IT was fantastic to welcome Dr Helen Eastman, writer and director of theatre, opera and film, into school to host our fourth Senior Theatre Masterclass of the term.
Helen’s workshop focused on Greek chorus in modern performance – perfect for whetting the students’ appetite for next term’s production of Euripides’ ‘Medea’.
Helen trained as a theatre director at LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art), after graduating from the University of Oxford in Classics and English. She has a Doctorate in Classics from King’s College London.
As a librettist, she has written commissions for Hackney Music Trust, W11, The London Children’s Choir and Aldeburgh Jubilee. Many of her poems have been set to music, most recently ‘Helium’ premiered by the BBC Singers.
She has directed work for companies including English Touring Opera, Cork Opera House, Opera Theatre Company, City of London Festival, The National Theatre Studio, Circus Space, RADA and Delphi International Festival, and her work has been seen at venues including Trafalgar Studios, Soho Theatre, Birmingham Rep, Warwick Arts Centre and Glasgow Citz.
From 2010 to 2016, she was guest director of the triennial Cambridge University Greek play. She has also worked as a casting director in theatre and television, most recently the BAFTA-nominated ‘Moon and Me’.
Thank you so much for your time, Helen!