RADA is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, founded in 1904 by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree. It moved to buildings on Gower Street in 1905. It was granted a royal charter in 1920 and a new theatre was built on Malet Street, behind the Gower Street buildings, which was opened in 1921 by Edward, Prince of Wales. It received its first government subsidy in 1924. RADA currently has five theatres and a cinema. The school's principal industry partner is Warner Bros. Entertainment.
RADA offers a number of foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Its higher education awards are validated by King's College London (KCL). The royal patron of the school is King Charles III, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. The president is David Harewood, who succeeded Kenneth Branagh in February 2024, with Cynthia Erivo appointed vice president.[1] The chairman is Marcus Ryder,[2] who succeeded Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen in 2021. Its vice-chairman was Alan Rickman until his death in 2016.[3] The current principal of the academy is Niamh Dowling, who succeeded Edward Kemp in 2022.[4][5]
History
The sculpture above the entrance to RADA features masks which depict Tragedy (pictured) and Comedy (which appears opposite). A symbol of theatre, they are also known as Sock and Buskin.
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art was founded on 25 April 1904 by actor-manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (the grandfather of actor Oliver Reed) at the West End's Her Majesty's Theatre (now His Majesty's) situated in Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London.[6] In 1905, RADA moved to 62 Gower Street, and a managing council was set up to oversee the school. Its members included George Bernard Shaw, who later donated his royalties from his play Pygmalion to RADA and gave lectures to students at the school.[7] In 1920, RADA was granted a royal charter and, in 1921, a new theatre was built on Malet Street behind the Gower Street buildings. Edward, Prince of Wales, opened the theatre. In 1923, Sir John Gielgud studied at RADA for a year. He later became president of the academy and its first honorary fellow.[8] In 1924, RADA received its first government subsidy, a grant of £500. The Gower Street buildings were torn down in 1927 and replaced with a new building, financed by Bernard Shaw, who also left one-third of his royalties to the academy on his death in 1950.[9] The academy has received other government funding at various times, including a £22.7 million grant from the Arts Council National Lottery Board in 1996, which was used to renovate its premises and rebuild the Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre.[10]
RADA entrance sign
In 2000, the academy founded RADA Enterprises Ltd, now known as RADA Business, providing training programmes and coaching for organisations and individuals in communications and team building which use drama training techniques in a business context. The profits are fed back into the academy to help cover its costs.[11] In 2001, RADA joined with the London Contemporary Dance School to create the UK's first Conservatoire for Dance and Drama (CDD).[12] RADA left the CDD in August 2019 to become an independent higher education provider.[13] RADA is also a founder member of the Federation of Drama Schools, established in 2017.[14]
RADA has been registered with the Office for Students as a higher education institution since July 2018. The current principal of the academy, Niamh Dowling, succeeded Edward Kemp in 2022.[4] The current president, David Harewood, succeeded Kenneth Branagh in February 2024, with Cynthia Erivo appointed vice president.[1][18]
RADA has expanded its course offering over the years. The school offers a three-year BA (Hons) in acting degree. The first stage management course was introduced in 1962 under the directorship of Dorothy Tenham, and today students on the technical theatre and stage management degree learn theatre production skills including lighting, sound, props, costume and make-up, stage management, production management and video design.[23] In the 1990s it launched a programme of short courses for actors and theatre technicians from around the world, including a special course for students at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts.[24]
Other courses include a one-year acting foundation course introduced in 2007; an MA in Text & Performance, affiliated with Birkbeck, University of London, introduced in 2010; and an MA Theatre Lab course introduced in 2011.[25][26]
RADA is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London. The main RADA building where classes and rehearsals take place is on Gower Street (with a second entrance on Malet Street), with a second premise nearby in Chenies Street where RADA Studios is located. The Goodge Street and Euston Square underground stations are both within walking distance.[21]
The Gower and Malet Street building was redeveloped in the late 1990s to designs by Bryan Avery,[27] and incorporated the new theatres and linking the entrances on both streets.
Theatres
RADA has five theatres and a cinema. In the Malet Street building, the Jerwood Vanburgh Theatre is the largest performance space with a capacity of 194; the George Bernard Shaw Theatre is a black box theatre with a capacity of up to 70; and the Gielgud Theatre is an intimate studio theatre with a capacity of up to 50.[28] In January 2012, RADA acquired the lease to the adjacent Drill Hall venue in Chenies Street and renamed it RADA Studios. The Drill Hall is a Grade II listed building with a long performing arts history, and was where Nijinsky rehearsed with Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in 1911.[29] This venue has a 200-seat space, the Studio Theatre, and a 50-seat space, the Club Theatre.[30]
In April 2016, planning permission was granted for the redevelopment of the Chenies Street premises as part of the Richard Attenborough Campaign.[31]
Library
The RADA library contains around 30,000 items. Works include around 10,000 plays; works of or about biography, costume, criticism, film, fine art, poetry, social history, stage design, technical theatre and theatre history; screenplays; and theatre periodicals.[32] The collection was started in 1904 with donations from actors and writers of the time such as Sir Squire Bancroft, William Archer, Sir Arthur Wing Pinero and George Bernard Shaw.[33]
Other facilities
Other facilities at RADA include acting studios, a scenic art workshop with paint frame, costume workrooms and costume store, dance and fight studios, design studios, wood and metal workshops, sound studios, rehearsal studios, and the RADA Foyer Bar, which includes a fully licensed bar, a café and a box office.[34]
RADA accepts up to 28 new students each year into its three-year BA (Hons) in Acting course, with a 50–50 split of male and female students.[35] Admission into the three-year BA (Hons) in Acting course is based on suitability and successful audition, via the four-stage audition process, spanning several months. Auditions are held in London as well as in New York, Los Angeles, Dublin, and across the UK – in recent years this has included Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Chester, Leicester, Sheffield, Manchester, Newcastle and Plymouth. Free auditions are offered to any applicants with a household income of under £25,000.[35]
RADA also teaches Technical Theatre & Stage Management (TTSM) – a two-year foundation degree and with a further 'completion' year to BA level which has to be separately applied for and which allows for specialisation in all theatre craft areas. The TTSM course admits up to 30 students a year with a 50–50 gender balance, with the option to interview in Manchester and Plymouth.[36]
RADA’s postgraduate training currently comprises a MA Theatre Lab programme and a Postgraduate Diploma in Theatre Costume (both validated by King's College London). RADA also jointly teaches an MA in Text and Performance with Birkbeck, University of London, where students on this course are enrolled at RADA as well as registered at Birkbeck. Both MA courses frequently collaborated according to their specialisms (i.e. directors on the Text & Performance programme using actors from the Theatre Lab course). Rehearsals and performances for the programmes are done mostly in the Chenies Street and Malet Street buildings.[37]
In addition, RADA offers a series of short courses, masterclasses and summer courses for a range of standards and ages. Previous attendees have included Allison Janney, Liev Schreiber, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Emma Watson. The Academy’s education, widening participation and outreach work includes two Youth Companies,[38] schools' workshops, Access to Acting workshops for young disabled people,[39] Shakespeare tours to secondary schools[40] and the RADA Shakespeare Awards.[41]
Undergraduate students are eligible for government student loans. RADA also has a scholarships and bursaries scheme, which offers financial assistance to students.[42]
Leadership
The Royal Patron of the Academy is King Charles III, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. The President is David Harewood, since February 2024.[43] The chairman is Marcus Ryder, who succeeded Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen in 2021. Its vice-chairman was Alan Rickman until his death in 2016. The current principal of the academy is Niamh Dowling, who succeeded Edward Kemp in 2022.[44][45][46]
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