About Rc-Annie

Theatre. Performance. Protection.

Who we are

Discover Rc-Annie

Rc-Annie is the UK’s leading dramatic violence, stage combat and intimacy company, working across theatre, opera, film and television.

Established in 2005 by fight and intimacy directors Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown, we combine performance experience and rigorous training with a deep understanding of storytelling — creating work that is safe, precise and dramatically effective, from an intimate two-hander to an epic battle.

Whether the scene is a kiss or a sword fight, our team is known for a sensitive, collaborative and non-judgemental approach that protects performers while serving the vision of every production.

Our purpose is simple: to protect the art of performance through knowledge, preparation and care.

Milestones

Firsts we're proud of.

Replica firearms training

Created the safe industry practice for handling blank-firing weapons in UK performance.

Aerial fight courses

Devised the UK’s first courses combining rigging and fight choreography.

Boundaries & consent

Worked with UK theatres to establish boundaries and consent protocols for rehearsal rooms.

The RC-Way

Developed our own methodology of dramatic violence, now taught at recognised drama schools.

BADC firsts

First female Chairperson (Ruth) and first female Examiner (Rachel) of the British Academy of Dramatic Combat.

Apprentice syllabus

Rachel created the BADC Apprentice Training Syllabus, opening a route in for the next generation.

2005 – today

Twenty years in the making

Rc-Annie Ltd was founded in 2005 by Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown, two performers who met through the British Academy of Dramatic Combat and shared a conviction that violence and intimacy on stage deserved the same craft, rigour and care as any other part of a production.

All of the Rc-Annie team come from performing backgrounds. Rachel trained as an actor at Rose Bruford College; Ruth as a performer and variety artist; Claire in musical theatre at Mountview; Carlotta at the Drama Centre. Each was drawn to fight and intimacy through performance itself – and that origin still shapes how we work, always starting from the actor in the room.

Rachel, Ruth and Claire have all served on the BADC committee: Ruth as its first female Chairperson, Rachel as Training Officer – where she created the now-established Apprentice Training Syllabus – and Claire as Workshop Officer. Rachel was also the first woman to become a BADC Examiner. In recognition of their contribution to fight and intimacy practice in British theatre, Ruth and Rachel are both Shakespeare’s Globe Associate Artists.