News

On 20th November, Central was delighted to help mark the release of Actor Movement: Expression of the Physical Being - a movement handbook for actors.

In November, Central was delighted to announce receipt of £94,800 from the Big Lottery Fund for its continued work with Outbox Theatre, a project with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Using the funding, Central will build on a project launched in January 2010, allowing LGBT people to share their feelings and opinions through applied theatre workshops and performance. The original project was aimed at people aged 18 to 25 but will now expand to include older people.

In 2014, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, together with Theatre Peckham, asked 34 young people to reflect on the value they place on education and participation in the arts. The young people, aged between 14 and 21 years of age, were drawn from a collection of schools, colleges and theatre organisations such as Theatre Peckham and London Bubble, all of which are based across the London Borough of Southwark. The research gathered in these feedback sessions document young people’s engagement with drama, theatre and performance.

The Prague Quadrennial is now accepting proposals from artists, pedagogues and students from across the world for participation in their 2015 events.

Following the Conference Thomas Ostermeier: Reinventing Director’s Theatre at the Schaubühne Berlin, the MA Advanced Theatre Practice is pleased to announce the development of  two new Options – one for Directors and one for Performers – exploring  the reinvention of these two distinct roles within the context of contemporary practice.

The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama is pleased to announce the forthcoming production of Lie With Me, playing from 14-16 August in the Embassy Theatre. Presented by Talawa Young People’s Theatre, Lie with Me explores what happens when all the promises you make to yourself and others are broken. Set in a surreal hospital, group dynamics crumble in the face of betrayal whilst physical theatre and a haunting soundscape combine to create an evening of powerful drama.

On 19 and 20 November, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama will host a series of events surrounding Voicing Gender: Vocal Authority for the Public Platform as a part of the UK’s first national festival of the humanities, the Being Human Festival.  As a part of this work, the National Theatre will generously host their affiliated Platforms event The Female Voice, in which the National's Head of Voice, Jeanette Nelson, will be joined by actors and directors to discuss vocal skills, technique and training for women in theatre.

Three enterprising Lighting Design students have had a piece of their original work featured at the Vivid Festival in Sydney, Australia.  Jaz Hewitt, Willow Bleasdale and Matt Wright debuted the interactive light installation Evolution at the prominent eighteen day winter festival, which annually features immersive light installations, music performances and public talks and debates from leading creative thinkers in the shadow of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Months of collaboration between The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Camden Council, Veolia Environmental Services, Platform-7 and conceptual artists Akleriah culminated last weekend with a series of unique, site-specific performances of the original production Veolia Songs across Camden. 

The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama is pleased to announce that both its Principal, Professor Gavin Henderson CBE, as well as the Vice-Chairman of its Board of Governors, Peter Roberts, have been appointed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport as trustees of The Theatres Trust.

From May 29 to 7 June, Central's MA Applied Theatre students performed in Dialogues Des Carmelites at The Royal Opera House.  The students formed a part of the 67 person community ensemble of actors who were recruited through charities and partnership organisations including Streetwise Opera, Synergy Theatre Project and the Department of Work and Pensions, to work alongside the artists, chorus and orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Royal Opera House staff and the Production Team.  Many of the participants had experience of homelessness, the criminal justice system and long-term unemployment and, through the Royal Opera House's participatory work, were given the chance to increase their self-esteem and self-confidence and to build on life skills such as teamwork and communication.

From Wednesday 7th May to Saturday 10th May, a group of Central’s MA Advanced Theatre Practice students were in Prague to take part in the 21st Zlomvaz Student Festival in the DISK theatre at DAMU. The Zlomvaz Festival is part of the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design, the largest scenography event in the world which explores a wide range of scenographic practices – from stage design and costume design to lighting design, sound design and new scenographic practices such as site-specific, applied scenography, urban performance, costume as performance, and much more.