Louis Mahoney Scholarships

Louis Mahoney Scholarships

This series of Scholarships has been made available by an anonymous donor. With the donor’s blessing, the School has worked with the Mahoney family to name the Scholarships in memory of Louis Mahoney to add to his impressive legacy of campaigning for racial equality within the acting profession and ensure that all at Central remain aware of his achievements and interest in up-and-coming actors. 


Courses: Undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Eligibility: Home/ELQ students who identify as Black and Global Majority. 

Value/Number of Awards: There will be one undergraduate and one postgraduate Louis Mahoney Scholarship. Each Scholarship is valued at £5,000 to be allocated in equal portions for duration of the course.   

Application Details: 

Applicants interested in this fund, must hold an offer of admission for a relevant course by Monday 14 August 2023. All offer holders will be sent an email on Wednesday 16 August by 5pm UK time with information on how to apply, guidance notes, and a link to the online application form.

About Louis Mahoney

Alumnus Louis Mahoney was born in the Gambia, and came to the UK in the 1960s to study medicine – but switched to train as an actor and chose to study at Central.  

Alongside his prolific acting career, Mahoney was a passionate and committed anti-racist activist. He helped to found the Performers Against Racism and the Black Youth Workshop that provided a platform for fledgling actors; he was elected to the council of the actors’ union Equity and was chairman of Equity’s Afro-Asian committee (now the Minority Ethnic Members Committee) where he tried to persuade broadcasters and drama schools to reform their attitudes to diversity. He later became vice president of Equity for two years from 1994.  

One of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s first Black actors, his stage credits are prolific and include performances at the Young Vic, Theatre Royal, Leicester Curve, National Theatre, Royal Course, Almeida, Oxford Playhouse, Gaiety Theatre Dublin, and most recently Bridge Theatre. 

His film credits included Richard Attenborough’s 1987 drama Cry Freedom, and 2013’s Captain Phillips.  On TV, Mahoney appeared in shows including Fawlty Towers and Doctor Who.

Louis Mahoney

Photo reproduced by kind permission of the Mahoney family.