Ben Martin and Phil Tong
I was very lucky to have two thoroughly inspirational drama teachers during my school days. This pair of pedagogues were brilliant in their own different ways and were my guides and gurus during my formative school days. Ben Martin saw something in me in primary school and cast me as a lead role in our school leavers’ play when I was 13. When you think about eureka moments in life, after doing that show I actually thought for the first time theatre was something I wanted to be a major part of my life, and not just something that I did for a giggle. Phil Tong, who taught me at secondary school showed me that theatre was an art as much as an entertainment. And he also is responsible for two school trips to appear at the Edinburgh Fringe, a festival which I fell head-over-heels in love with, and has been an awesome and constant presence in my career.
