Jeremy Brett Scholarships Launched to Support Central Students
On the anniversary of one of the UK’s most celebrated actors’ deaths, an Italian donor and fan of Jeremy Brett (who starred most famously as Sherlock Holmes in the ITV/Granada show of the same name from 1984-1994) has come forward to establish a scholarship awards programme in his honour at the Central School of Speech & Drama for students needing financial support.
To commemorate Jeremy’s contribution to acting and his mental health advocacy work, as well as his dream to found a school for unemployed actors, Ms Pia Trona of Peruja, Italy, has come forward to give his alma mater, Central, the funds to establish a scholarship programme covering fees for up to 5 students for 2011-12 entry, with a further 2 awards for each of 2012-13 and 2013-14.
Ms Trona said, “Jeremy Brett is an inspiration to me, and I wanted to be able to find a way to help him to be remembered amongst the next generation of Central students so that his legacy might continue. I couldn’t fund a whole school the way he dreamt of doing, but I hope that by making this gift I can help in some way make a difference in the life of a hard-working, talented student.”
Jeremy Brett, who studied on Central’s acting course and graduated in 1954, has a well-established acting legacy, also appearing as Audrey Hepburn’s dashing young suitor, Freddy, in My Fair Lady. As well as his acting portfolio, Jeremy dedicated a considerable amount of time advocating greater awareness for mental health issues as he himself suffered from bi-polar disorder.
With the increase in student fees impending in 2012, the need for student financial support has never been greater. As well as providing financial aid to scholars, the wider benefits of the Jeremy Brett Scholarships will help enable the dramatic arts to flourish in the future.
These scholarships are an integral part of the wider fundraising programme at Central and we hope that other donors will support these awards or alternatively may wish to create and develop other scholarships, encouraging the next generation of students to pursue their vocation, just as Jeremy Brett did.
Further information will be made available to prospective applicants at the start of the new term. Please contact: enquiries@cssd.ac.uk