LAMDA alumnus Gary Carr to join the cast of Downton Abbey
Gary Carr, who graduated from our Three Year Acting Course in 2008, will play jazz singer Jack Ross, in the eagerly anticipated fourth season of the hit series. Airing on ITV this autumn, the season includes a feature length episode on Christmas Day.
Gary will join other new cast members Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Tom Cullen, Julian Ovenden, Nigel Harman, Joanna David and LAMDA alumna Dame Harriet Walter, as well as series stalwarts Hugh Bonneville, Dame Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery and Jim Carter.
Gary's previous TV credits include Death in Paradise (BBC1)and Bluestone 42 (BBC3).
(May 2013)
LAMDA alumnus Luke Treadaway wins 2013 Olivier for Best Actor
Congratulations to Luke Treadaway, 2006 graduate of our Three Year Acting Course, who was named Best Actor at the 2013 Laurence Olivier Awards for his role in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. Luke follows in the footsteps of fellow LAMDA alumnus Benedict Cumberbatch who won the award last year for Frankenstein at the National Theatre.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time won an incredible seven Olivier Awards during this year’s ceremony, equalling the total won by the RSC’s Matilda the Musical last year. It will continue to play at the Apollo Theatre in the West End until January 2014. If you haven’t seen it, book now…
(April 2013)
Shaun Woodward MP becomes Chairman of LAMDA's Campaign Committee
We are delighted to announce that the Rt Hon Shaun Woodward MP has accepted the Trustees’ invitation to chair our Campaign Committee, established to help complete the final phase of LAMDA’s £18m redevelopment project. Mr Woodward also becomes a Trustee and Vice-Chairman of LAMDA.
You can read the full press release here
(April 2013)
LAMDA Alumni Shine at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012
It’s been another fantastic summer at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with LAMDA alumni wowing audiences and critics alike.
Company of LAMDA graduates The Scat Pack (already firm Fringe favourites after sell-out runs in 2011) returned to the festival, once again gaining four and five star reviews and performing their improvised show to packed houses.
There were more five star reviews for Glory Dazed, starring alumna Chloe Massey and produced by Second Shot Productions – a social enterprise creating arts opportunities for ex-offenders and Armed Forces personnel. Chloe and the rest of the company will be transferring the production to the Adelaide Fringe Festival in February 2013.
There was great success also for The Magpie Puppet Company, run by Directing Course graduate Jimmy Grimes. The Stage described their production of The Boy With The Cuckoo Clock Heart, featuring alumni Ed Howells, Madeline Gould and Henry Lewis as
“a joy to watch from beginning to end… this is one hot ticket’.
Aisling Bea fought off intense competition to win the coveted comedy prize So You Think You’re Funny? Previous recipients of the award include Peter Kaye, Dylan Moran and Lee Mack. In addition to a £2000 prize, Aisling wins a trip to perform at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal.
Finally, our congratulations go to alumna Nichola McAuliffe – the first performer to be named Best Actress at The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence for a second time. Nichola was recognised for her performance in her own play Maurice’s Jubilee – a touching three-hander directed by LAMDA graduate and five times Fringe First winner, Hannah Eidinow.
The world’s biggest arts festival just wouldn’t be the same without some of the world’s most talented, LAMDA-trained artists! Well done to everyone that took a show up to the Fringe, it’s one of the toughest jobs out there. And if we missed you off the list let us know your Edinburgh stories by emailing alumni@lamda.org.uk or tweeting @LAMDAdrama
(September 2012)
Deutsche Bank Award 2010 winners launch webseries, Behind Bars
We are delighted that the winners of the 2010 Deutsche Bank Award in Dramatic Arts, Only Water Productions, have just launched their online series, Behind Bars. Featuring LAMDA alumni Georgina Strawson, Nana Amoo-Gottfried and Freddie Capper, Behind Bars is a comedy drama about the lives of two twenty-something men running a bar in Nottingham. You can watch the first three episodes on the Behind Bars website.
The Deutsche Bank Award scheme, open to all graduating year students, offers practical and financial support to students wishing to start a project or business in the first year after graduating. The process involves writing a business plan and shortlisted applicants presenting to a panel of LAMDA and Deutsche Bank judges. The winner receives £10,000 towards their project and the invaluable advice of a Deutsche Bank Business Mentor.
We look forward to announcing the winner of the 2012 Deutsche Bank Award shortly.
(June 2012)
Victory for the Give It Back George Campaign!
Last week George Osborne announced that the cap on tax relief for charitable donations will now be dropped. This will be a huge boost to LAMDA - and thousands of other charities across the UK - who were faced with the prospect of vital major donations being hit, in already difficult financial times.
We are thrilled to have been part of the successful Give It Back George campaign, which was vital in convincing the Government to change their policy. Our thanks and congratulations go to all those involved!
You can find more information about the Government’s announcement and the charitable sector’s response here - http://giveitbackgeorge.org/
(May 2012)
LAMDA alumni enjoy Olivier success
Congratulations from everyone at LAMDA to our wonderful alumni whose talents were recognised at the 2012 Olivier Awards ceremony on April 15.
We were delighted to see Ruth Wilson win Best Actress for her performance as the title role in Anna Christie, whilst alumnus Benedict Cumberbatch shared Best Actor with his co-star Johnny Lee Miller for their alternating roles as Dr Frankenstein and his creature in the National Theatre’s production of Frankenstein. Congratulations also go to alumna Polly Findlay, who directed Derren Brown’s Olivier Award-winning show Svengali.
We look forward to following their next exciting projects; Polly Findlay will direct Jodie Whittaker and Christopher Ecclestone in Antigone at the National Theatre, whilst Ruth Wilson and Benedict Cumberbatch are off to Hollywood to film The Lone Ranger and the next Star Trek film.
(April 2012)
First glimpse of Deutsche Bank Award winner, Electric Animal Circus
For the seventh consecutive year, LAMDA is taking part in the exciting Deutsche Bank Awards. The scheme, open to all our graduating year students, recognises entrepreneurship and innovation, helping young artists to launch their careers in the first year after graduating. Applicants submit a business plan for a project and the shortlisted students then make a presentation to a panel of LAMDA and Deutsche Bank judges. The winner benefits from a prize of £10,000 towards their project and the invaluable advice of a Deutsche Bank Business Mentor.
Since winning the Deutsche Bank Award in Dramatic Arts in July 2011, Stage Management and Technical Theatre graduate Patrick Gleeson has been toiling away in his workshop to create the Electric Animal Circus. This is a show based around custom-built mechanical animals that perform extraordinary circus acts in a post-apocalyptic variety show. Patrick is designing and building the animals, composing the music, creating the website... and that’s just for starters!
We are very excited to have a sneak peek at one of the animals that will feature in the show: a musical squid. This drawing by a concept artist gives an idea of how the squid will look once completed and these videos demonstrate Patrick’s automata-building skills as we see the squid in its early stages of construction, and a singing robot face.
We are already fascinated by the Electric Animal Circus and can’t wait to see more.
(March 2012)
Brian Cox brings the greatest film never made to London’s Southbank
At 5.30pm on Saturday 31 March acclaimed LAMDA alumnus Brian Cox CBE will perform all the parts in Orson Welles’ screenplay Heart of Darkness. Intended to be Orson Wells’ first film, the screenplay was then never made and this exciting one-off performance will be the first time it is seen by the public.
Heart of Darkness will take place in the boat shaped architecture installation A Room for London, on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and be live streamed on big screens in the Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room. Brian Cox’s performance can also be watched live on www.aroomforlondon.co.uk, where it will then be available until 30 June. This free event is part of the London 2012 Festival.
Click here for more information about the screening.
(March 2012)
The nominations are stacking up for LAMDA’s alumni
2012 has already seen LAMDA’s alumni dominate stage and screen, and we’re delighted that their incredible work is being recognised by some of the industry’s most prestigious awards.
Nominations for this year’s Olivier Awards were announced on 15 March. Both Benedict Cumberbatch (Frankenstein) and David Haig (The Madness of George III) have been nominated in the Best Actor category, whilst Ruth Wilson is on the shortlist for Best Actress after her performance as the title role in Anna Christie. Winners will be announced at a star-studded ceremony at the Royal Opera House on 15 April.
The Jameson Empire Awards have also recognised the fantastic film work of Jeremy Irvine (War Horse) and Sam Claflin (Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), who have both been nominated for the Best Male Newcomer Award. The Jameson Empire awards were created by Britain's biggest selling film magazine to recognize excellence in the UK and global film industry and are voted for by the public. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Sunday 25 March and revealed live online at www.empireonline.com
Good luck from everyone at the Academy to all these talented nominees.
(March 2012)
Offies make a song and dance about LAMDA tutor’s show
Congratulations from everyone at the Academy to Adam Meggido – senior tutor on LAMDA’s Foundation Course – who won Best New Musical at the 2012 Off West End Theatre Awards with his latest show Burlesque. Set in McCarthy era America, Burlesque celebrates the golden age of American showbiz and classic musicals, with The Telegraph praising its “charm, charisma and vitality.” Adam co-wrote Burlesque with Roy Smiles and the show ran at the Jermyn Street Theatre from 9 November to 18 December 2011.
No stranger to accolades, Adam is also co-creator of the multi-award winning, Edinburgh Festival favourite Showstopper! The Improvised Musical. We hope there’s enough room on his mantelpiece for this latest award!
(February 2012)
LAMDA Students can become Masters of their craft
The University of Kent – which validates LAMDA’s degree courses – has confirmed that from next year our Classical Acting for the Professional Theatre course will now become a MA degree course. It will still be entirely vocational and practical, but now run for four terms from September to September. Students will also perform in a classical production at the end of their final term that will be open to agents and casting directors.
The MA course is designed for international students who have already begun their career as an actor. We look forward to welcoming our first MA students to the Academy in September 2012.
(January 2012)
2011 Deutsche Bank Award winners announced
The Academy is delighted to announce that final year Stage Management & Technical Theatre Course student, Patrick Gleeson, has won the 2011 Deutsche Bank Award in Dramatic Arts. The scheme recognises entrepreneurship and innovation, offering practical and financial support to students who wish to start a business or project in the crucial year after graduation.
Patrick will be awarded £10,000 and a dedicated business mentor, which will enable him to develop and produce The Electric Animal Circus - an innovative show based around custom-built animatronic mechanical animals that perform extraordinary circus acts in a futuristic, post apocalyptic variety show.
(8 July 2011)
'Master and Commander'
Our warmest congratulations go to two esteemed members of the LAMDA family who were recognised in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours. Vice-President Janet Suzman was awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to drama and Emeritus Principal Peter James received Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to the Arts.
(29 June 2011)