That’s why we were proud to have Sarah Hone (casting director and Associate Artistic Director at Bow Street) lead our second showcase of 2025. Sarah carefully selected scenes from Aftersun (2022) and All of Us Strangers (2023), and challenged actors to submit a self-tape that showcased their interpretation, skill, and screen presence.

From a wealth of high-quality self-tapes, Sarah selected five standout performances that most inspired and impressed her. Congratulations to all five for your dedication, creativity, and powerful screen work. Each of you brought something unique to the role, whether through subtle emotional depth, bold character choices, or a compelling command of the frame. We can’t wait to see where your talent takes you next.

Click here to join us for a live chat with Sarah at 3pm on Thursday 28th of August, where she’ll offer further feedback, and tips for making your next self-tape your best one yet.

Watch all five standouts here and read Sarah’s expert feedback below.

Eilís Bríd Carey
(All of Us Strangers)
“The thing that struck me most about you is your stillness – you’re not overacting for a second anywhere. Focused, listening to your scene partner, processing the information and talking in response to that. Your eyes really, really drew us in. I’ve watched this scene so many times now and with you, I felt like I was watching it for the first time.”

James Hayes
(All of Us Strangers)
“What I liked most about yours was that you sat in the silence really well, without overacting. It never felt like you were working off a script and I really felt your pain. We saw darkness and light there, which is exactly what I wanted. It’s easy in a scene like this to just play it quite sad, and you let us see moments of lightness in there as well.”

Poppy
(Aftersun)
“What I loved about your tape was that you were acting for the screen. For camera, we just use our normal voice – I felt like you were just very, very natural. I didn’t feel like you were acting it. I felt like it was just a conversation between you and your parent, and that’s exactly what good acting is – making us believe that it’s just a natural conversation.”

April Cleary
(All of Us Strangers)
“I thought it was a really vulnerable scene, and that requires a lot of bravery. The delivery was really different to others – you really took the scene and made it your own. And that’s what’s going to get you work – the ability to put yourself in different scenes so that you always stand out. You really took me on an emotional journey.”

Clíodhna McNelis
(All of Us Strangers)
“It wasn’t a normal self-tape setup with nothing but you in the frame, but actually your choice made it very natural. You gave us emotional range, but you didn’t give anything that felt fake. I didn’t feel like you were forcing emotions. It felt like you really were hearing the words from your scene partner for the very first time. I believed it – really good work.”

Well done to every single person who sent us a tape – we absolutely loved watching your work. And thank you again to Sarah for taking the time to watch and offer so much personal feedback.

We run exclusive Fishpond Showcases every season, with feedback for every actor who sends us a tape, so we’ll look forward to seeing you for our next Showcase in the autumn. Until then, keep up the great work.