David Morrissey is best known as one of Britain’s busiest actors. He’s appeared in the acclaimed dramas State of Play, The Deal (RTS best actor for his portrayal of Gordon Brown) Blackpool and Sense and Sensibility as well as films such as Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Is Anybody There, Nowhere Boy and Centurion.

He has also directed a number of TV dramas including Sweet Revenge ( BAFTA nominated best New Director) Passer By and most recently the feature film Don’t Worry About Me.

He’s currently starring in and producing the SKY ONE Drama, Sleepyhead playing D.I. Thorne based on the bestselling books by Mark Billingham.

In early 2009 David was asked to go on an exploratory visit to the Palestinian camps in Beirut to investigate the possibility of bringing some drama classes to the children who attended the UNWRA schools there. After seeing the lack of drama facilities there, on his return he put together a team of creative individuals covering all areas of theatre including acting, dancing, movement and design. In October 2009 they went out to Beirut to do a week-long workshop with around 80 children from across Lebanon - the result was a huge success and David was determined not to make this a one-off event but to have some sort of sustainability for both the children and the teachers who had got so much from the experience. In March 2010 a course was set up to train local teachers to be able to run creative learning sessions in their own schools. Again the response from all involved and the local community was very encouraging.

It is David’s wish to bring courses like this to children all over the world. And it is with this desire that he has formed the charity CAST – Creative Arts Schools Trust - to bring education and learning to children who may find conventional education techniques difficult and also offer to teachers and pupils ways to carry on the creative side of their education during their schooling. CAST will also provide a support network that can be accessed through an on-line forum that allows participants to stay in contact with the creative teachers at CAST. Please visit our web site for more information – www.creativeartstrust.org