The Oxford School of Drama

Sophie Cookson filming Red Joan directed by Sir Trevor Nunn

Sophie Cookson

Sophie has just finished shooting a new film based on the life of Melita Norwood, the KGB’s longest-serving British spy. Red Joan follows Dame Judi as Joan, a retired physicist whose tranquil life is interrupted in 1999 by a visit from MI5.

Sophie plays Joan in her younger days as a student at Newnham who falls in love with a committed communist and, later, finds her loyalty to her country tested while employed in the UK’s secret nuclear programme.

Sophie is best known as Roxy Morton in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and its 2017 follow-up, Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

The film is scheduled to be released in the Autumn.

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Seamus Allen

Seamus trained in his hometown, Dublin at the Conservatory of Music and Drama. After graduating he toured nationally with some of Ireland’s premier children’s theatre companies, as well as developing and performing clown performances for Barrabbas, and magic shows for Cahoots N.I. 

Since moving to the UK Seamus has appeared in The Tempest, As You Like It, Comedy of Errors, Macbeth and Robin Hood (Creation Theatre Company), Quest (Folklore Presents) The Disappearance (The Sticking Place),and Where’s My Desi Soulmate? (Rifco Arts). Tv work includes Bear Behaving Badly (Thames Valley).  Seamus is also a skilled improviser, training with Ken Campbell’s School of Night and core cast in the annual London 50 hour Improvathons and performs with “Austentatious, The improvised Jane Austen Novel”.  

Seamus was the director of the Young Company at the Watermill theatre in Newbury. He established Readings only Improvisation comedy club, “What’s the Game?! Improv”, hosting shows as well as coaching professional performers.  Seamus was Head of acting at Read college, a course which he wrote and which became one of the most successful Foundation courses for getting students into the top acting degree programmes in the UK.  Most recently he has been Head of Year at Drama Studio London and gained an MSc in Performance Psychology focusing on excellence in actor training.

Seamus is Head of Foundation and teaches on the Foundation Courses