How did you start off in theatre?

As a teenager, an incredible drama teacher at a rather conservative girls’ school allowed me to direct a school play. I chose Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman. I still remember the parents’ faces as they watched a torture scene underscored by the Prodigy’s Smack My Bitch Up – pushing boundaries, telling important stories and giving an audience plenty to talk about was something I knew I needed a piece of.

How did you move into tutoring?

Soon after graduating as an actor, I knew I wanted to direct. I co-founded Grindstone London and through directing shows with the company, I formed a passion for getting the best out of actors. The relationship between a training actor and tutor is a delicate but special one. Nothing makes me prouder than seeing students excited about their work. To watch them improve, graduate and begin to work professionally is incredibly rewarding.

What is your best advice for drama students and graduates today?

Don’t be a doormat. Pick up the phone, take classes, create your own work. If that’s not possible, gather a bunch of like-minded actors and use each other in any way you can to continue to hone your craft and keep the acting fire burning.

What would you change about the industry if you could?

I would change the impossible beauty standards and pressure on actors to look a certain way, create more opportunities for women in roles still dominated by men and make theatre affordable and the arts accessible to all. We only solve these issues by putting pressure on those chimps in government to understand that the arts are not a privilege but a cultural and social necessity.

What’s the best part of your job?

Seeing text on a page become a whole world on stage and witnessing an audience become part of that.

Which practitioners do you admire and why?

I have a huge crush on Uta Hagen. She cuts through the fog of it all and teaches practical ways to get at the truth. But my true admiration goes to the practitioners I collaborate with, particularly movement directors Chris Sivertsen and Dimitris Varkas, who both work in such liberating ways and understand that acting is meant to be fun! And my husband, Max, who writes plays I feel I just have to be a part of.

What is one skill that every successful theatre professional should have?

Listen and be interested in others. Generosity and kindness go a long way and make you better at what you do. Appreciate everyone you work with, be thirsty to collaborate and truly give yourself to whatever ensemble you find yourselves lucky to be a part of.