RC-Annie provides the following Fight services: • Fight Choreography for Theatre and Film • Tailored Performances for Corporate Events and Festivals • Themed Educational Workshop for Schools, Drama Schools and    Local Authorities • Regular BADC certification classes • S’Blood supply Blood FX

Rachel C Bown-Williams Rachel has a fighting history! At the tender age of 8 she began her instruction in Shotokan Karate. After attaining a 1st Dan Black Belt she trained as an Actress at Rose Bruford College. She was then apprenticed as a Fight Assistant and gained her BADC qualified Teacher status. Rachel works as a Fight Teacher, Choreographer and Performer. With experience spanning Film and Theatre, Rachel is passionate about fighting and its potential not only to teach discipline but also to thrill and delight audiences.

Ruth Cooper-Brown Ruth has had a wide and varied career to date. She began her fighting career 16 years ago as Maid Marian in Historical Entertainment, an invaluable experience, which lead to Variety and Circus side show acts, working as a Magician’s Assistant and Fortune Teller. This combined with her backstage experience and work as an actress has informed, and still influences, her present work as a BADC Accredited Fight Teacher and a Fight Co-ordinator.

WHY RC-Annie? (In case you were wondering)
RC? One lost afternoon in Exeter Rachel and Ruth dreamt of starting their own Fight Company. But what shall we call it, Ruth asked. Haven’t a clue, Rachel responded. After hours of thought and not much inspiration, the Fighting Girls put down their swords and decided to make things a little simpler. Both Rachel and Ruth have the initials RC and between you and I they can be a little RC, in the other sense, only never tell them that because they could very well do you a lot of damage!
And who on earth is Annie?? Well, Annie is Rachel and Ruth’s mascot for the spirit of every Female Warrior, something that both Rachel and Ruth share.
Brilliant, shouted Ruth… RC-Annie. Hurrah, screamed Rachel.
RC-Annie was born………………

RC Feedback

On our work in Schools • Our Workshops & Courses
Our work at the Roundhouse • Our Certification Courses
About Our Shows • About Horde • About us • About our Fights

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

Our Workshops and Courses

Industry Intensive 2007 Feedback

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 characterisation, background/setting etc. - rather than just  performing generalised '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 organised 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

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.
Victoria Nunn of the Sutton Youth Drama Festival Weekend

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... Claire and Josh.. .even though i never got to work with you this time i was very lucky to have you both assisting when I first began and Josh through my level 1 I leant so much from the pair of you…even the dodgy foot work. Simon ... even though i never worked with you john had nothing but praise to say about you.
(Student) Kelly Downes

________

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'Orleans

Many thanks for the workshop last night, thought RC Annie were excellent both instructive and very enjoyable plus being thought provoking!

I thought the combat workshop was superb and thought the way you broke everything down into simple moves and ideas was easily understandable.  Cassie Horton, Jersey Heritage Trust.

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.

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 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'

Our work at the Roundhouse

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

You were great, thanks!
Elizabeth Lynch
Roundhouse Studios 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!!!!!!!!!!

About Horde

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.

About us

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)

About our Fights

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…

_________________

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)

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