Date: February 16th
Location: Diorama Arts Centre, 201 Drummond Street, Regents Place, London, NW1 3FE
Time: 10.00 - 17.00

Royal Shakespeare Company Director and Cheek by Jowl Associate Director Owen Horsley, leads a workshop for professional actors on Shakespeare with a twist...

The task is simple - participants are asked to bring a Shakespeare speech of the opposite sex to work on for the workshop.

As more exciting choices continue to be made in the industry regarding gender it is offering many more possibilities for casting and for Shakespeare. This workshop will not only provide the actor with an accessible approach to Shakespeare but also allow the actor to challenge themselves by working on a speech that challenges and excites them... and hopefully a character that they might be able to play in the future.

Horsley's approach to classical text is all about unlocking the clues with the text and finding a rhythm and freedom in verse speaking.

Owen trained at Drama Centre London on the BA directing course taught by Di Trevis.

Owen was Associate Director on the RSC King and Country Tour and worked with Artistic Director Gregory Doran on Richard II and Henry IV Part 1 and 2 and Henry V from 2013-16. Other RSC Directing credits are The Famous Victories of Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Garsington Opera and in 2017 he will be directing Oscar Wilde’s Salome in The Swan Theatre. Owen is also an Associate Director for Cheek by Jowl. He was Assistant Director to Declan Donnellan on The Changeling (2006) Cymbeline (2007), Troilus and Cressida (2008), Macbeth (2009-11) and ‘Tis Pity she’s a Whore (2011-13) becoming Associate Director in 2010. Owen Co-Directed the 2013 Tour of Tis Pity.

In 2008 Owen formed Eyestrings Theatre Company with his production of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II at St Andrew’s Crypt in Holborn. Further work with Eyestrings include In Bed With Messalina (Courtyard Theatre) See What I See (St Clements Mental Hospital) and The Duchess of Malfi (Southwark Playhouse and UK Tour).

Other directing credits include The Two Noble Kinsmen (RWCMD) Outside on the Street (Edinburgh Fringe and Arcola) Antony and Cleopatra, Lysistrata, As you Like it (Guildhall School of Music and Drama) and Hungry Heart (RADA). Owen also works extensively in Europe. He has led workshops in Spain, Italy, Luxembourg and France. Owen’s first Spanish production, The Malcontent, opened at the Almagro Festival in August 2011 before transferring to Madrid.