Mike Leigh OBE FRSL is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design, and the London School of Film Technique.
What is the Mike Leigh method?
In the Mike Leigh method, actors go away and research their character, before doing solo improvisations for the director. These form the basis of the character’s stasis – neither high nor low point in their life.
As a student, Robert Marchand wrote a paper on the method and attempted to reproduce the results in a test. He failed and called Mike on the phone to find out why. Since then, Marchand has established a reputation as an expert on the Mike Leigh method of improvisation.
An accomplished director in his own right, session leader Robert Marchand is responsible for such work as The Potato Factory, Kangaroo Palace, and Come In Spinner.
He hastened to begin the session with the clarification that the final performances on the big screen are not improvements – they are the result of a painstaking effort over many months.