Teachers
Dr Adam Anders
Senior History Teacher, Akademeia High School
Adam studied History at York University in Toronto and went on to study Ancient History at Cardiff in the UK. There he earned an MA with distinction and followed with a Ph.D. on Roman light infantry. His academic research focuses on the Roman Army, with a particular interest in combat dynamics. His love for stories spills over from the historical to the fictional, and the latter manifests as a penchant for creative writing: Adam is currently enrolled at Harvard University, where he is pursuing a Masters degree in Creative Writing and Literature.
Donnacadh O’Briain
Donnacadh is a multi-award winning theatre director with more than 60 productions to his name. Based in London, his productions have played at The Royal Shakespeare Company, in the West End and off-Broadway, as well as all over the UK and Ireland. His acclaimed production of Rotterdam by Jon Brittain won the 2017 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre.
He has an MA from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He was Associate Fellow at Warwick University in 2007/08, and has been visiting lecturer or director at all of the UK’s top drama schools, in particular he has regularly taught and directed at RADA, LAMDA and BOVTS. He is a new writing specialist, and works with writers in developing and premiering new plays. Recent productions include Electrolyte by James Meteyard and Maimuna Memon, (currently on a UK tour); Loam by Bea Roberts (RWCMD, Gate Theatre, London), Rejoicing at Her Wondrous Vulva, the Young Woman Applauded Herself by Bella Heesom (Ovalhouse, London); and Mother Christmas by David Lewis (Hampstead Theatre, London) and Lads by Jon Brittain (LAMDA).
Favourite productions include: Always Orange by Fraser Grace for the RSC, which reopened The Other Place Theatre; My World Has Exploded a Little Bit developed with and written by Bella Heesom; PEEP at Edinburgh and Latitude festivals; a major Irish production of King Lear staring the late great Gerard Murphy; and as an Assistant director to Michael Boyd, the RSC’s multi award-winning Histories Cycle (The Guardian’s ‘Production of the Decade’).
Sam Pulham
English Literature Teacher, Akademeia High School
Sam’s research interests include first-generation Romanticism and its legacy, particularly in terms of its influence on early twentieth-century poetry. Sam has also co-hosted a literary podcast on forgotten or overlooked books – Sherds Podcast: link