is offering performance coaching for any upcoming projects you may have, including auditions, Zoom conferences or presentations. She is also part of our Supper Sessions, reading stories.
Lesley Vickerage is a soft skills trainer, coach and actress, appearing in television series such as Soldier, Soldier, Between the Lines, Holby City and Friday Night Dinner as well as on stage in the West End and the RSC. Alongside her acting career she delivers courses in Presentation Skills, Assertiveness, Coaching and Mentoring and Personal Impact (aka Soft Skills) to a wide range of clients including NESTA, Unite, Chatham House and Google.
Lesley is offering coaching to small groups or one-to-one’s on a range of Soft Skills.
Claire Winsper has worked on some of the most successful West End theatre productions including The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, La Cages aux Folles and The Witches of Eastwick, as well as many productions at the National Theatre, The Old Vic and RSC.
She is offering sessions to enable you to find your authentic voice and maximize your potential as a communicator, and more…
‘The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers….’ Dalai Lama.
In this Room you’ll find experienced actors, performers, playwrights, voice coaches and physical theatre practitioners all offering creative online workshops and courses. Perhaps you’d like a one-to-one class with the personal voice coach of Dame Helen Mirren and Sir John Gielgud, or you and your kids would like to try clowning. Or maybe you’d prefer a workshop created by one of our theatre actors and regular performers at the RSC, The National and The Old Vic.
All of our coaches, whether they specialise in Shakespeare on the stage, comedy on TV or physical theatre in a circus, have created classes that focus on drawing out the individual’s unique ability. Whether you are a curious amateur or you have been performing for some time, the courses here are for everyone. They are also fun, and full of laughter and kindness.
You may have a yearning to write a play. If so, we have the award winning playwright and writer Rukhsana Ahmad. We also have the playwright Anton Burge, who specialises in writing much-needed roles for women in theatre, and whose plays have been performed worldwide. If comedy is your thing then we have Saul Boyer, who is offering a course in how to write narrative and sketch comedy.
Even if you have no desire to appear on the stage, or even behind it, you might have an important job interview coming up, or your might want to polish up some jokes for a wedding speech. Or you may have issues with confidence (who doesn’t!) and find social gatherings, whether online or in the ‘real world’, quite challenging.
How we communicate - and how we present ourselves to others – affects every area of our lives, from our personal and work relationships to how we resolve conflict. Confidence plays a big part, as does the ability to be relaxed and fully present in your body. Acting and performance coaching can help give you the necessary tools.
So whether you’re going on a date, or you have a presentation at work (both of these are obviously only online at the moment), or you want to test out your acting ability, or you’d love to write a play, or a comedy sketch, you should definitely find something here to suit you. Group classes are just £5 and as usual 10% of the payment goes to charity.
So scroll up and see which class makes your heart beat that little bit faster!