Our Teachers
Tom Radcliffe Head Teacher
Tom Radcliffe is a leading teacher of the Meisner Technique, which he studied under Sanford Meisner himself. A former actor with credits across film, TV, and theatre, Tom brings over 30 years of practical experience to his work.
Tom offers rigorous, emotionally grounded Meisner training. All students begin with a five-day foundation course before advancing.
Tom’s time volunteering in the Calais Jungle refugee camp, where he lived for over 18 months, continues to inform his artistic ethos. His work, including the play Sons of Abraham, reflects a deep commitment to community and truth in performance.
Simon Furness
Simon Furness is an experienced actor and respected Meisner teacher with over 25 years of professional work in theatre, film, and training. He studied under Tom Radcliffe and has taught the Meisner Technique since 1999, including over 15 years at The Actors’ Temple.
He now leads long-term Meisner training at Actors East, guiding students through a deep, structured process focused on truthful, instinctive performance. Simon continues to act alongside his teaching, keeping his work rooted in real-world practice.
Tuyen Do
Tuyen is an actor, playwright and novelist. She is a visiting Meisner practitioner at Drama Studio London on their MFA and BA course, and personal coach to seasoned professional actors. She is also a champion of new writing, and believes the craft of acting can springboard you into other forms of storytelling, helping you steer your own creative path..
Arinder Sadhra
Arinder is an actor, writer, and coach. Arinder is a visiting practitioner at Met Film School on their BA Screen Acting course using Meisner and Movement based practices and on Guildhall School of Music and Drama’s summer courses. Arinder believes in supporting actors as artists to facilitate exploration in developing their own practices and work with an openness through mind body and sensory connection.
James Alexandrou is the founder of Actors East, an independent acting studio and creative hub in Hackney. He established the space in 2018 to offer affordable training and rehearsal access to working actors, while building a community focused on serious craft and collaborative development.
In 2024, he co-founded Playhouse East, a 100-seat theatre dedicated to the development of bold new writing across theatre and film. Alongside programming and artistic direction, James teaches regularly at the studio, with a focus on the Meisner Technique and writing through improvisation — helping actors and writers develop original material from lived impulse and instinct.
James trained at the National Film and Television School and continues to work as a director and actor across theatre, film and television. His recent short film An Audio Testimony, executive produced by Jonathan Glazer for the Wiener Holocaust Library, was part of a wider project commemorating the Kindertransport. His screen credits include leading roles for the BBC, ITV, and Shakespeare’s Globe, and his directing work has been shown at festivals and galleries internationally.