The Leverhulme Trust Awards Central £195,150 for Applied Theatre

The Leverhulme Trust Awards Central £195,150 in Support of its Internationally Recognised Applied Theatre Work

The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama is delighted to announce that it has received an award of over £195,000  - an increase of over 30% - from the Leverhulme Trust in support of its internationally recognised work in Applied Theatre.  The funds will be distributed to students on Central’s undergraduate and postgraduate applied theatre courses (BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education and its Writing for Performance pathway; MA Applied Theatre) with recipients recognised as Leverhulme Arts Scholars, to enable them to undertake national and international placement project opportunities that are vital elements of their course curricula.  The award is for a period of 3 years from September 2016.

Central’s Applied Theatre courses are some of its most prized and attract large numbers of prospective students.  Through the generous, ongoing support of the Leverhulme Trust, students are supported as they undertake key elements of their training beyond the confines of the School.  These placements enable students to develop their learning in a variety of social and community contexts, developing the necessary experience and skills to secure professional work upon graduation – thus providing them with the very best possibility for employment.  In continuing to enable their participation in these excellent and innovative projects, support from the Leverhulme Trust helps Central graduates to stand out.

Professor Sally Mackey, Chair of Applied Theatre and Performance said of the award:

“This is wonderful news.  The continuation of this intensely valuable relationship with the Leverhulme Trust both demonstrates and validates the world-leading status of Central’s work in applied theatre at undergraduate level – an area we developed and in which we continue to excel, as our fellow institutions worldwide attest.  This dynamic injection of funds will ensure that the national and international reach of our courses continues at its current level and that we remain at the forefront of excellence and innovation in the field.”

Since 2007, the Leverhulme Trust has provided life- changing opportunities for more than 350 students at Central and for countless more groups with whom they have worked across the globe including the Dharavi slums of Mumbai, South African townships and in prisons in the United Kingdom and abroad.  Through the Leverhulme Trust’s continued generosity, travel, accommodation and other expenses for the students’ placements are funded, enabling them to learn the skills of performance-making in the broadest range of non-traditional places.