• About us • About Our Fights • Our Workshops & Courses
• Our Certification Courses • On our work in Schools

About us

Thank you for the opportunity to teach, it was fun and a great excuse to meet you both.  Your students were very attentive, positive and easy to work with, which is a reflection on their instructors. I look forward to seeing you again in December. Take care, Jared Kirby

A note to thank yourself, Rachel and the team for being such excellent hosts. I had a good time at the workshop and congratulate RC-Annie for thinking outside the box. My best, Tony Wolf

Dear RC's, Can I just say - all your efforts seem to be paying off, I think the site, your emails, classes etc etc are looking spunky and hot. Thanks for doing what you are doing and keep up the amazing work.
love and respect. SCOTT WITT, MFA. Australia. Artistic Director, Combat Circus www.combatcircus.com

Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of working with Ruth and Rachel frequently. I’ve known Rachel for six years now, and Ruth for five. It is always a joy when I can work with either of them. Skilled, kind, and considerate, they are both excellent teachers and collaborators. I love to work with truly creative people, especially people who have a sense of themselves and a sense of humor about themselves. Rachel and Ruth fit that description to a T. I highly
recommend them to you. Lloyd Caldwell. USA

Over the past five years I have had the pleasure of working with Ruth and Rachel during several of my London seminar tours. Both women combine a serious work ethic with a sincere enthusiasm for stage combat in all its forms - like their own teaming, this is a potent combination. I look forward to seeing what the future brings to RC-Annie."
Tony Wolf, New Zealand

Thanks so much for your work on Sunday. You guys were amazing! It made such a huge difference to the performance (and how hard we had to work) working with experienced actors that knew what they were doing and could turn it on and off like the two of you could. Thanks so much Chris Stones London Film School Student

I just wanted to say thank you. That was the most fun I’ve ever had in a church. Also, please pass on thanks to your team, they were all really amazing... Especially Ivan. He gave me quite a few little tips that helped a lot. Gareth Brough (Orc, Born Of Hope Feature Film)

Our Fights

I want to say thanks for all your work - I never tire of watching the swordfight and I think the fight captains are well-chosen, they're doing a very good job and are obviously passionate about the fight. Thanks again, I would certainly use RC-Annie again. If ever you fancy a trip to the park, just give me a shout :-)  Daniel Wood. Creative Manager, Entertainments and Events Alton Towers

Hello everyone, thanks a million for the shoot this weekend. It was a fantastic experience and I will always remember it.  A special thank you to RC-Annie for the amazing choreography. It has been a dream for me to perform a sword fighting sequence. Ever since I watched Highlander as a kid I have wanted to do this and you have made it possible and done so in style. Maybe one day I will be the only one!  The orcs - what can I say about the orcs - beautiful!
An excellent job on the movement and timing to assist me as I am inexperienced in the stage combat realm and you all put me to shame. Ade, The Hunt For Gollum

Just a quick follow-up to say thank you very much for your services on Monday, it was as entertaining as well as informative and I think it has given the cast much more confidence with those scenes as well as adding to the quality of the production as a whole. I hope we have the chance to work together again in future.
Thanks, Mike Shephard

Please would you convey our thanks to Tom & Ian for their very entertaining and informative combat last night. Everyone enjoyed the spectacle, which was much remarked upon. They helped the evening run very successfully. Thanks again. Demetri Walters. Berry Bros. & Rudd

Dear Rachel, I can't wait to recommend you to other directors! I found you a very valuable member of the team the day you were with us - and I know the actors did too. I'm just sorry it was all so tight for time - I know that the actors felt much more secure with your help! I will definitely be using you again! Thanks and kind regards, Jane Foster (Director Gracie 23 Films)

King Lear
Review taken from The Stage 20 October 2006

…Gangster suits, throbbing motorbikes and a horribly realistic punch-up between Edward and Edga… But the comparison underlines effectively the thuggish brutality of the villains, notably in a painfully protracted eye-gouging scene and, under Jennifer Lunn’s lucid direction, this production achieves great clarity of meaning and direct emotional appeal…

Of Mice and Men
Review taken from The Stage 9th Oct 06

…three action moments raise the dramatic temperature, starting with a brilliantly staged fight between Lennie and Tom Lewis as the mean-spirited Curley. The key scene comes as Lennie cradles Curley’s young wife and accidentally breaks her neck as he tries to restrain her. Emma Barnett with pretty legs and a wrap-over scarlet gown is well cast as the girl whose foolish dreams are of Hollywood romance. Finally, the closing moments as George calms Lennie before shooting him in the back of the head - the litmus test for this play - offers both poignancy and resolution, while keeping sentimentality firmly at bay.

 Romeo and Juliet
Review taken from The Stage 22nd Nov 06

…There is violence in profusion with fists flying, knife battles, revolvers brandished and fired and bodies carried off stage. Plus, of course, the double deaths of the young couple. And not a doublet in sight….the deaths of the pair on a bare stage makes for a truly dramatic finale…

Our Workshops and Courses

Thank you for this. Once again a fantastic session, thank you for your dedication and passion. Our feedback and evaluation forms showed just how much the young people enjoyed your work. I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Best Wishes and I hope this week is a little less manic, Victoria Nunn. Sutton Council

Just wanted to say thanks for a brilliant weekend, I had a really great time and just want to keep learning and doing more of it now (well, once my body has recovered that is!)  Will defo be coming by to bug you at future workshops!! Anyway, think I've finally managed to get all the blood off so am now going to go and rest my aching limbs!! lol!

Thanks so much.  Yesterday was really great - interesting, clear and has given me the confidence to work with our guns but also to manage the handling of them, by the rest of  my team!! Cheers!! Meryl Couper. Company Stage Manager. Royal & Derngate

Alberto was brilliant, and as usual I really enjoyed the workshop.  I thought it was really useful to go right back the basics of rapier, but also with starting afresh on a slightly different page. To be honest though I did find it really useful - as I always had been feeling quite clumsy using the actual rapiers after switching from the foils or epee blades...  mainly becuase I think I tried using the wrist too much.  So this has really helped.

I was delighted when RC-Annie agreed to be facilitating directors for a session of the 16 hour all-improv Dramathon at the Roundhouse Studios this summer, and they exceeded my expectations, delivering a two and a half hour stage combat workshop with charm, massive commitment and consummate skill.  They also had a great but completely unobtrusive responsibility to the sixty or so young people charging about safely under their tutelage.  There was a moment when I looked down into the space and saw a rolling, kicking, laughing, punching, groaning and joyful totally controlled brawl going on, and knew that the young people were loving every second of it.   (Comments book provided hard evidence later). I very much look forward to working with RC-Annie again. Laline Paull. Artistic Director
ROUNDHOUSE STUDIOS DRAMATHON 2006.

I thought it was a great chance for tutors, experienced fighters and newcomers to get together and swap skills, views and ideas I loved Tony's session on sorting out a fantasy fighting style, it was really thought provoking.  I thought that his way of sorting out partnerships worked well because it put the onus on the experienced people to work with the inexperienced ones and I thought some great ideas came out of the mix, it was lovely to see just how many different things we could all come up with from one starting point. Sam

 I just wanted to say thank you very much for an excellent workshop! I really enjoyed it and picked up lots of very useful infomation. Now I just need to convince the director I'm working with next that we really need a blank firing handgun in the show!! Thanks again, Matthew Llewellyn Smith

Thank you so much for running the workshop. The lads all enjoyed themselves and learnt a great deal too!!! Coming from a non-teaching background (I’m still in denial and I’ll break free of the institution soon!) I wanted to ensure that any workshops I arrange for the students are of industry standard, rather then a ‘workshop for schools’; so I was delighted with the level of quality you both provided. You both have a really positive and supportive style to your facilitating which was clearly evident in the way the boys responded to you and what they achieved in such a short time. Top stuff!!! Do let me know of any events/workshops in the future and, like I said, if I can’t organise a group I’ll certainly pass any details on to the individual lads. Thanks again. Keep smiling! Mark

Just wanted to say thanks very much for Saturday - everyone really enjoyed it.  Everyone said the mix of workshops worked really well..And the only injury of the day was caused by the inflatable parrot ! Regards Matt Ray

Thanks Very much for the weekend. Everyone was really friendly as usual and the chance to 'network' down the pub afterward didn't go amiss. The boarding axe and cutlass, kabala and the cube and everything were excellent. I feel like i learned something cool there. And i got to prance about pretend to be a pirate and Inigo Montoya. What more could you want? Brilliant weekend. Thanks very much.

I just wanted to thank you and your assistant personally for taking part in the dramathon at The Roundhouse last week. The stage combat was a huge success and everyone had a great day. Many Thanks Kind regards Andrea

            I just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU to all at rc-annie, Ruth i feel very honoured to have started stage combat with both  yours and rachel`s company. I have felt very comfortable there and the all the people you have on board are amazing. For all that are receiving this email i have learnt so much from all of you and have taken something on board from everyone.  Lewis Thank you for your patience , support and Fab choreography!!!!!!
Minna - thanks for assisting - i cant believe how much you took on in such a short space of time , you are a true credit to rc-annie and will be a great teacher. Thanks again guys we should have a get together ..one which i will attend this time. Have a nice xmas and a fab new year. Kelly. X

Rachel and all the Annies - thank you once again for a terrific session at the Dramathon yesterday, and your very welcome feedback.  It was extremely popular, and a great vent for their energy. Well done to all of you, and a great pleasure to work with you again. best wishes. Laline, Roundhouse

I am aching from top to toe, just to really let me know how long it is since I worked on a fight, choreographing just doesn't hurt in the same way!

I was trying to work out which were my favourite sessions, I reckon the highlights of what was a superb collection of sessions were Kev's Film Fighting, Lewis's Nasty Group Fights, Tony's Fantasy Fight and Marcello's Medieval Fighting.  Of course. Overall I thought each session was well thought out, engaging, giving everyone a chance to work on things and either provide a good recap or the challenge of learning something new.  It was lovely to have such a mix of tutors, all with a different style of teaching and areas of expertise.

Kev was great fun, as and always is lewis.  The Fantasy fight was actually very insightful and has given me a lot to think about in terms of how to approach characters in different ways or pre-fight blocking.  The variety of the course was good and also the mix of people attending was great.  so many people with experience which i think was a great benefit to those who were inexperienced but willing.  Again to see how a variety of fight directors work was also very interesting and can only benefit anyone wanting to learn different but equally relevant approaches to choreography and teaching. Really enjoyed it. Thomas Matthews

I thought the combat workshop was superb and thought the way you broke everything down into simple moves and ideas was easily understandable - even to the most sedentary of those present!  I had some good feedback from people but have included a comment from Terry Underwood (Tudor Gunner) - Many thanks for the workshop last night, thought RC Annie were excellent both instructive and very enjoyable plus being thought provoking! Hope you have a good season and look forward to seeing you again. Cassie Horton Jersey Heritage Trust.

Just wanted to say a quick thank you for the breakables workshop last week.  I had a lot of fun and learnt a lot of stuff I was unaware of. Good luck with the rest of your classes and I hope our paths cross again :-) Cheers  Philip d’orlean.

OOOOOHHHH MY GOOOOOHHHHDDDD.... Thanks so much for putting on the weekend - I had a thoroughly great time. HANDGUNS: just generally cool!  No, seriously, very useful info. FANTASY FIGHTING: really, really enjoyable.  At the start, I was quite intimidated by, you know, having to actually make up something myself (he he), but I think Tony explained it really well, and it was quite a buzz to start to explore the possibilities of forming a new fighting style.  Also got a lot out of this in that it made me think more about noticing different fighting styles in each new stage combat situation - in terms of characterization, background/setting etc. - rather than just  performing generalized 'moves' in each combat routine I do. BLOOD AND GUTS: yeah, BRILLIANT.  REAAAAAAALLLLLYY enjoyed this.  Ruth was very clear (and patient!), and it was really great to be able to play and experiment.  Definitely found that I took a lot away from this class.   Everything was organized really well though, and the whole weekend had a very positive feel. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

I sent one of my employees on your course last weekend and he has come back raving about it. He loved it and will be attending many of your courses in the future (as will other members of staff). Bryan Knights Gone By

It was a great weekend, the opportunity to study different styles of fighting and learning new skills outside the pressure of a fight exam. The wrestling and film fights were a personal favorite. I loved the messy group fight but, as with every actor combatant, would have loved more punches for myself! A brilliant chance to play. I though pricewise and location was more than fine, the hall itself is a great space. I loved the workshops.  The Fantasy fight was actually very insightful and has given me a lot to think about in terms of how to approach characters in different ways or pre-fight blocking.  The variety of the course was good and also the mix of people attending was great. So many people with experience which i think was a great benefit to those who were inexperienced but willing.  Again to see how a variety of fight directors work was also very interesting and can only benefit anyone wanting to learn different but equally relevant approaches to choreography and teaching.Really enjoyed it, so thanks.

Just a note to thank yourself, Rachel and the team for being such excellent hosts. I had a good time at the workshop and congratulate RC-Annie for thinking outside the box. Tony Wolf

Mounted Combat - I had a wonderful weekend. The tuition was expert and patient, a great deal of fun and well worth every penny. The surroundings were beautiful, as were the horses and hospitality was warm and friendly. This was enormous fun, and dead educational; I have discovered all sorts of muscles I never noticed before, and none of them are good enough. The generosity and tolerance shown by both horses and humans all weekend was faultless, and the teachers at my local riding school say I have obviously learnt a lot - they just wish I'd keep both hands on the reins more! Thanks ever so for setting this up. Real highlight of the year. Keith Hill.

This year's Bexleyheath School Arts Festival hosted the brand new production 'A Violent History', from the RC-Annie Company. The production was a complete hit with both pupils and staff. The audience was captured from beginning to end, and the pupil interaction was a pleasure to watch. The expert organization from the RC-Annie Company was as always superb.

Just wanted to say Thanks for the opportunity to work with you and Rachel at The Horde. I had a great time and enjoyed the chance to teach some new students. I hope they enjoyed and that we get the chance to do it again soon.
Cheers Bret Yount . Master Teacher for the BASSC, Equity Fight Director and American Fight Director.

Our Certification Courses

On Friday evening I may have forgotten to fully express my sincere gratitude towards you and your team. I had a fantastic time over the two weeks we spent together, and was inspired not just by the subject-matter but also from working with people as committed and passionate as your selves. I would recommend these courses and the work you do to anyone. (I'm not trying to get a discount or anything I promise!). I really enjoyed the course we did and am determined to get more than just a pass on the next one! Cheers David Pibworth Theatre Producer and Director. Member of The Guild Of British Directors and Equity.

Just a quick note to thank you for a brilliant week! Really challenging and really worth while! Though I feel I need to sleep for a week now! You & Claire were a great team and I feel I learned a great deal in the short time we had!
Just wanted to say i have really enjoyed stage combat and really wanted to thank you and claire for helping me pass so thanks for all your expertises!!!!!!!!!!

Firstly thank you very much, I enjoyed the course greatly which comes as no surprise as I found Rc-Annie and it’s instructors amazingly supportive the last time I did a course. I am most definitely going to continue my studies with yourselves when the time becomes available. You are all wonderful people who are supportive, patient and down to earth with a sense of humour! Something which calms and makes the learning process a lot more enjoyable! You are all fantastic! As tutors but also as people! And as I’m rambling now, much love and take care. Ian Wych

Hi, Really enjoyed the course. I think the staff are really friendly and easy to approach. Ive learnt so much and have improved greatly Thanks Kellie

Wow! What can say!? These last two weeks have been a great adventure! I have enjoyed it from day one and I don’t want it to end:-( I have my fingers crossed tightly that you guys return next year, I will definitely keep in touch and try to come to London to further my education in stage combat!! - Joshua Bartley

It’s been a blast. I have learnt more in these two weeks than I have in a year. It’s been great. Swords + dagger + fists + feet = Good time. You’ve all been amazing you’ve helped me to learn technique and how to battle safely. I’m
grateful that you came down and gave us all a chance. THANK YOU. Adam

Thank you so much for such a fantastic 2 weeks. Really was brilliant! I’ve learnt so much in so little time.
I’ll definitely be doing some more workshops with you down in London (gun handling sounds awesome) Really hope to do level 2 with you, maybe next year! I just can’t believe the time has gone so quickly. Rachel and Ruth you’ve taught me so much over the last 2 weeks. Thank you you for all the help you’ve given me. I’ll see you both in London. Thanks again. Andrew xx

The pace was excellent as was the feedback, advice and coaching. great location, another fantastic course. Brilliant
Anthony

On our work in Schools

I have used Rc-Annie on a number of occasions to deliver workshops in schools across London. I have always been impressed with the organization of the company and their fight directors. They have proved to be a reliable and enthusiastic team who deliver workshops of a high standard in an understandable and thoroughly enjoyable way. Feedback from the schools is always very positive, and they are always left wanting more!
Nicola Brookstein. Caboodle.

Just wanted to thank you for the workshop you ran here.  The students have been full of it and are working hard to incorporate some of the ideas into their Wild West Unit.  Both the sessions you ran were fun and informative and we shall certainly use you in the future. With kind regards, Maureen

Thanks for your email. Our production of Macbeth was a great success (5 trophies and awards at national competition). We will, no doubt, be needing your services again at some stage and I would not hesitate to call on your services again. It was a great success, Best wishes in your new venture, Kimberley Venables

If you would like to gives us your feedback on any of our workshops or classes
then please email it to info@rc-annie.com