Cruden trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, 1982–1986. He then worked for the Tron Theatre and the TAG Theatre Company, and was tutor for the Scottish Youth Theatre. Moving to England, he became co-artistic director for the Liverpool Everyman Youth Theatre, then associate director for Hull Truck in the early 1990s. He was artistic director at York Theatre Royal between 1997 and 2019. His departure from York Theatre Royal was announced on 22 February 2019 simultaneous to the announcement that he would take the role of artistic director of Shakespeare's Rose pop-up theatres in York and Blenheim Palace.

Laura Wright won BBC Chorister of the Year 2005 at the age of 15 and went on to become one of this decade’s biggest selling artists. She is currently writing and recording her 7 th album. Laura is no stranger to performing at high profile events, having written and performed for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh on numerous occasions. Most notably, in 2012 she performed a specially commissioned piece for the Commonwealth at Westminster Abbey in celebration of Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee and in 2016 she performed the national anthem for Her Majesty at her 90 th birthday celebrations. Laura wrote the Invictus anthem Invincible for Prince Harry Duke of Sussex and has performed it at the official opening ceremonies of each Invictus Games (Florida, Toronto and Sydney). In 2018 Laura was invited to Thailand to perform at the State Funeral of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, owner of Premier League football club Leicester City. Laura Wright became the England Rugby team’s first ever official singer and performs regularly at the mens and the womens international and home matches. Laura is a regular performer and promoter of sports events such as the NFL Series in London and the Grand National in Aintree. She has also performed at the Carling Cup Final, the FA Cup Final, the NBA Series in London and the British Grand Prix. Many of her appearances are broadcast to millions via networks such as Sky and the BBC, but Laura’s passion is touring. She has been fortunate enough to perform in some of the UK’s most prestigious music venues such as the Royal Festival Hall, the Royal Opera House, the Royal Albert Hall, Cadogan Hall, the O2, Symphony Hall Birmingham, Bridgewater Hall Manchester as well as in Westminster Abbey, York Cathedral and St Paul’s Cathedral. Laura is a BBC Songs of Praise presenter and an impassioned Community Ambassador for the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation; she has taken several trips to promote DSWF’s work in Africa. Laura is also a UK Ambassador for the Invictus Games and the first Ambassador for the Kia Women's Cricket League; she wrote their first ever official anthem. Laura has most recently become a Ladies Day Ambassador for The Grand National in Aintree and in July 2019 Laura featured in Barbour’s 125th anniversary national advertising campaign. www.laurawright.co.uk

Rupert Frere is an award-winning Professional Photographer serving with the British Army. He is a highly experienced photographer, videographer, photographic instructor and Team leader. His combat experience, forward thinking, keen eye and ability to deliver makes him one of the most sought after photographers in the British Forces. In 2016 Rupert came runner up in the pilot series of Sky Arts, Master of Photography, proving he was able to turn his hand to photography outside of the army. Since then Rupert has worked with companies including, X Forces, The Royal Collection, Heritage Live, Invictus Foundation, The Royal Variety Charity, Citron DS and BFBS, amongst others. Rupert is experienced in working and networking with a range of military and civilian personnel, bridging a range of cultures, classes and ranks. He is resourceful, reliable and trustworthy, with proven communication skills and is fully committed to customer satisfaction. All images are subject to Copyright, please feel free to contact for more information.

An atelier is a historic word for a studio run by a master artist or teacher, where artists learn from each other. Robin studied in ateliers in Florence (Italy), London and Salisbury and over time developed his painting skills across Europe. Now back in Nottingham, he runs his own atelier sessions on portrait, still life and landscape painting. Robin grew up in the UK and has lived and painted all over Europe. Painting in oils and from life, Robin has built up a large body of Realist work. He’s exhibited in the UK, France and Italy, carried out work for BBC’s Poldark, been short-listed for painting the Archbishop of Canterbury. His work has been exhibited in the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Royal Society of British Artists. He gets a huge creative boost from teaching atelier-style sessions, with collective learning in the tradition of old European art schools and notably work with survivors of PTSD, where art is an effective therapy for debilitating symptoms. Robin teaches regular portrait classes, weekend workshops, one to one tuition - or small groups. Through the SAA, these sessions are now available as a series of online workshops, with a discussion forum and individual feedback.

Rebecca is an accent and dialect coach working in film, television and theatre. She specialises in North American accents. Born and raised in the United States Rebecca studied acting at Northwestern University in Chicago before completing her MFA in Voice Studies from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama. She is a specialist in General/Standard American accents along with regional and ethnic accents of North America. She is also fluent in French. As a voice and dialect coach Rebecca has worked with a range of actors including Rhys Ifans, Ed Skrein, Richard Armitage,
Rob James-Collier, Maxine Peake, Lydia Wilson, Zahra Ahmadi, Adam Rothenberg and Joe McGann. Film & TV includes: Waiting for Anya (Bad Penny Productions), If Beale Street Could Talk (Annapurna Pictures), The Crown (Netflix), Berlin Station (Paramount Pictures Television), Tau (Netflix), Endeavour (ITV/Mammoth Screen) and Brain on Fire (Broad Green Pictures). Theatre includes: The Inheritance (Young Vic), Killer Joe (Trafalgar Studios), Fiddler on the Roof (Liverpool Everyman), All My Sons (Rose Theatre Kingston Hong Kong Tour), A View from the Bridge (Bristol Tobacco Factory) and Fool for Love (Found 111) She has also worked as a voice and dialect tutor at the Royal School of Speech & Drama, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, ArtsEd in London, East 15 Acting School, Trinity Laban Conservatoire, Fourth Monkey Actor Training Company and The Second City in Chicago.

Harry Burton is an actor, theatre director & film-maker. Born in London, Harry trained as an actor at the Central School. He later trained as a director with BBC Television. He has acted and directed in theatre, television, film and radio for over thirty years. He is the director of the Channel 4 documentary WORKING WITH PINTER, a film which offers unique access to Nobel Prize-winning playwright, Harold Pinter. Harry was a close friend & associate of Pinter’s and his session this Thursday (25th November) will offer rich insights into the exciting challenges of acting in Pinter’s plays.

Gary has been playing and teaching guitar & 5string banjo for nearly 20 years. During this time he has delved into various genres of music and studied the styles of some of the giants of blues, rock, country, funk & bluegrass. From this he has developed a sound that is unique to him and the goal is that his students will also carve out their own style while taking influence from their favourite players. Gary believes that as well as teaching a student ‘How’ to play something it is also important to look at ‘Why’ it is done in that way. He introduces students to some music theory to help them become a better musician, not just a better guitar or banjo player.

The artist Jules George was born in London in 1969. He studied fine art and illustration at Winchester School of Art, Staffordshire University and Edinburgh College of Art, where in 1997 he was awarded the Andrew Grant Bequest. He worked alongside Master Printmaker Alfons Bytautas at Edinburgh Printmakers from 1994-98 and was awarded the Marjorie Fields Award by Oxford Printmakers in 2005-06. His paintings and prints are based upon drawing and he has worked on a number of diverse projects and commissions. Subjects have ranged from the Scottish-African diaspora, auction houses, the Suffolk landscape, King’s Cross station and the study of a Thai-Burmese border crossing. Since 2019 he has been working with fused glass with the glass artist Brett Manley. In February 2010 Jules George visited Afghanistan officially sanctioned and sponsored by the Ministry of Defence on Herrick 11. He was attached primarily to 2 Yorks (Green Howards) also spending time with the Household Cavalry Regiment. Subsequently, he made trips to sea with the Royal Navy on operational deployments, including the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, Falkland Islands and Atlantic, on board Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll and Trafalgar class submarine HMS Tireless. He has exhibited widely, with notable solo exhibitions including ‘It’s No Palm Beach’ at the City Arts Centre, Edinburgh 2005, ‘Promenade’ at the Peter Pears Gallery, Aldeburgh 2008, ‘Into the Valley: Scenes of an Afghan Conflict’ at Bonhams, London 2011 and Bonhams, Edinburgh 2012 and ‘Weighing Anchor’ at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth 2014-15. His exhibition ‘Pipes & Drums’ at the Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh in September 2016, followed his work as official artist-in-residence at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2015. His portrait of actor Ewen Bremner is included in ‘The Modern Portrait’ exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery since 2018. His work has been commissioned and collected by numerous private and public organisations including Bonhams, City of Edinburgh Museums & Galleries, Laing O’Rourke, Leicestershire County Council, National Army Museum, National Museum of the Royal Navy, Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Southampton University, York Art Gallery and 101 Engineer Regiment (EOD), Royal Engineers. In collaboration with the filmmaker and cameraman John Walker he has made two short films about his experiences on operations with the armed forces: ‘In the Afternoon of Time’ 2010-11 and ‘East-West, West-East’ 2014. He has been included in various publications, most recently ‘Drawing Investigations: Graphic Relationships with Science, Culture and Environment’ Sarah Casey & Gerry Davies, Bloomsbury 2020. His first book ‘War Artists in Afghanistan – Beyond the Wire’ with a foreword by General The Lord Richards of Herstmonceux was published by ACC Art Books in 2016. It features the work of fellow artists Matthew Cook, Arabella Dorman, Doug Farthing & Mike Fay. Since 2011 Jules George has been a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers.

As a newcomer to poetry and writing Karl has made quite an impact with his very succinct and thought provoking style. Encouraged by Emma Willis MBE after he’d sent her a thank you poem, Karl’s work has been coveted by many. His work has included appearances at festivals and readings around the country. He is hugely passionate about encouraging other sufferers of mental issues to look toward the Arts as a means of therapy. He took part in the first Mayfair and St. James’s Literary Festival launched in November 2018, during which Karl performed his poem ‘ War not War’, alongside Alicia Vikander and Felicity Kendall, as part of the Josephine Hart Poetry Hour - Poetry of the Great War in St. James’s Church London, as well as being invited to read this powerful, short work on BBC Radio 3 during Remembrance week. BBC and Channel 4 News both covered Karl’s work shown at the 'Art in the Aftermath’ exhibition in Pall Mall, London, featuring a wall covered in hundreds of his poems titled ‘The Writings on the Wall’. Response to his work and requests for a book were so overwhelming that he has decided to publish ‘ Second Life’, an insight into the healing power of poetry produced with such urgency by this extraordinary man. Karl writes a poem almost every day and has written over 700 since he came to words as his healing. You can catch up with Karl by any of the following: karltearney@gmail.com Email @karltearney Facebook @karltearney Instagram @karltearney Twitter www.willowtreesociety.co.uk Webpage

Drew started acting some five years ago. He has appeared in productions at the National Theatre, the Young Vic, the Old Vic and Piccadilly Theatre, as well as with the Royal Shakespeare Company, among others. He was selected for the VAULT Festival New Writers Programme 2020 during which time he completed his first play script. He is currently on the Young Vic Neighbourhood Voices 2020 new writing programme and will have a monologue performed at the theatre in February 2021. Drew served as a navigator with the Royal Air Force for twelve years.

Teddy has worked in theatre for over 30 years. He spent 4 years as an actor/director/writer with Theatremobile, touring Lancashire during the 70s. He was then Artistic Director of Live Theatre Co (Newcastle) for 7 years, commissioning and directing over 20 new plays. Following on, he was Resident Director and then Artistic Director of The Albany Empire (London) for a further 7 years. He has also worked as a guest lecturer/director at Manchester Metropolitan University, LIPA, the Universty of Chester,  Glyndnwr University, and Birmingham City University. He launched the Post-Graduate Acting  course at E-15 acting school.  He directed large-scale site specific work for Test Department ( ‘The Unacceptable face of Freedom’) and ‘Nightflight’ (2010) for Germination, an  immersive production  that involved the audience traversing the Clwydian Hills in north Wales at night. TV direction includes ‘Operation Elvis’ and The Low Street’ for BBC North and documentaries on the Vietnam War for ORTF. Though principally a ’new writing ‘ director he has also directed Shakespeare, including a British Council ‘Landrover Tour’ of Macbeth through Ghana, Sierra Leone, Malawi and Namibia for the English Shakespeare Company and an acclaimed production of Romeo and Juliet at the Albany Empire, London.  Teddy served in the US Army with the 82nd Airborne Division before SF qualification and service with the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam. 

Leanne trained at London Studio Centre (BA Hons Theatre Dance) and The Actors Class. She has been a member of the Soldiers Arts Academy since 2018. Her work with the company includes Shakespeare & Remembrance (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Shakespeare's Globe), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare's Globe) and Soldier On (Wells Theatre Festival & Sheffield City Hall). Other credits include Hamlet, the Musical (Italian Tour), Thoroughly Modern Millie, Singin' in the Rain (Adelphi Theatre) and V For Victory (Stockwell Playhouse). Leanne runs her own professional jazz classes as well as teaching dance regularly at various schools and universities.

US Army, ’86-’93, Medic & Infantry Officer. Stephan left a career in the military for a life in the theatre after seeing Shakespeare’s Richard III. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Trinity Repertory Conservatory in Providence, Rhode Island. On Broadway, Stephan created and directed the military segments for Twyla Tharp and Billy Joel’s Tony-Award winning production Movin’ Out. He was a cast member in the long running hit Sense and Sensibility and appeared in the acclaimed production of Saint Joan produced by Bedlam in New York City. As an actor he has won multiple awards As an artistic leader, Stephan co-created the largest touring Shakespeare company in New England, directed and taught acting Shakespeare at Cornell University and at Antelope Valley College. The organizations he runs and the performances of his Shakespeare adaptations combine to share his passion for the idea that while we are very good at recruiting people into the military, we are far less skilled at de-cruiting them back into civilian life. Don Aucoin of the Boston Globe has said “Stephan Wolfert commits himself body and soul to that mission in Cry Havoc!, and the result is riveting.”