Alumni Voices: 'There's no one way to 'be an actor' – find the path that works best for you'

What attracted you to study at King’s?

As a 19-year-old from a small town in Lancashire, I was desperate to move to London for university and experience ‘Big City Life’. It was simply the array of modules on the German course, plus how cool all the lecturers seemed, that convinced me to pick King’s.

What’s your favourite memory of your time at King’s?

I have so many! In my second year, I played Parolles in a production of All’s Well That Ends Well. It was such a fun character and I made some life-long friends on that show.

What’s the key skill or lesson you learnt at King’s?

I suppose the most useful skill I learnt was how to speak fluent German! I also spent my Year Abroad working in a small town in Bavaria, so I learnt how to move to a place where you know no one and have to build a new life from scratch.

After graduation, you went to do an MA in Acting. Was this a career change moment?

In part. I’d always wanted to be an actor and I was involved a lot in student drama at King’s. One production went up to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2013. Conservatoire training felt like a natural next step towards that goal.

You came back to King’s to study for a PhD. What prompted that decision?

I’d worked full-time as actor for about 18 months when a friend and ex-lecturer basically convinced me to come back and pursue a PhD. As research work can be quite flexible, it seemed like the ideal ‘side job’ to support continuing my acting work.

What was your PhD on?

I was interested in how an idea of ‘Germanness’ is constructed within the UK in the contemporary context. I examined how theatre, performance and theatrical institutions themselves work to create a British sense of German (theatrical) culture. I was basically combining my two interests in theatre and German culture. My first monograph based on this thesis will be published next year.

You also lectured at King’s? What areas did you cover?

After finishing my PhD, I was a Lecturer in German at King’s. I taught a variety of modules in the German Department, including classes on translation and German contemporary film, plus German theatre from the 18^th century to the present day.

As an actor, you’re part of ShakeItUp Theatre. How did you get involved in that?

After finishing my MA in Acting in 2017, we founded ShakeItUp Theatre. Our Artistic Director started leading improvisation classes after school. At the end of the year, he asked if we wanted to join him in creating this company. We performed our first show in 2018 and have been going from strength to strength ever since.

What’s the premise of ShakeItUp Theatre?

We’re an improvised Shakespeare company, meaning we create a brand-new Shakespeare play live on stage based on audience suggestions. We ask the audience if they want to see a tragedy, history or a comedy. Then we improvise a bonkers new story from there that the Bard himself would be proud of, including iambic pentameter, rhyme, songs, dance, wild imagery and lots of wacky Shakespearean characters.

Where have ShakeItUp Theatre performed?

This has been our busiest year to date! We performed at the famous Minack Theatre in Cornwall last summer. This year, we’ve travelled across the country entertaining audiences from Kent to Clwyd. A major event for us was having our first run at the Off-West-End venue The Other Palace. We also completed our first full run at the Edinburgh Fringe 2024, where we performed to sold-out audiences!

What are your future plans? Are they academic or dramatic?

They’re both. I’m Assistant Director for ShakeItUp and I love performing improvisation. We’ll continue helping the company develop and grow – hopefully to a West End main stage some time soon!

Until 2026, I’m working on a post-doctoral research project that investigates the relationship between theatre and gentrification in various European cities, so that will keep me busy for a while. What’s great about my current role is that I can follow my own interests. I’m always looking to find ways of bringing my performance experience to the world of academia.

Finally, what advice would you give to King’s students and alumni wanting to be actors?

Make your own work. Don’t wait for someone else to get to where you need to go. Get creative, be collaborative and continually try to hone your craft. There’s no one way to ‘be an actor’ – find the path that works best for you.