Bio for Company C

I was born in Cape Town, South Africa and was immersed in theatre as a young child.  I had my first, paid job as an actor in 1979 with The Lindsay Kemp Mime Troupe in which my mother, Annie Balfour, was a member.

While at Holland Park Comprehensive School and then at Battersea Arts Centre, I was mentored by Tony Fegan (currently artistic director at Tallaght Community Arts, Ireland).  I trained at Drama Centre, London (group 23) from 1983-84 under Christopher Fettes and Yat Malmgren and worked as an actor until 1990.  I then explored other fields including, set design and construction, pioneering 3D digital modelling for theatre and television, designing and delivering training and running my own business while raising a young family.

I resumed work  as an actor in 2010 after re-training in Meisner Technique with Simon Furness.  With this new understanding, I seek ´to help the human heart have knowledge of itself´ by being honest and enabling moments that actually ´happen´ in the given, imaginary circumstances of the piece. ´

Driven by my desire to serve my acting community, I have established an acting school in St Leonards on Sea and am now offering regular classes in London.   My teaching is based on the principles established by Sanford Meisner, as taught to me by Tom Radcliffe and Simon Furness.   Teaching is a source of continual growth for me and of limitless inspiration as others discover this approach and put it into practise in their own work.

My work both in the theatre and other spheres has led me to create Company C, a family of actors, creatives and technicians coming together to work on productions, and in directing. In my directing practise, I work with heart and passion, collaborating supportively to collectively ´find´ the piece and, together, get to depth with it.

It is beyond my wildest dreams to find myself, today, working on the Tempest with such an extraordinarily capable group of people who work with total commitment and faith.

Click here for more about  Company C

Click here for more about Lawrence