Are human beings programmed to be selfish or is it something they learn? Is it in our DNA? Take one small measure. How many people really listen when they are having a conversation with you– I mean really attend to what you are saying? Do you get the impression that some people aren’t listening at […]
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When I became Head of Acting at a drama school, I discovered some of the students were arriving late so I decided to take action. I gathered the student body together and said, “From tomorrow I shall lock the door at 9am exactly every day. If you are late you will have to go home […]
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I once worked as an actor at the Tower of London. We were working on the Gunpowder Plot and I had a sword and period costume of one of the conspirators, Thomas Winter. We were teaching history by immersing groups of young people in the story. One half of the group went to my colleague […]
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There’s a saying in the theatre industry that you should take pleasure in other people’s successes. The thinking being that you can’t always succeed but it costs you nothing to be happy when others do. In this way they feel supported and your generosity gives them confidence. I love watching the faces of the so-called […]
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I have huge admiration for anyone who does anything technical in the theatre. My admiration partly comes from the fact that I am not very good at it. In fact, I’ll go further and say I should not be let near anything technical in a theatre and here’s an example. “In a flash I realised […]
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