Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, Richard trained as an Actor at The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts under full scholarship. He graduated with a First Class BA (Hons) [Acting Option] (validated by the University of East Anglia) and a Professional Diploma In Acting (Trinity College London). Having worked professionally as an Actor for over a decade,
Richard's body of work has begun to diversify, taking on employment as a Movement Director and Actor Trainer. In 2017, to refine his skills as a Pedagogue and Coach, Richard commenced study of a MA in Actor Training and Coaching at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (University of London). He is a founding member of The Faction Theatre Company (a physical theatre company dedicated to performing classical texts with a contemporary aesthetic) - a company which he helped to set up - and for many years was a member of their Core Ensemble. While performing with The Faction, the Company won both The Peter Brook Best Ensemble Award (in conjunction with The New Diorama Theatre, where for a number of years the Company had a residency as an Associate Ensemble) and a Best Ensemble Award from OffWestEnd.com for their critically acclaimed production of Mary Stuart. Richard's work has taken him throughout the UK and as far afield as Malaysia and the Middle East. This work, along with experience with Repertory Companies across the UK (from Weekly Rep Seasons with Charles Vance, to Classical Outdoor Productions with Guildford Shakespeare Company, to more established models such as Pitlochry Festival Theatre), saw a keen interest in Complicity, Physical Storytelling, Game & the nature of "Ensemble Play". This interest led him to working further in the areas of new writing through devising - predominantly with The New Diorama working with its Artistic Director, David Byrne. His body of work along with a fascination with process & craft has greatly informed his praxis as a Trainer and Facilitator. Richard's main interest lies within Primary Training with particular emphasis on Play, Pure Movement, Game, Impulse and Intention. In his own work he is continually exploring concepts of play versus mischief; empathy versus imagination; vulnerability versus availability; communication and engagement theory. Specific genres of theatre that interest him are New Writing and Devising; Shakespeare and Heightened Text; Physical Metaphor; Sturm und Drang (with a particular emphasis on Schiller's early work). In his work as a Trainer, Richard is greatly influenced by Lecoq, Saint Denis, Stanislavski, Chekhov, Mamet - and more recently, Viewpoints. His strong interest in Play is leading him to further research the notion of "The Child" in Actor Training and its use to free the Performer.
