Working with Simon was an incredible experience and the highlight of my time at drama school. His creativity pulls from such unique points of inspiration and he knows exactly how to put them all together to create magic on stage. I really appreciated the way he knew how to get the very best out of you as an actor and artist with humor and warmth. He is an absolutely brilliant director and I will rush to see anything he creates in the future.

Simon blessed us with his nurturing and creative approach as a director and teacher. As a humble pedagogue, he allowed the creative process to be as much ours as his; encouraging both independence and team spirit. It was always a comfort to know that if we needed a direction, he would be there to give it, or if we needed help with the text, his encyclopedic knowledge would be there to back us up. His work was in constant evolution, always pushing us to our limits and never letting us rest on our laurels.

You made the place felt SAFE, you tried and succeed to include everybody, you never talked down to anybody, you gave us space to create, to come up with stuff on our own, you trusted our talent, you made the process fun, I felt that I was given the approval to play. We felt your passion, your consistency, your care and love for what we were creating together. The whole cohort came together in a completely different way. I saw [x] blazing with creativity and it was so fun and heartwarming to see him like that. I came out of this process with some faith restored in this whole acting business.

Working with Simon has been everything that I ever dreamed making theatre, and more specifically working on a Shakespeare play, would be like. Simon led us through an incredibly joyful, playful and inspiring process through which we were able to connect as an ensemble. It really felt like we were making a play together and that each of us was held by all the others. Simon’s ease and familiarity with Shakespeare’s words and rhythms was contagious and even enabled the few non-natives of us to own the text, and feel free to play with it.

Not only the process, but also the result! It felt very good to be in a play that I was so proud of. The staging was extremely inventive. I am both a little ashamed and proud to say that the closing image of the play made me cry almost every single time. (Who cries watching the play they’re in!).

You created such a fun, playful enjoyable rehearsal room. The rehearsal days were very structured which made us feel secure and held and safe and engaged . I learned so much from you and felt encouraged to explore the character and be fully in the scenes. You were respectful and kind and encouraging when giving notes. It really was a joy from beginning to end to work with you. You pulled out the very best from each of us which showed you cared for us individually in helping us achieve what we’re capable of. I’d love to work with you again, either if you teach a course or professionally.

It was a pleasure working with Simon. His great strength is creating a warm, open atmosphere and curating a rehearsal room in which an actor can feel comfortable experimenting and bringing their own ideas to the collaboration process. I learned a huge amount and would jump at the chance to do it again.

It was a joy to work with Simon. From the outset, he had a clear intent, but one that invited collaboration of all kinds, and one that stimulated thought and creativity rather than restrict it. The sense of play and child-like abandon he instilled in the room was, to me, essential, refreshing and even highly productive. Simon shares the great breadth and depth of his knowledge with those around him with a charming openness and humour. Ultimately, however, and simply, Simon created a working space that granted me and my fellow performers immense freedom and inspiration.

I had such an empowering experience working with Simon. He made Shakespeare feel totally accessible to me. I never felt like I could play with Shakespeare text before, but after the work with Simon, I felt I was approaching it the same way I would any other text. It felt like it was mine.  He brought the group together and created a sense of joy and trust. We weren’t afraid to fail, to experiment and to play. No idea was too wild to try. Thoroughly loved the whole experience from day 1.

Working under the leadership of Simon and his team has been a privilege. He constantly strived for keeping the process dynamic, alive and underlined that with bringing his own up-beat energy into the rehearsal space. Resting and stagnating on an earlier idea is just not on his menu.

Thank you so much for everything, I cannot express enough how much Pericles really was one of the biggest highlights of my training and it was an absolute honour to work with you.

My ability as a performer has grown so much whilst under your command, ranging from my acting technique to my own personal ability to read and understand text. It feels like Shakespeare has opened up to me in a way I had never felt before.

Working with you on Shakespeare provoked me to think in many different directions. You really opened new doors for me through which I found the right paths for my work on this genius playwright. The knowledge I received from you is invaluable.

Simon Scardifield has a way of teaching Shakespeare that engages, inspires and pushes students of all levels. Whether experienced in Shakespeare’s works or not, through a process of guidance, support and experimental play, each actor who works with Simon leaves his classes richer.

Simon is a wonderful teacher, with an amazing ability to make each individual student feel seen and listened to. His approach to teaching is attentive and forever focussed, whilst simultaneously fostering a laid-back atmosphere within the classroom.

… exactly the kind of work that I wanted to be doing. You’re an amazing teacher. I feel like I’ve learned so much from you and you’ve fundamentally shifted the way I approach acting.

Being give the space to focus on “the game” of scenes was such a gift and made our term of exploration and learning completely joyful. Thank you so much Simon!!!

Great detail mixed with great fun!

Fun, active, interesting

Thought-provoking and mindful sessions

Simon has incredible knowledge and I learned a lot. Approached text work in a new way.

Simon has hugely helpful advice for breaking down the text.

Simon’s insights were so, so helpful for understanding the language and its purpose.

Simon always gave us diverse tools to nurture and give muscle to what we said. And his games always reminded the aliveness it’s gotta have.

What a fluid and unique approach that was useful and personal.

Just brilliant. I hope I’ll be able to get so much out of any text one day.