Demidov Studio London
Founded in 2018 by Andrei Biziorek, in collaboration with his teacher and the revivor of the Demidov Technique, Andrei Malaev-Babel, Demidov Studio London serves as both a teaching hub and a research center for the Demidov work. This inner technique acts as a practical key to reviving and advancing the rich tradition of Russian psychological theatre. Unlike modern trends that favour spectacle and special effects, the Demidov Technique prioritises the artist’s creative individuality. The studio offers a range of courses, including regular introductory intensives and longer courses that guide actors through the various stages of Demidov Curriculum.
Our Team
Andrei Biziorek
Andrei is an acting teacher and director with over 30 years of experience across Poland, the UK, the US, and Australia. In Poland, he spent many years working as an actor with post-Grotowski companies including Gardzienice, Song of the Goat Theatre and Theatre ZAR, and also trained with Zygmunt Molik, a central figure in Jerzy Grotowski’s Laboratory Theatre.
Andrei has taught at many top drama schools in the UK and abroad, including RADA, East 15, and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, where he taught at BA and MA levels for more than eight years. Introduced to the Demidov Organic Acting Technique by Professor Andrei Malaev-Babel and training under his guidance, Andrei was certified to teach the Demidov work by the International Demidov Association and founded Demidov Studio London, the official UK chapter of the Association, in 2018. As a result of his international work teaching the technique, Andrei also founded a Demidov studio in Vienna, Austria, in 2024.
Andrei has also founded and directed several theatre companies, including Tribe Theatre Collective in London, whose production of Dostoyevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’ was created entirely using the Demidov Technique. He currently leads all classes at Demidov Studio London and directs the DSL LAB Ensemble, a research space for actors dedicated to exploring the technique in greater depth.
Founder and Director
Katie is an Associate Director of Demidov Studio London. She has been training in the Demidov Organic Acting Technique since 2024 and joined the Studio’s management team in 2025. She is also a member of the DSL LAB, continuing to explore the technique through ongoing research and practice.
Alongside her work as an actor, Katie has a background in wellbeing and personal development. She has previously founded and run her own wellbeing business, delivering programmes in schools and working with corporate organisations supporting connection, resilience and personal development. Her earlier experience in HR also informs her interest in creating environments where people can develop, communicate and work with greater awareness and freedom.
Katie is particularly interested in the relationship between the subconscious, the nervous system and creative expression, and in how these can support an artist’s ability to access intuition, presence and spontaneity. Her approach is grounded in curiosity, openness and the belief that creative freedom develops through a process of learning to trust what is already within us.
KATIE JONES
associate Director
jane withers
Jane is a professional actor, having worked on both screen and stage, and has been training with DSL since 2025.
With over a decade of operational experience within the corporate sector, she joined the DSL management team in 2026. Throughout her career, Jane has worked with companies of all sizes, from start-ups to blue chip institutions, and has helped each one navigate various stages in the business lifecycle, streamlining and future-proofing procedures to ensure efficiency and longevity.
Jane leads the operational side of the studio, heading strategic initiatives and overseeing day-to-day processes to ensure the sustainable growth of the school, both financially and procedurally.
Alongside her career, Jane is also an amateur photographer and writer, and served for several years as a Board Trustee for an award-winning, highly successful, professional theatre company.
head of operations
Charles Ferguson ACCA
Charles is an ACCA Chartered Accountant and is the current Financial Controller at Alexandra Palace.
Having encountered the work of DSL through his partner, he is keen to voluntarily apply his near two decades of experience working with NPOs and Charities, supporting the growth of the academy strategically and sustainably, enabling the technique to be brought to a wider audience.
Charles also has a keen interest in acting and the theatre, having trodden the boards in various productions, was Treasurer on the Board of a highly successful, award winning theatre CIO, and prior to joining Alexandra Palace, worked at Shakespeare's Globe for 9 years and was Head of Financial reporting before leaving for his current role.
Finance Advisor (Volunteer)
lucy kean
communications OFFICER
Lucy has been working as a professional actor across both stage and screen since 2021. After graduating with her Drama BA from the University of Exeter, she first came to DSL for an intensive in 2023 and has continued to cultivate her craft with the studio ever since.
Lucy is the newest member of the management team, bringing extensive experience in communications and administration through her work as a Virtual Assistant, supporting creatives and small businesses. At DSL, she is in charge of the behind-the-scenes organisational support, and managing our social media presence, to help ensure the studio continues to run effectively.
Outside of her professional work, Lucy is an avid reader and yoga enthusiast, and enjoys spending time with a good cup of coffee or wine—often in her favourite guinea‑pig mug..
THE DSL LAB
The DSL LAB was created as a space for selected actors who are dedicated to exploring the technique of the Demidov School of Acting in greater depth over a longer period of time. The LAB works with actors who demonstrate a desire to be part of an ensemble that invests in an experiential exploration of what Demidov called the ‘culture’ of creative freedom, which is at the heart of the Demidov Technique; to learn to trust and follow their creative instincts, working to master Demidov’s core principles that lead to freedom, spontaneity and unpredictability, which are indispensable for the Art of Living onstage. The current Lab Ensemble members are Katie Jones, Jane Withers, Josh Taylor and Lucy Kean. The LAB is led by DSL Director Andrei Biziorek.
