Action Theatre, led by Rupert Raison, is one of Europe’s most innovative physical theatre companies, specializing in English Teaching Theatre.
For over 26 years, the company has been creating original performances that combine mask, puppetry, and physical theatre, engaging children and young people while providing an effective and fun way to learn English through theatre. Since its establishment, Action Theatre’s performances have been seen by more than one million students across Italy.
“I founded Action Theatre in 1999 to combine my passion for physical theatre, puppets, and masks with teaching English. At that time, Italian schools were shifting away from teaching French as a foreign language in favour of English, and public schools were investing heavily in the training of new English teachers.
As a playwright, theatre teacher, and Englishman living in Italy, I had the right skills to take part in many training courses, which often ended with numerous requests from teachers to stage performances in English for their students.
This is how my first English Teaching Theatre scripts were born – and with them, the company.”
In addition to English-language theatre performances, Action Theatre offers storytelling in schools (Class Shows and Workshows), weekly theatre workshops (Playweeks), and English Theatre Summer Camps.
In 2025, the company launched its eLearning platform elearningactiontheatre.it, which provides educational resources for primary schools, including songs, games, and audio plays designed to support English language learning.
Rupert is a London-born comic actor and director, author of 45 plays, mainly in the field of English Teaching Theatre, who is passionate about physical theatre, comedy, mime, puppets and mask – especially half-mask and Commedia dell’Arte.
