top of page
Who we are
Anchor 1
Duncan Woodruff
Duncan Woodruff
The Three Musketeers - 2018
Duncan Woodruff
1/3
Training:
The Bridge Theatre Training Company
The Academy of Performance Combat
Duncan began a love for theatre in his youth, performing regularly in Speech and Drama festivals during his teenage years under the training of BVA & VCN Voice Coach Thea Carr.
While studying at the University of Kent, he began working with , touring pub theatre, and subsequently completed the acting programme at The Bridge Theatre Training Company in 2012. It was there that he encountered stage combat, under Equity Fight Director Andrew Ashenden, who became his mentor during his teaching apprenticeship.
After playing sword fighting pirates with his Grandfather as a child, and growing up on the swashbuckling adventures of Errol Flynn & Basil Rathbone, a career in acting and stage combat was an undeniable homecoming. With his favourite weapon being the Smallsword, and owning a flair for the dramatic, it was only appropriate that he should embark on teaching under the "Scoundrel" Pseudonym!
Acting Credits include:
National Tours; The Three Musketeers (Baroque Theatre), The Wind in the Willows, (Rain or Shine), & Jane Eyre (Blue Orange).
Aladdin (Granville Theatre), Occupied (Feature Film), Radio Blighty's Idle Hour (Regional Tour/Fringe).
Fight Directing Credits include:
The all new adventures of Peter Pan (Theatre Royal York), The all new adventures of Peter Pan (Hawth Theatre), Dick Whittington (Octagon Theatre), Oklahoma! (Guildford School of Acting), On Bear Ridge (National Theatre), Hedda Gabler (Sherman Theatre), Titus Andronicus (T24, UKC), Twelfth Night (Jupiter Creatives), Thou (Short Film), The Mascot Duel (Saracens Rugby, Twickenham).
Other Qualifications & Experience Held:Equity Registered Fight Director, 3rd Dan, Shotokan Karate, 2nd Dan, Shorin Ryu Karate (Instructor, Jinkokan Karate Club), Second Lieutenant (Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, British Army Reserve), Level 1 Foil Coach (British Academy of Fencing - BAF), Master at arms -Gold award (Foil, Sabre, Epee (BAF)), First Aid. Current Equity Kent Branch Committee member.
Scoundrel
Martyn August
Training:
The Bridge Theatre Training Company
The Academy of Performance Combat
The Actors Combat Theatrical Training
Drama and Theatre have been a mainstay of Martyn's Education, completing an Ma Drama degree at the University of Kent, before embarking on further acting training at the Bridge Theatre Training Company, graduating in 2010.
Having trained in Thai Boxing, he took to stage combat under the teachings of Equity Fight Directors Andrew Ashenden and Kev McCurdy with a great passion, gaining over 20 advanced qualifications before embarking on a teaching apprenticeship, also under Andrew Ashenden.
He has a particular love for the unarmed systems of stage combat, certainly influenced by his love of martial arts, such as Taekwondo, in which he holds a 2nd Dan, MMA and Pro Wrestling (in his words; "Stage Combat meets Commedia Dell'arte!").
Martyn August, 2020
Martyn August, 2020
Martyn August, Single Sword, 2020
Martyn August, 2020
1/3
Acting Credits include:
Twelfth Night (Practical Productions), Macbeth, (Hiraeth Artistic Productions), Dido & Aeneas (Iris Theatre Company),
Pool it off (Short Film), The Moonshine Generation (Short Film), Space Detective (Short Film).
Fight Directing Credits include:
Macbeth (Hiraeth Artistic Productions), Titus Andronicus (Hiraeth Productions)
Other Qualifications & Experience Held:2nd Dan, Taekwondo (ITF, Instructor, London Chinatown Taekwondo), Level 1 Foil Coach (British Academy of Fencing), Master at arms (Gold Award Foil, Sabre, Epee), Pro Wrestling (ProJo), Archery Instructor (Archery Fit), Kickboxing, Karate, Brazilian JiuJitsu Muay Thai, First Aid.
Associate Instructors & Fight Directors
Jack Stockdale-Haley
Jack Stockdale-Haley - HEMA_edited
SQL Bits 2023 -139
Jack Stockdale-Haley
1/4
Associate - Instructor & Fight Director
Jack Stockdale -Haley
Training:
Actors Combat Theatrical Training
British Academy of Fencing
The Northern Film School
The Equity Register of Fight Directors
Jack began his journey into performance combat aged 6 at a screening of Spider-Man in 2002. He recalls thinking ‘in some way, I want to be part of making things like that’.
He studied in depth the arts of Karate, HEMA and fencing before studying BA Filmmaking at the Northern Film School in Leeds. After graduation, Jack came to Sword & Scoundrel to complete his training in theatrical fight performance, examining at advanced level in over a dozen weapons. All of this was in preparation to apply to the Equity Fight Director Register, which Jack successfully joined (despite delays from the pandemic) in 2022. Now Jack works as a Fight Director, stage/screen combat teacher and fencing coach in Yorkshire (although he still makes frequent dashes down the A1 to work at the central Sword & Scoundrel hub in Kent).
Jack's personal website can be found at www.jackofallblades.co.uk
Fight Directing Credits include:
Ingvas (2023) Tell Me About It (2022) Romeo & Juliet (2021) Myrlan (2021) Newton’s Third (2020)
Other Qualifications & Experience Held: 2nd Dan, Shukokai Karate, Level 3 Fencing Coach (Foil), Gold award (Sabre), Gold award (Epee), Equity Registered Fight Director, First Aid.
Visiting Professionals
Jason Hulott
Jason Hulott
1/1
HEMA & Oriental Arts Instructor
Jason Hulott
Training:
Yamato Ryu Budo Kai
Dai Nippon Budo Kai
Jason is the Chief instructor of Canterbury Medieval Combat & Nishimon Dojo.
He began teaching historical medieval weapon based arts over 20 years ago, working alongside exponents in the form all over the UK. His chief background in combative Japanese arts are Iaijutsu & Kenjutsu. His primary focus in the last eight years have been in the German traditions of Historical European Martial Arts, delving deeper into the arts of a range of weapons, from the Longsword to the Dagger.
Jason's specialism runs through the application of the Historical arts to modern self defence, but also includes the exploration of Military, judicial, and sport combat.
With a range of topics of study, Jason runs some of the most unique workshops in the UK, including Bartitsu (the Victorian Martial Art made famous in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes serials), and the Trench fighting techniques of the First World War, including a study of the weapons as well as the practical elements of combat.
Directors & DOP
Bruce Partleton Camera
Bruce Partleton Camera
1/1
Director, DOP, & Editor
Bruce Partleton
Training:
University of Kent
Bruce is an award-winning Director and Producer, producing independent Feature Films.
More on Bruce shortly!
Director, DOP, & Editor
Lance Phillips
Training:
University of Auckland
Canterbury Christchurch University
Lance Phillips is a qualified teacher, actor, author, colour-grading lecturer, Blackmagic Design Training Partner, and Certified DaVinci Resolve Trainer, with 30 years’ experience in training and supporting people from diverse backgrounds (including Master’s degree students, young people, prisoners, people with disabilities, and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds) in their creative careers.
Lance has a particular interest in medieval sword combat where he learnt hand and a half and broadsword using Talhoffer’s fifteenth century combat techniques as taught by Paul MacDonald of Dawn Duellists Society.
As a Blackmagic Design Training Partner, Lance specialises in training media/film professionals at the early stage of their careers or those who are new to using Resolve, to enable them to edit and grade their own video content.
In addition to delivering DaVinci Resolve training to film industry professionals, Lance delivers a colour-grading module at Master’s level for London South Bank University (LSBU). On behalf of the University he also completed creative technology research and consultancy for their Research and Development Hub at Maidstone Studios, where he collaborated with small and medium-sized businesses on research in virtual production and volumetric capture, among other emerging technologies.
He has been working with his company, Physical Folk, regionally, and his website can be found here. https://physicalfolkuk.wordpress.com/
Recently Lance has published a book through Packt called “Editing made Easy using DaVinci Resolve 18 - Create quick video content for your business, the web, or social media”. You can purchase your own copy at the links on the right.
Lance Phillips
Lance Phillips
1/4
Trainee Teachers & Performers
Anchor 1
Ed Tunningley
Ed Tunningley
1/1
Trainee-Teacher & Performer
Ed Tunningley
Coming soon!
Acting Credits include:
West End; Choir of Man (Hartshorn - Hook Productions), National Tours; Twelfth Night, (Jupiter Theatre), As you like it/Robin Hood (Three Inch Fools), Jack and the Beanstalk (Pantomime), Starcrossed (Two Households LTD & Arden Entertainment LTD) Bloodlina (Ed Fringe).
Other Qualifications & Experience Held: ACTT Trainee-Teacher, APC & ACTT Honours/Specialist level Fight performance, First Aid Trained, Car & Powerboat Licence, Licenced Chaperone, Qualified Barber, Lifeguard.
Trainee-Teacher & Performer
Birte Widmann
Training:
East 15 Acting School
Royal Central School of Speech & Drama
The Academy of Performance Combat
The Actors Combat Theatrical Training
Theatrical combat is, perhaps, a homecoming for Birte. Birte grew up in rural Germany spending much of her youth with nature in the woods, and learned archery at the age of 14. She spent her childhood and teens training in dance and music, moving to study performance in the UK in 2013. After graduating in 2017 from the East 15 and Royal Central Schools respectively, she turned to stage combat training. After training for six years, Birte has become a trainee teacher with ACTT (mentoring under Duncan Woodruff), following in the footsteps of her great-grandmother, who taught fencing to women in the 1920s. Birte works as an actor, musician, voice over artist, music director and movement director.
Birte Widmann
S&S FightReel 2023
Birte Widmann
On Set, Fight Performing
Birte Widmann
1/4
Acting Credits include:
Worms of the Earth (short film), The Cyclops (Thisasos Theatre), Hamlet (TNT Theatre), Lost in Random
(Zoink Games, EA Originals), The Tempest (Car Crash Productions), Sea of Solitude (Jo-Mei Games, EA
Originals), Gilgamesh (Red Meeple), The Bacchae (Thiasos Theatre)
Movement Directing Credits include:
The Cyclops (Thiasos), Oliver! (Jugendtheater Aalen), Mirrors (feature film)
Other Qualifications & Experience Held:Level 1 fencing coach foil (British Academy of Fencing), brown belt Shorin Ryu Karate.
bottom of page