Richard Delaney - Acting Coach

Richard Delaney - Acting Coach Richard is an ActIng Coach, Trainer and Movement Director. Training: The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, Richard trained as an Actor at The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts under full scholarship. He graduated with a First Class BA (Hons) [Acting Option] (validated by the University of East Anglia) and a Professional Diploma In Acting (Trinity College London). Having worked professionally as an Actor for over a decade, Richard's body of work has begun to diversify, taking on employment as a Movement Director and Actor Trainer. In 2017, to refine his skills as a Pedagogue and Coach, Richard commenced study of a MA in Actor Training and Coaching at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (University of London). He is a founding member of The Faction Theatre Company (a physical theatre company dedicated to performing classical texts with a contemporary aesthetic) - a company which he helped to set up - and for many years was a member of their Core Ensemble. While performing with The Faction, the Company won both The Peter Brook Best Ensemble Award (in conjunction with The New Diorama Theatre, where for a number of years the Company had a residency as an Associate Ensemble) and a Best Ensemble Award from OffWestEnd.com for their critically acclaimed production of Mary Stuart. Richard's work has taken him throughout the UK and as far afield as Malaysia and the Middle East. This work, along with experience with Repertory Companies across the UK (from Weekly Rep Seasons with Charles Vance, to Classical Outdoor Productions with Guildford Shakespeare Company, to more established models such as Pitlochry Festival Theatre), saw a keen interest in Complicity, Physical Storytelling, Game & the nature of "Ensemble Play". This interest led him to working further in the areas of new writing through devising - predominantly with The New Diorama working with its Artistic Director, David Byrne. His body of work along with a fascination with process & craft has greatly informed his praxis as a Trainer and Facilitator. Richard's main interest lies within Primary Training with particular emphasis on Play, Pure Movement, Game, Impulse and Intention. In his own work he is continually exploring concepts of play versus mischief; empathy versus imagination; vulnerability versus availability; communication and engagement theory. Specific genres of theatre that interest him are New Writing and Devising; Shakespeare and Heightened Text; Physical Metaphor; Sturm und Drang (with a particular emphasis on Schiller's early work). In his work as a Trainer, Richard is greatly influenced by Lecoq, Saint Denis, Stanislavski, Chekhov, Mamet - and more recently, Viewpoints. His strong interest in Play is leading him to further research the notion of "The Child" in Actor Training and its use to free the Performer.

What an awesome day.Today we welcomed the new first year cohort onto BA (Hons) Acting: Contemporary and Devised (BA Acti...
28/09/2026

What an awesome day.

Today we welcomed the new first year cohort onto BA (Hons) Acting: Contemporary and Devised (BA Acting CDT) at Royal Central London properly — and into the training itself.

It’s always a nervy moment. Months of deliberating tiny adjustments and minute decisions, all in the hope of assembling an ensemble that can collaborate effectively, complement each other, and get the best out of each other across three years of actor training. Nothing feels certain, and everything remains hypothetical — until you have everyone in a room together.

And today was that day. And let me tell you, it was an absolute delight.

My first day at drama school — some twenty odd years ago now — is still permanently etched in my memory. The nerves, the excitement, the curiosity, the sense of possibility. All of that lies ahead of them. And that’s what education — and arts education so specifically — has to be about. Not just the creation of people who are sent to entertain, but the cultivation of people who dare to exist differently in this world.

Training is taking place in a difficult landscape, and there’s much to navigate. But it’s moments like today that remind you why you do it.

Welcome to the new cohort, who now begin the work of finding their identity as an ensemble, and of joining a wider community. We are so very glad to have you with us.

We don’t normally celebrate lateness — but this is an absolute exception.Incoming second year BA Acting CDT student Test...
28/09/2026

We don’t normally celebrate lateness — but this is an absolute exception.

Incoming second year BA Acting CDT student Testimony Adegbite will be returning to term a little later than his cohort, and for the very best of reasons: he has secured a professional engagement and is currently performing in .segal’s ANTIGONE EXITS directed by Jeff James at Chichester Festival Theatre, which previewed this weekend and runs for the next few weeks.

I’m looking forward to seeing the production next weekend, and I know everyone across CDT and Royal Central London will be wishing him well.

Whilst individual commitment to training is paramount, we will always endeavour to find ways to make the experience during training as full as possible — and that may include creating space for students to take on professional work of this calibre outside the building. It’s exactly what makes training within institutions like Central so valuable. The industry and the training aren’t separate worlds. They never should be.

We look forward to welcoming Testimony back once the run is complete.

As freshers week draws to a close, it’s been a genuinely exciting few days at Royal Central London.Last week saw us welc...
25/09/2026

As freshers week draws to a close, it’s been a genuinely exciting few days at Royal Central London.

Last week saw us welcome back third year BA Acting CDT students for their industry induction and showreel preparation — with filming beginning today. This week, a new first year cohort arrived in the building for the very first time, and watching them find their feet, get to know each other, and bring their excitement and curiosity into the space has been a real joy.

Next week, the work begins in earnest — and I couldn’t be more excited about where the term takes us. Looking forward to welcoming back familiar practitioners and bringing some new ones into the building for the first time.

(Also — always nice to spot a little CDT representation in the welcome banner.)

Thrilled that Mark Ravenhill is joining us at Royal Central London as Professor of Professional Practice — and will be t...
25/09/2026

Thrilled that Mark Ravenhill is joining us at Royal Central London as Professor of Professional Practice — and will be teaching on BA Acting CDT within the Performance Department.

Mark is one of the most significant and provocative playwrights working in British theatre. His seminal body of work — from Shopping and Fu***ng to Mother Clap’s Molly House, pool (no water) and The Cane — has fundamentally shaped the trajectory of contemporary British theatre, and his reach as a writer, theatre maker, and industry leader is extraordinary.

He joins fellow Professors of Professional Practice Katie Mitchell OBE and Winsome Pinnock — and together they represent something genuinely remarkable about what Central is, and what it stands for.

We couldn’t be more excited to have him in the building.

Took a little detour on the way home after intentionally staying on the train (intentionally) to give me self an early e...
24/09/2026

Took a little detour on the way home after intentionally staying on the train (intentionally) to give me self an early evening stroll after spending a lot of time glued to the computer to get everything ready ahead of skills training commencing next week, welcoming back the second years, and ushering the first years into their training proper.

It was nice to clear my head for a bit, and to turn a corner to see this DRAMA!!

As the trees reach for their final days of sunshine before autumn sets in, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama ...
21/09/2026

As the trees reach for their final days of sunshine before autumn sets in, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama appeared to be hiding behind the leaves today. But whatever its humility from the outside — obscured behind leaves and late summer light — it was not matched within the building, which seemed to have found a new beating heart, a new surge of adrenaline, as the academic year resets and freshers week begins.

There wasn’t a corner of the building not infected with curiosity and a giddy jubilance. That mixture of nerves and excitement, rustling through the corridors — it’s one of the most quietly thrilling things to witness.

As the year progresses and tiredness inevitably sets in — for staff and students alike — it’s easy to lose sight of these moments. Where dreams have been realised. Where possibility feels like it’s everywhere. I place this image here as a reminder to myself as much as anyone else: that whenever the work feels heavy, I need to remember what a joy it is to do this job, and how lucky we are to be cultivating a new generation of artists each and every year.

I said this was going to be the year of joy. Joy is exactly what we felt in the building today. And our challenge — as educators, trainers, pedagogues, practitioners, artists — is not only to advance the learning, but to keep working for that joy, each and every day.

Fantastic to have David Thackeray in with us again yesterday at Royal Central London, kicking off the third year BA Acti...
17/09/2026

Fantastic to have David Thackeray in with us again yesterday at Royal Central London, kicking off the third year BA Acting CDT students’ intimacy journey with a tight focus on industry-readiness. A thorough scaffolding of practice and procedure relating to intimacy is vital on the programme — ensuring students are informed, empowered, and able to self-advocate.

What’s a particular joy about getting David back is not only his active practice in the industry — fresh from Simon Stone’s The Oresteia at the Bridge Theatre — nor his impressive CV (Black Doves, Day of the Jackal, The White Lotus, Dune: Prophecy, S*x Education, Heartstopper, Speak No Evil, The Crown) — but the fact that he is also an alum of the programme. Finding ways in which the practice of those who have been through the training can feed back into it is a real gift: cultivating community, contextualising the work, and keeping practice compassionate to the student journey whilst remaining attuned to the contemporary sector.

As we move through the data that shapes our thinking for the year ahead, it’s always reassuring to see the metrics that ...
15/09/2026

As we move through the data that shapes our thinking for the year ahead, it’s always reassuring to see the metrics that matter most reflecting the strength of the work.

Last year’s cohort from BA Acting CDT achieved 100% representation sign-up — every single graduating student leaving with an agent.

It’s always a tricky metric to talk about. It’s not something we can guarantee, and it doesn’t define the nature of the training. But we’d be naive not to acknowledge that so many students arrive at drama school with that goal firmly in mind — and that achieving it sets them off with an incredibly strong footing in the industry. It builds a reputation. It sustains one.

What it is, above all else, is a testament to the students themselves, to the quality of the training, and to Kelly Clare — Royal Central London’s industry liaison — who works tirelessly to build and maintain relationships and to ensure every student feels seen and supported throughout that journey. Kelly is invaluable, and we are incredibly lucky to have her.

📸 on the Left, taken from GRIMM TALES, 2026: Cam Harle | Headshots | London

Last week I went to see an R&D presentation of Corey Fah Does Social Mobility, an adaptation of ’s work — one of the fir...
15/09/2026

Last week I went to see an R&D presentation of Corey Fah Does Social Mobility, an adaptation of ’s work — one of the first outings of , the new theatre company started by .

I always love seeing work at this stage. There’s something about the rawness and possibility of R&D that a finished production can’t replicate — and this collection of ideas around Waidner’s writing was genuinely exciting to encounter.

It felt particularly poignant to be there, knowing that Royal Central London / BA Acting CDT had been able to collaborate with Rachel earlier in the process — creating a small space for some pre-R&D work that helped inform this moment. I feel passionately that industry and education need to find these points of collaboration wherever they can. Both are in need of support. Both are in need of resources. Where there is symbiotic benefit to be found, that has to be the sweet spot.

I take seriously the responsibility of creating genuine industry connections for students — not just within training, but ones that carry the potential to extend beyond it. Developing those relationships is increasingly important, both pedagogically and professionally.

And more than all of that — it was a joy to see a couple of familiar faces in the room, and the adaptation has done what all good adaptations should: made me desperately want to read the book.

Keep your eyes peeled for whatever Verve produces next!

What a joy it was to welcome this lot back into the building today for the first day of their third year. The building h...
14/09/2026

What a joy it was to welcome this lot back into the building today for the first day of their third year. The building has felt empty without them.

Now the work begins again — and I couldn’t be more excited about what this year holds in store for this talented group.

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