Honorary Fellowships and Honorary Degrees
Honorary Fellows
Dame Jenny Abramsky DBE
Chair of the Royal Academy of Music and of the Board of Governors of The Royal Ballet
Joss Ackland CBE
Actor and alumnus of Central
Riz Ahmed
Actor, activist and alumnus of Central
Ola Animashawun
Dramaturg and playwright
Steven Berkoff
Actor, writer and director and alumnus of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Claire Bloom CBE
Actress and alumna of Central
Hugh Bonneville
Actor
Bette Bourne
Actor, drag queen, equal rights activist and alumnus of Central
Jo Brand
Stand-up comedian
Yvonne Brewster OBE
Founder, Talawa Theatre Company
William Burdett-Coutts
Founder and director of theatre and comedy promotion company Assembly
Raidene Carter
Producer
Lizzie Clachan
Theatre designer
David Collison
Sound designer
Paule Constable
Lighting designer
Diana Cooper
Former Drama and Movement Therapy (Sesame), Central
Nia DaCosta
Film-maker
Marcus Davey
Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the Roundhouse
Dame Judi Dench DBE
Actress and alumna of Central
Declan Donnellan
Artistic Director, Cheek by Jowl
Carrie Fisher
Actress, novelist, screenwriter, performance artist and alumna of Central
Penny Francis MBE
World-leading puppetry practitioner
Martin Freeman
Actor and alumnus of Central
Maria Friedman
Actress
Sonia Friedman CBE
Producer and alumna of Central
Gareth Fry
Sound Designer and alumnus of Central
Paulina García
Actress
William Gaskill
Theatre director
Heiner Goebbels
Composer and director, President of the Theatre Academic Hessen
Nickolas Grace
Actor and alumnus of Central
Michael Grandage CBE
Artistic Director of the Michael Grandage Company and alumnus of Central
Tanika Gupta MBE
Playwright
George Hall
Former Head of Stage, Central
Laurence Harbottle
Entertainment lawyer and past Chair of Governors of Central
Sir Ronald Harwood CBE, FRSL
Playwright and Novelist
Jocelyn Herbert
Stage designer
Anna Herrmann
Joint Artistic Director of Clean Break
Tracy Ifeachor
Actress and alumnus of Central
Ann Jellicoe
Playwright, theatre director and actress
David Jubb
Artistic Director of Battersea Arts Centre
Jude Kelly OBE
Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre
Helen Lannaghan
Co-founder and co-director of the London International Mime Festival
Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Writer and alumna of Central
Simon McBurney OBE
Co-founder and Artistic Director of Complicite
Dame Helen Mirren DBE
Actress
Cecilia Noble
Actress and alumna of Central
Richard Pilbrow
Stage lighting designer, author and producer
Harold Pinter CH CBE
Nobel Prize winner, playwright, screenwriter, actor, director, alumnus and former President of Central
Dame Joan Plowright DBE
The Lady Olivier, award-winning actress
Stephen Poliakof CBE
Playwright, director and scriptwriter
Vanessa Redgrave CBE
Actress and alumna of Central
Professor Sir Ken Robinson
Senior Adviser to the President, The J Paul Getty Trust
Finn Ross
Designer and alumnus of Central
Julian Rudd
Founder and Director of Remarkable Productions
Professor Richard Schechner
Professor in Performance Studies, New York University
Jenny Sealey OBE
Artistic Director of Graeae Theatre Company
Joseph Seelig OBE
Co-founder and co-director of the London International Mime Festival
Sir Donald Sinden CBE
Actor and author
Rae Smith
Designer
Paul Taiano OBE
Senior Partner, Nyman Libson Paul, Chartered Accountants
Former Central Chairman of Governors
Catherine Tate
Actress and alumna of Central
Kully Thiarai
Artistic Director, National Theatre Wales
Jatinder Verma MBE
Artistic Director, Tara Arts
Christopher Wade
Historian
Deborah Warner CBE
World-renowned theatre and opera director, and alumna of Central
Sir Arnold Wesker
Dramatist
Kevin Whately
Actor and alumnus of Central
Richard Wilson OBE
Actor
Dame Barbara Windsor MBE
Actress
Honorary Degrees
Cicely Berry CBE
Former Voice Director, Royal Shakespeare Company and alumna of Central
Professor Anne Bogart
Theatre and opera director
Nuria Espert
Actress, director and producer
Lee Hall
Playwriter and screenwriter
Alby James OBE
Director and producer
Talia Rodgers
Publisher
Ola Animashawun receives his Honorary Fellowship in 2019
Tanika Gupta MBE receives her Honorary Fellowship, 2018
Martin Freeman receives his Honorary Fellowship, 2016
Steven Berkoff receives his Honorary Fellowship, 2014
Sonia Friedman receives her Honorary Fellowship, 2014
Julian Rudd receives his Honorary Fellowship, 2013