The Genesian Theatre is pleased to present a series of classes with industry professionals.

British Accents Classes

The Genesian theatre is lucky to count amongst its members such an amazingly qualified and experienced voice and dialect coach. Benjamin Purser has agreed to take a class over the run of William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (Abridged).

Do you see yourself swanning through A Passage to India, trying not to die in The Secret of Chimneys or mixed up in the intrigue of Lady Windermere's Fan? Well you will need the correct voice to back up those acting chops.

Benjamin has looked at our upcoming program for the year and believes a "taster course" in some British Isles accents will serve us well. He will give instruction in RP, a general southern England accent, Irish and a northern England accent, most likely Yorkshire. This may depend on people's preferences.

Dates: TBA

Time: 7-9pm

Cost: $120 for theatre members and $150 for non-members

This is likely to prove very popular and theatre members will get first preference but class size is limited.

About Benjamin: Benjamin Purser graduated from the ANU with a degree in linguistics, receiving First Class Honours and the University Medal, before completing a Diploma of Performing Arts. He spent five years as lead research assistant for the Sydney Speaks project, examining dialect variation in Australian English over time. He is based at Macquarie University, where he tutors linguistics and is senior research officer for the Australian Research Council Aus Kid Talk project. Benjamin is also a dialect and voice coach, with experience in several performance specific frameworks, including Linklater, Alexander Technique, and Estill Voice. He recently assisted voice coach Amy Hume for her Linklater Voice workshops in 2019 and 2020, and teaches dialect for advanced diploma students at ED5INTERNATIONAL. He advocates for an evidence-based approach, and is passionate about working with performers to hone their dialect and voice skills.

Please use the form below for more information about Genesian classes.