Something is deeply wrong with our media - and the fundamental practices they engage with. Something has to change. goodlawproject.org/s/abb8a1

Jason Arday: Demand a public inquiry now | Good Law Project

Commission an immediate public inquiry into how to ensure a responsible press given its contribution to Dr Arday’s tragic death.

goodlawproject.org

Incoming…

Mark Ravenhill@markravenhill.bsky.social · 2w ago

A new thing

Signed this petition calling on Andy Burnham to include the arts in his 10-year plan. The creative industries sustain jobs & cultural life nationwide. This isn’t charity, it’s investment, alongside cultural value that’s harder to put a number on. Sign here: www.campaignforthearts.org/petitions/10...

Prime Minister – put the arts in your 10-year plan for the UK | Campaign for the Arts

Sign our petition urging the UK Government to build a country where the arts are available from childhood, accessible to all and thriving everywhere.

campaignforthearts.org

Gove says Labour’s education policy is “bring back stupid.” Phillipson’s final act as education secretary cut funding to arts, performing arts and nursing courses. Neither is really about economics — both rest on the same hierarchy of whose knowledge counts. New blog post here.

Whose Knowledge Counts: The Reinforced Hierarchies Within Education

Michael Gove, Bridget Phillipson, and a Pattern Neither Created Alone

medium.com

Performing arts HE courses losing key government funding just as Forbes data shows Visual & Performing Arts graduates are among the most versatile in the workforce. The skills case is strong. The timing has never been harder to justify. @thestage.co.uk: www.thestage.co.uk/news/perform...

Looking forward to tonight’s 2026 Spotlight Prize — 40 finalists from over 60 drama schools. Will be cheering on Carmen Fyfe Paulo (Stage Prize) and Leah Coghlan (Screen Prize), both graduating from RCSSD. Rooting for both of @cssdlondon.bsky.social’s representatives — and every finalist tonight.

The final CDT production of the year. Fear and Misery of the Third Reich, directed by Josh Roche, performed by BA Acting: CDT at @cssdlondon.bsky.social. Timely when I selected it. Even more so by the time we performed it. Not an easy play - but that doesn’t mean it’s not important.

In June, my essai, Queering Psychophysical Training: Politics of the Body in Actor Pedagogy, was published in Theatre, Dance & Performance Training’s Training Grounds. Ideas testing themselves on the page rather than conclusions. The start of a broader research journey. doi.org/10.1080/1944...

Queering psychophysical training: politics of the body in actor pedagogy

Published in Theatre, Dance and Performance Training (Vol. 17, No. 1, 2026)

doi.org

The second half of the double bill — Natural Connections, directed by Rachael Nanyonjo, alongside Isolate. Played in @cssdlondon.bsky.social’s Courtyard Theatre back in Spring 2026. Great to see this cohort really investing in the ensemble and flexing their movement skills! 📸 Cam Harle.

Congratulations to Stephen Hudson and all the team involved in the MA Musical Theatre production of Sondheim's Company at @cssdlondon.bsky.social — a joy to see last night in the Embassy Theatre. Wishing the whole company the very best for the rest of the run.

"Everything is broken" is a sentence you can say forever and never have to act on. New piece on naming problems precisely instead of despairing generally — and on the difference between hoping it gets better (passive, future-tense) and Hope as a discipline that puts you in motion now.

Stop Saying Everything’s Broken (Even If It Is)

A note to myself, and an invitation to you

medium.com

Continuing this look back — Isolate, directed by Ola Ince, part of a double bill with Natural Connections at @cssdlondon.bsky.social. Such distinctly different styles across the double bill, and real resilience from this cohort through a demanding term. Images by Cam Harle.

Calling CDT alumni: if you’re 3+ years out this September, we’d love your help mentoring our incoming third years. It’s happened informally before; we want to make it official. Unpaid, boundaried, not a big time ask — but a chance to give something back. DM us if you’re up for it. 📸 Cam Harle

Looking back across the year at @cssdlondon.bsky.social, starting with Grimm Tales directed by Rachel Valentine Smith. What stayed with me was the ownership & agency the company had, & its live, chaotic energy. Performed by BA (Hons) Acting: CDT, designed by BA (Hons) Theatre Practice. 📸 Cam Harle.

I don’t think I have used the weather app so many times in a single week before. I may have been a Summer baby, but my heart belongs to Autumn. This weather changes my makeup entirely, to 40% lethargic and 60% grumpy. Enough now. Please.

Wilting in the heat myself, but these roses are thriving. A gift from my outgoing second years after their Bridge Project — Julius Caesar with them was a joy, and this burst of red in the flat keeps it going a little longer.

Tonight, third year students from BA Acting: CDT at @cssdlondon.bsky.social open Fear and Misery of the Third Reich — a production that tragically couldn't feel more timely. Runs through to Saturday 13th June. Industry guests, drop me a message about a comp. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fear-and-m...

Huge congratulations to Carmen Fyfe Paulo, BA Acting: CDT 3rd Year, who has made it onto the Spotlight Award Finalist list. We’ll all be rooting for you! Very well deserved! You can see more about the award and the nominees here: www.spotlight.com/news-and-adv... @cssdlondon.bsky.social

One of my favourite times of year at Central. The BA (Hons) Theatre Practice exhibition — celebrating final year Design, Production and Crafts students — opens Thursday 30 April and Friday 1 May at RCSSD. Well worth a visit.

Third year students from BA (Hons) Acting: CDT at RCSSD were recently invited by director Rachel Valentine Smith into early exploratory work for her new company, Verve. Rachel worked with them on Grimm Tales — and brought them back for the very interrogate something new. Watch this space.

Still reflecting on BADA's symposium in March. I spoke about training that doesn't fixate on a predetermined aesthetic — and how practices that do embed erasure for the marginalised actor in training. A rich conversation with Becca Barrett, Phoebe Patey-Ferguson, Alejandro Postigo, and Edu Diaz.

2nd year students from BA (Hons) Acting: CDT at RCSSD recently joined director Ned Bennett for R&D on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Birmingham Rep / Melting Pot) — exploring staging and design ideas in an extracurricular knowledge exchange built around inclusive practice.

Nice to wake up to some good news for a change!

Today’s the day. Our third year BA Acting: Collaborative & Devised Theatre students take the stage at Underbelly Boulevard Soho, directed by the ever-brilliant Barry Fitzgerald, performed to an invited industry audience. So proud of this cohort.

What’s OUT for 2026: Lists declaring what’s in and out for 2026. (It has Spotify Wrapped energy, and with that in mind I am staying firmly unwrapped and unsubscribed.)

Forgot how basic 80s/90s trailers were until I rewatched Exorcist III just now. That deep voice, four images, a mood - done. I knew they’d changed but seeing that stark functionalism again is actually startling. Modern trailers are entire emotional journeys by comparison - complete with spoilers.

Not BBC News citing Simone de Beauvoir’s feminist critique of Bardot while misgendering her. Live TV is unforgiving—but the irony is almost too perfect. Misgendering the author of The Second Sex while discussing her analysis? Shows how deep these assumptions run.

Fantastic to see BA Acting: Collaborative & Devised Theatre grad, Shannon Ong, reach the finals of the British Comedy Guide Stand-Up Competition! Even better knowing stand-up wasn’t on her radar until Comedy Term. Love seeing our training open unexpected creative pathways.

Our 3rd Year CDT company moves into the theatre today for Grimm Tales Tech after weeks of graft, exploration, and bold thinking. Devising with 19 people while reimagining old tales for today is no small ask. So proud of the process they’ve built with director Rachel Valentine Smith.

Excited to take on Inclusive Pedagogy and QAE Lead for Performance at Central alongside my Programme Leader role. About shining light on existing good practice, sharing the wealth, and working to improve inclusivity and quality across our provision. Grateful for the opportunity.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​