conservatoire
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...
and drama school located in the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
along with
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
and production arts. The school has students from over seventy countries. Widely regarded as one of the leading performing arts institutions in the world, it was ranked first in both the Guardian’s 2022 League Table for Music and the Complete University Guide's 2023 Arts, Drama and Music league table. It is also ranked the sixth university in the world for performing arts in the 2022
QS World University Rankings
''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
, the school currently numbers just over 1,000 students, approximately 800 of whom are music students and 200 on the
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
and technical theatre programmes. The school is a member of
Conservatoires UK
Conservatoires UK, also known as CUK, is a group that represents eleven British conservatoires.
Members
UCAS Conservatoires
In conjunction with UCAS, Conservatoires UK runs a clearing house for undergraduate and postgraduate music courses at ...
, the
European Association of Conservatoires
The European Association of Conservatoires (AEC) is the main association of colleges and university schools of music in Europe and represents the interests of institutions that are concerned with training for the music profession.
It is abbreviate ...
and the Federation of Drama Schools. It also has formed a creative alliance with its neighbours, the Barbican Centre and the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...
Sir James Galway
Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". He established an international career as a solo flute player. In 2005, he received the Brit Award for Outstand ...
,
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...
and
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...
.
History
1880–1977
The Guildhall School of Music first opened its doors on 27 September 1880, housed in a disused warehouse in the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
. With 64 part-time students, it was the first municipal music college in Great Britain. The school quickly outgrew its first home, however, and in 1887 it moved to new premises in John Carpenter Street in a complex of educational buildings built by the Corporation of London to house it and the city's two state schools.
The new building was completed by 9 December 1886 and the
Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...
, Sir Reginald Hanson, attended the opening ceremony. Teaching continued under the first principal of the school, Thomas Henry Weist Hill, who eventually had some ninety teaching staff.
The new site, designed by the architect
Sir Horace Jones
Sir Horace Jones (20 May 1819 – 21 May 1887) was an English architect particularly noted for his work as architect and surveyor to the City of London from 1864 until his death. He served as president of the Royal Institute of British Architec ...
, comprised a common room for professors and 45 studios, each surrounded by a one-foot thick layer of concrete to "deaden the sound". Each room contained both a
grand piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
and an
upright piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
. Additionally, there was an organ room and a "practice" room, in reality a small concert hall which was used for orchestral and choir rehearsals. The practice room was also the venue for the fortnightly school concerts
Initially, all tuition was on a part-time basis, but full-time courses were introduced to meet demand in 1920. Departments of speech, voice, and acting were added, and by 1935 the school had added "and Drama" to its title.
1977–2005
The school moved to its present premises in the heart of the City of London's Barbican Centre in 1977 and continues to be owned, funded and administered by the City of London.
In 1993, the Corporation of London leased a nearby courtyard of buildings that in the 18th century had been the centre of Samuel Whitbread's first brewery, and renovated and converted this to provide the school with its hall of residence, Sundial Court. About three minutes' walk from the school, Sundial Court offers self-catering single-room accommodation for 178 students.
In 2001, the Secretary of State,
Baroness Blackstone
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
, announced that the Barbican Centre, including the Guildhall School, was to be Grade II listed.
2005–present
In 2005, the school was awarded the
Queen's Anniversary Prize
The Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education are a biennially awarded series of prizes awarded to universities and colleges in the further and higher education sectors within the United Kingdom. Uniquely it forms part of the Bri ...
for its development and outreach programme, Guildhall Connect, and, in 2007, it won a further Queen's Anniversary Prize in recognition of the work of the opera programme over the last two decades. The school was rated No. 1 specialist institution in the UK in the
Guardian University Guide
Guardian usually refers to:
* Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another
* ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper
(The) Guardian(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Guardian, West Virginia, Uni ...
2013 and 2014.
The most significant investment in the Guildhall School's future came to fruition via the £90 million redevelopment of the neighbouring Milton Court site. The new building, which opened in 2013, houses three new performance spaces: a concert hall (608 seats), a theatre (223 seats) and a studio theatre (up to 128 seats) in addition to drama teaching and administration spaces.
The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs as well as the Junior Guildhall, a Saturday school serving students from 4 to 18 years of age.
The school was awarded a further Queen's Anniversary Prize in 2007 in recognition of the achievements and work of the Opera Programme.
In August 2014, the Guildhall had a logo change to a more
minimalist
In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post– World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...
modern style. It was changed due to the school thinking that it needed to reflect its types of teachings.
Programmes
The Guildhall School was awarded taught-degree awarding powers in 2014 by the Privy Council. Doctoral degrees are validated by
City, University of London
City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...
.
Music
The Guildhall offers a four-year undergraduate program for musicians along with the Guildhall Artist Masters in performance or composition and the highly advanced Artist Diploma programme. Students can specialise in classical or jazz performance (either as an instrumentalist or vocalist), composition, historical performance and electronic music. At master's level, vocal students are able to specialise in Opera Studies. In addition to this, the school offers postgraduate degrees in opera writing (in association with
The Royal Opera
The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Cove ...
) and in music therapy.
Drama
The Guildhall School offers a three-year BA Honours in Acting and the MA in Acting preparing students for the world of professional theatre. The School also delivers the BA Honours in Acting Studies in partnership with the
Central Academy of Drama
The Central Academy of Drama (), abbreviated Zhong Xi (), is a drama school in Beijing, China. It is a Chinese state Double First Class University Plan university identified by the Ministry of Education of China. The school is the first theatre ...
in Beijing. A full time, four-year programme with two years of training at each institution, the BA Honours in Acting Studies takes in a cohort of students every other year, exploring cross-cultural approaches to acting.
Production Arts
The School also offers a three-year vocational degree in production arts where students can specialise in either Stage Management, Costume, Theatre Technology or Design Realisation. The school is one of a handful to offer specialist training in stage automation, with computer controlled flying installations in three of the venues provided by TAIT, based upon their eChameleon platform.
Youth Learning
Guildhall School offers a Saturday school for advanced young musicians under the age of 18. In addition to this, the school the UK's largest provider of music education to under 18s by incorporating the Centre for Young Musicians (CYM) and creating new music "hubs" in Norfolk and Somerset; the school achieved recognition for Guildhall's music outreach and opera programmes through two Queen's Anniversary Prizes (2005 and 2007).
Admission
Admission to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama is by a highly competitive audition. The School holds auditions for their music programmes in London, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo and from 2021 drama auditions will be held in cities across the UK (including London, Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds and Nottingham) along with international auditions in New York.
For the Production Arts course, admission is through interview at the school's Milton Court building in London, or at the United States Institute of Theatre Technology conference held each year, where prospective students meet and take part in various activities which simulate the teaching offered on the course.
In the year 2018/19, the Acting course had 2,610 applications and awarded offers to only 1% of the applicants, giving it one of the lowest acceptance rates for any U.K. higher education institution. Unlike other UK conservatoires, Guildhall operates a separate applications procedure and applications are made directly to the school, as opposed to through UCAS Conservatoires.
Facilities
The Milton Court Concert Hall is a 608-seat professional concert venue, with the largest audience capacity of any of the London conservatoires. The school works in association with the Barbican Centre to stage public performances from world-renowned ensembles, such as the Academy of Ancient Music and Britten Sinfonia within Milton Court. In addition to Guildhall's flagship concert hall, the Milton Court building also contains a 223-seat proscenium arch theatre, a flexible 128-seat studio theatre and several rehearsal rooms. The school's Grade II listed Silk Street building houses a 308-seat drama and opera theatre, along with a second smaller concert hall, a recital room, theatrical workshops and labs, electronic music studios, recording and sound studios, and over 40 teaching and practice rooms. The school also owns the John Hosier Annexe, a nearby building with a further 44 teaching and practice rooms. The Guildhall School library (located within the Silk Street building) houses one of the most extensive specialised collections of music and drama print in Europe. The Guildhall Symphony Orchestra and Chorus perform regularly in the neighbouring 1,943-seat Barbican Hall, whilst chamber musicians give recitals there as part of the acclaimed LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists series.
Alumni
Music
Some distinguished alumni of Guildhall School's music department include:
Roderick Williams
Roderick Gregory Coleman Williams OBE (born 1965) is a British baritone and composer.
Biography
Williams was born in North London to a Welsh father and a Jamaican mother. He attended Christ Church Cathedral School in Oxford and Haberdashers' ...
(born 1965), baritone
*
Alice Coote
Alice Coote OBE (born 10 May 1968) is a British lyric mezzo-soprano.
Life
Coote was born in Frodsham, Cheshire, the daughter of the painter Mark Coote. She was educated at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London (though she did not ...
Anne Sofie von Otter
Anne Sofie von Otter (born 9 May 1955) is a Swedish mezzo-soprano. Her repertoire encompasses lieder, operas, oratorios and also rock and pop songs.
Early life
Von Otter was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Her father was Göran von Otter, a Swedis ...
(born 1955), mezzo-soprano
*
Wynne Evans
Wynne Evans BEM MStJ (born 27 January 1972) is a Welsh singer and actor, known for his role as Gio Compario and laterly himself in the Go.compare insurance adverts on television in the United Kingdom.
Evans sang the role of Ubaldo Piangi i ...
(born 1972), tenor
* Claire Rutter (born 1972), soprano
*
Sophie Karthäuser
Sophie Karthäuser (born May 1974) is a Belgian operatic soprano. She has performed internationally, especially in roles by Mozart such as Ilia in ''Idomeneo'' and Pamina in ''The Magic Flute''. She is also a recitalist, performing and recording ...
(born 1974), soprano
*
Nathan Berg
Nathan or Natan may refer to:
People
*Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name
*Nathan (surname)
*Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible
*Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David and ...
Konrad Jarnot
Konrad Jarnot (born 1972) is an English baritone who works in opera and oratorio and is a notable performer of Lieder. He is a professor at the Robert Schumann Hochschule.
Early life
Born at Brighton,Ruby Helder
Ruby Helder (March 3, 1890 – November 21, 1938) was a British opera singer known for her powerful contralto voice.
Early life and family
Helder was born Emma Jane Holder in 1890 in the Easton district of Bristol. Her father, Thomas, a dairyman ...
(1890-1938), contralto
* Toby Spence (born 1969), tenor
*
Kate Royal
Kate Royal (born 1979) is an English lyric soprano. She is the daughter of Steve Royal, a singer and songwriter for television, and of Carolyn Royal, a former model and dancer.
Royal was born in London and attended Talbot Heath School in Bour ...
(born 1979), soprano
*
Juliette Pochin
Juliette Louise B. Pochin (born 1971) is a Welsh classically trained mezzo-soprano singer, composer/arranger, and record producer. She is known not only for her performances in operas and as a classical recitalist as well as for her recordings o ...
(born 1971), mezzo-soprano
* William Shimell (born 1952), baritone
* Rebecca Caine (born 1959), soprano and musical theatre performer
*
Myleene Klass
Myleene Angela Klass (born 6 April 1978) is a British musician, singer, presenter, model and businesswoman. She was a member of the pop group Hear'Say, and later released two solo classical crossover albums in 2003 and 2007. More recently, Klass ...
(born 1978), singer and pianist
*
Buddug Verona James
Buddug Verona James is a Welsh mezzo-soprano opera singer who studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the National Opera Studio and in Rome. She was born in Cardigan, Wales.
Career
Among her operatic roles James has performed Gl ...
Pacie Ripple
Pacie Ripple (20 April 1864 – 16 April 1941) was an English operatic tenor known for playing in the operas of Gilbert and Sullivan from 1889 to 1890 and again from 1903 to 1907. He later had a career as a performer in the United States. The ...
Benjamin Appl
Benjamin Appl (born 26 June 1982) is a German-British lyric baritone, a classical singer who has appeared world-wide in opera houses and concert halls, particularly known as a Lieder singer.
Early life and education
Born in Regensburg, Appl ...
(born 1982), baritone
*
Zara McFarlane
Zara McFarlane is a British jazz/soul singer and songwriter, based in East London. In October 2014, McFarlane was awarded the title of "Best Jazz Act" at the MOBO Awards. She has had four albums released by Brownswood Recordings.
Early life
Zara ...
(born 1983), jazz singer and songwriter
* Richard Standen (born 1912), bass-baritone
Instrumentalists
*
Sir James Galway
Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". He established an international career as a solo flute player. In 2005, he received the Brit Award for Outstand ...
(born 1939), flautist
*
Paul Lewis (pianist)
Paul Lewis (born 20 May 1972) is an English classical pianist. ''
Alison Balsom
Alison Louise Balsom, Lady Mendes, (born 7 October 1978) is an English trumpet soloist, arranger, producer, and music educator. Balsom was awarded Artist of the Year at the 2013 Gramophone Awards and has won three Classic BRIT Awards and thre ...
Tasmin Little
Tasmin Little (born 13 May 1965) is an English classical violinist. She is a concerto soloist and also performs as a recitalist and chamber musician. She has released numerous albums, winning the Critics Award at the Classic Brit Awards in 2011 ...
(born 1965), violinist
*
Sa Chen
Sa Chen (; born 21 November 1979) is a Chinese pianist. She won first prize in the 1994 China International Piano Competition, fourth place in the XIV International Chopin Piano Competition in 2000, fourth place in the Leeds International Piano ...
(born 1979), pianist
*
Jess Gillam
Jess Gillam (born 24 May 1998) is a British saxophonist and BBC radio broadcaster from Ulverston, Cumbria. Gillam hosts ''This Classical Life'' on BBC Radio 3.
Education
Gillam attended the Junior Royal Northern College of Music while at se ...
(born 1998), saxophonist
* Andrew Brownell (born 1980), pianist
*
Maxim Rysanov
Maxim Rysanov (born 1978) is a Ukrainian violist and conductor.
Rysanov was born in Kramatorsk, and studied at the Central Special Music School in Moscow and later at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In 2000 he won the Gold M ...
(born 1978), violinist
*
Clare Hammond
__NOTOC__
Clare Hammond (born 1985) is a British concert pianist. In 2016, she was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society's Young Artist award.
Early life and education
Hammond grew up in Nottingham, was educated at Nottingham Girls' High Schoo ...
(born 1985), pianist
*
Jennifer Pike
Jennifer Elizabeth Pike (born 9 November 1989) is a British violinist.
Early years and education
Pike began playing the violin at the age of five, and after auditioning at the age of eight she gained a place at Chetham's School of Music in M ...
(born 1989), violinist
* David Holland (born 1946), jazz double bassist
*
Shabaka Hutchings
Shabaka Hutchings is a British jazz musician, composer and bandleader. He leads the bands Sons of Kemet and Shabaka and the Ancestors. He is also a member of The Comet Is Coming, performing under the stage name King Shabaka. Hutchings has p ...
(born 1984), jazz saxophonist and band leader
*
Jason Rebello
Jason Matthew Rebello (born 29 March 1969) is a British pianist, songwriter, and record producer.
Career
Rebello was born in Carshalton, Surrey. His father's family is from India. Rebello was raised a Catholic in Wandsworth, London. He was cl ...
(born 1969), jazz pianist and songwriter
*
Florian Ross
Florian Ross (born 1972) is a German jazz pianist, composer and arranger.
Life and career
Ross was born in Pforzheim in 1972.
His debut recording as leader was made for Naxos Records in 1998 – ''Seasons & Places''. In 2011, he was commission ...
(born 1972), jazz pianist, composer and arranger
* Jim Tomlinson (born 1966), tenor saxophonist and clarinetist
* Arisa and Honoka Fujita of the Fujita Piano Trio
*
Rachel Podger
Rachel Podger (born 1968 in England) is a British violinist and conductor specialising in the performance of Baroque music.
Career
Podger was born to a British father and a German mother. She was educated at a German Rudolf Steiner school then ...
(born 1968), violinist
Composers
*
Thomas Adès
Thomas Joseph Edmund Adès (born 1 March 1971) is a British composer, pianist and conductor. Five compositions by Adès received votes in the 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000: '' The Tempest'' (2004), '' ...
(born 1971), composer
*
Debbie Wiseman
Debbie Wiseman, OBE (born 10 May 1963) is a British composer for film and television, known also as a conductor and a radio and television presenter.
Biography
Wiseman was born in London. She studied at Trinity College of Music Junior Depart ...
(born 1963), film score composer
*
Sir George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Bea ...
(1926-2016), composer and record producer
*
Harry Gregson-Williams
Harry Gregson-Williams (born 13 December 1961) is a British composer, conductor, orchestrator, and record producer. He has composed music for video games, television and films including the ''Metal Gear'' series, '' Spy Game'', ''Phone Booth'' ...
(born 1961), film score composer
* Richard Mills (born 1949), composer and conductor
*
John Ivimey
John William Ivimey (12 September 1868 – 16 April 1961) was an English organist and composer who specialized in comic operas. He also worked as director of music in schools and churches.
Ivimey was awarded the degree of Doctor of Music by the ...
(1868–1961), composer and organist
* Sir Noël Coward (1899-1973), playwright and composer
* Mica Levi (Micachu) (born 1987), composer and singer-songwriter
Conductors
*
Paul Daniel
Paul Daniel (born 5 July 1958) is an English conductor.
Biography Early life
Daniel was born in Birmingham. As a boy, he sang in the choir of Coventry Cathedral, where he received musical training; then studied music at King's College, Cambr ...
(born 1958), conductor
* Ben Gernon (born 1989), conductor
*
Jules Buckley
Jules Buckley (born 8 January 1980) is an English conductor, composer, and arranger.
Personal
Buckley was born and grew up in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire in the UK. He is the son of Keith Buckley (a doctor) and Joan Buckley, and attended Ayle ...
(born 1980), conductor
* Albert Horne (born 1980), conductor and chorus-master
*
Noël Tredinnick
Dr Noël Harwood Tredinnick (born 9 March 1949) is a British composer, organist, orchestrator and conductor. He was awarded a Lambeth DMus degree in March 2002. In Queen Elizabeth's Birthday Honours bestowed in 2021, he received a BEM (British E ...
(born 1949), conductor
* Howard Williams (born 1947), conductor
*
Richard Farnes
Richard Farnes (born 1964) is a British conductor, and was Music Director of Opera North from 2004 to 2016.
Education
Farnes was a chorister at King's College, Cambridge before entering Eton College as a music scholar in 1977. He returned to ...
(born 1964), conductor
*
David Arch
David Arch, better known as Dave Arch, is a British pianist, conductor, arranger and composer with a career covering albums, films and commercials, television and live performances. He is Musical Director and arranger for BBC Television's '' Str ...
Gold Medal of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
The Gold Medal of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama is awarded in April of each year to the winner of the school's music competition. It is awarded in alternate years to a singer and an instrumentalist. Gold Medals are also awarded for othe ...
; list of winners of the Gold Medal
Drama
Some notable alumni of Guildhall School's drama department include:
*
Naveen Andrews
Naveen William Sidney Andrews (born 17 January 1969) is a British-American actor. He is best known for his role as Sayid Jarrah in the television series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primet ...
– (''
Lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'', ''
The English Patient
''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main characters are: an unrecognisably burn ...
'')
*
Hayley Atwell
Hayley Elizabeth Atwell (born 5 April 1982) is a British and American actress. Born and raised in London, Atwell studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and made her stage debut in a 2005 production of James Kerr's translation ...
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...
The Mousetrap
''The Mousetrap'' is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. ''The Mousetrap'' opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be temporarily discontinued during the COVID-1 ...
'', ''
The Great War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
'' or ''
Z-Cars
''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...
'')
*
Bessie Carter
Bessie Beatrice Carter (born 25 October 1993) is an English actress. She is known for her role as Evie Wilcox on the BBC television series ''Howards End'' (2017) and Violet Woodhouse on the ITV television series ''Beecham House'' (2019).
Early ...
- (''
Howards End
''Howards End'' is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. ''Howards End'' is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book was ...
'' ), (''
Beecham House
''Beecham House'' is a short-lived British historical drama television series set in 1795, co-created, directed and produced by Gurinder Chadha. The six-part series was announced in August 2018 and was broadcast between Sunday 23 June ...
'')
*
Michaela Coel
Michaela Ewuraba Boakye-Collinson (born 1 October 1987), known professionally as Michaela Coel, is a British screenwriter and actress. She is best known for creating and starring in the E4 sitcom ''Chewing Gum'' (2015–2017), for which she won ...
Chewing Gum
Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/ plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its t ...
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...
– (''
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
'', ''
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' (original title in sv, Män som hatar kvinnor , lit=''Men Who Hate Women'') is a psychological thriller novel by Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson (1954–2004). It was published posthumously in 2 ...
'')
*
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...
Michelle Dockery
Michelle Suzanne Dockery (born 15 December 1981) is an English television and film actress. She is best known for her leading performance as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV television period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2015), for which ...
– (''
Downton Abbey
''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...
Monica Dolan
Monica Margaret Dolan (born 15 March 1969) is an English actress. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Rosemary West in '' Appropriate Adult'' (2011).
Career
Dolan was born in Middlesbrough and trained at the Gu ...
- (''
Appropriate Adult
In English law, an appropriate adult is a parent, guardian or social worker; or if no person matching this is available, any responsible person over 18. The term was introduced as part of the policing reforms in the Police and Criminal Evidence ...
'', ''
A Very English Scandal
''A Very English Scandal'' is a true crime non-fiction novel by John Preston. It was first published on 5 May 2016 by Viking Press and by Other Press in the United States. The novel details the 1970s Thorpe affair in Britain, in which former L ...
'')
*
Kenny Doughty
Kenny Doughty is an English actor and director, best known for playing DS Aiden Healy on ITV's Crime Drama '' Vera.''
Early life
Doughty was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. He attended Charter School, which became the Kingstone School on B ...
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'' is a 2018 British-American jukebox musical romantic comedy film written and directed by Ol Parker, from a story by Parker, Catherine Johnson, and Richard Curtis. It is the sequel to the 2008 film ''Mamma Mia!'' ...
'', ''
The Little Stranger
:The Little Stranger ''is also the title of one of the Color Classics series produced 13 March 1936, in three-strip Technicolor, by Fleischer Studios. It is also the 2018 film adaptation of Waters' novel.''
''The Little Stranger'' is a 2009 g ...
'')
*
Shaun Evans
Shaun Francis Evans (born 6 March 1980) is an English actor and director. He is best known for playing a young Endeavour Morse in the ITV drama series '' Endeavour''.
Early life
Shaun Francis Evans was born on 6 March 1980 into an Irish fam ...
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Being Julia
''Being Julia'' is a 2004 comedy-drama film directed by István Szabó and starring Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood is based on the novel ''Theatre'' (1937) by W. Somerset Maugham. The original film score was comp ...
Princess Kaiulani
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
Souad Faress
Souad Adel Faress (born 25 March 1948) is a stage, radio, television and film actress based in United Kingdom. She is best known for her portrayal of the solicitor Usha Gupta, in the long-running BBC Radio 4 serial ''The Archers'' and for her ...
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My Beautiful Laundrette
''My Beautiful Laundrette'' is a 1985 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. The film was also one of the first films released by Working Title Films.
The story is set in London dur ...
'')
*
Joseph Fiennes
Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (), known as Joseph Fiennes, is an English actor of film, stage, and television. Journalist Zoe Williams observed that "he seemed to be the go-to actor for English cultural history". Fiennes is particu ...
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Shakespeare in Love
''Shakespeare in Love'' is a 1998 romantic period comedy-drama film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard, and produced by Harvey Weinstein. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin ...
'', ''
Enemy at the Gates
''Enemy at the Gates'' (''Stalingrad'' in France and ''L'Ennemi aux portes'' in Canada) is a 2001 war film directed, co-written, and produced by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on William Craig's 1973 nonfiction book '' Enemy at the Gates: The Batt ...
The Riot Club
''The Riot Club'' is a 2014 British thriller drama film directed by Lone Scherfig and written by Laura Wade, based on Wade's 2010 play ''Posh''. The film stars Sam Claflin, Max Irons and Douglas Booth. It is set among the Riot Club, a fictional ...
Tom Glynn-Carney
Tom Glynn-Carney (born 7 February 1995) is an English actor and singer. He has appeared in Christopher Nolan's war film ''Dunkirk'' (2017), '' Tolkien'', '' The King'', and '' Rialto'' (2019), and as King Aegon II Targaryen in ''House of the ...
Conleth Hill
Conleth Seamus Eoin Croiston Hill (born 24 November 1964) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has performed on stage in productions in the UK, Ireland, Canada and the United States. He has won two Laurence Olivier Awards and received two Ton ...
Downton Abbey
''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...
'')
*
Lennie James
Lennie Michael James (born 11 October 1965) is a British actor, screenwriter, and playwright. His work includes playing Morgan Jones in the television series, '' The Walking Dead'' and in its spin-off, '' Fear the Walking Dead'', and starring ...
Lily James
Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson (born 5 April 1989), better known by her stage name Lily James, is an English actress. She studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and began her career in the British television series ''Ju ...
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Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'', ''
Downton Abbey
''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'' is a 2018 British-American jukebox musical romantic comedy film written and directed by Ol Parker, from a story by Parker, Catherine Johnson, and Richard Curtis. It is the sequel to the 2008 film ''Mamma Mia!'' ...
Ted Lasso
''Ted Lasso'' is an American sports comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly. It is based on a character of the same name that Sudeikis first portrayed in a series of promos for NB ...
'')
*
Ferdinand Kingsley
Ferdinand James M. Kingsley (born 13 February 1988) is a British actor. He is known for portraying the roles of Hamza Bey in the film ''Dracula Untold'' (2014), Mr. Francatelli in the television series ''Victoria'' (2016–2019), Irving Thalberg ...
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Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
'')
*
Caroline Lee-Johnson
Caroline Lee-Johnson is a British actress. She is best known for her starring roles in ''Chef!'' as Janice Blackstock and ''The Knock'' as Diane Ralston. Her work has been primarily in television, but she has also had roles in films, including '' ...
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Chef!
''Chef!'' is a British situation comedy starring Lenny Henry that aired as twenty episodes over three series from 1993 to 1996 on the BBC. The show was created and primarily written by Peter Tilbury based on an idea from Lenny Henry and produced ...
, ''
The Knock
''The Knock'' is a British television crime drama, created by Anita Bronson and broadcast on ITV, which portrayed the activities of customs officers from the London City & South Collection Investigation Unit of HM Customs and Excise. The seri ...
'')
*
Gwilym Lee
Gwilym Lee (born 24 November 1983) is a Welsh actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Jamestown'', ''Midsomer Murders'', ''Top End Wedding'', ''The Great'', and for playing guitarist Brian May in the Queen biopic ''Bohemian Rhapsody''.
Ear ...
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Bohemian Rhapsody
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack o ...
Damian Lewis
Damian Watcyn Lewis (born 11 February 1971) is an English actor, presenter and producer. He is best known for portraying U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'', which earned him a Golden Globe nomination ...
Homeland
A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...
'')
*
Mirren Mack
Mirren Mack (born 1997) is a Scottish actress, known for portraying Kaya on the BBC drama '' The Nest'', Florence in ''Sex Education'', Queenie in the National Theatre’s 2022 production of '' Small Island'', and Princess/Empress Merwyn in the ...
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...
– (''
Moulin Rouge!
''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows a young English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and cour ...
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...
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Spider-Man 2
''Spider-Man 2'' is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi and written by Alvin Sargent from a story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and Michael Chabon. Based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name, it is the ...
Katherine Rose Morley
Katherine Rose Morley (born 3 October 1989) is an English actress. She has appeared in '' The Mill'' (2013–2014), ''Thirteen'' (2016), ''Last Tango in Halifax'' (2013–2020), '' Clink'' (2019), and ''The Syndicate'' (2021).
Early life
Kath ...
Thirteen
Thirteen or 13 may refer to:
* 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14
* One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013
Music
* 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band
Albums
* ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013
* ...
,
Last Tango in Halifax
''Last Tango in Halifax'' is a British comedy-drama series that began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 November 2012 until its final episode which was broadcast on 15 March 2020. Screenwriter Sally Wainwright loosely adapted the story of her mothe ...
Downton Abbey
''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...
Kate Phillips
Kate Phillips (born 21 May 1989) is a British actress. She became famous for her role as Jane Seymour in the successful miniseries ''Wolf Hall'' (2015). She subsequently appeared in the miniseries '' War & Peace'' (2016), the first season of th ...
- (''
Peaky Blinders
The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1910s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to middle-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, rack ...
'', ''
The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
'')
*
Rose Reynolds
Rose Alice Reynolds (born 21 February 1991) is a British actress and singer. She is most known for her roles as Sarah Durkin in '' Wasted'', Betty Carkeek in ''Poldark'' and Alice in '' Once Upon a Time''. Alongside these roles, she has also app ...
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Wasted
Wasted may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
*'' Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk'', a 1997 memoir by Mark Judge
*'' Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia'', a 1998 autobiography by Marya Hornbacher
*'' Wasted: A Childhood Sto ...
'')
*
Simon Russell Beale
Sir Simon Russell Beale (born 12 January 1961) is an English actor. He is known for his appearances in film, television and theatre, and work on radio, on audiobooks and as a narrator. For his services to drama, he was knighted by Queen Eliza ...
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Penny Dreadful
Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typically referred to ...
'', ''
Into the Woods
''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.
The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...
The Riot Club
''The Riot Club'' is a 2014 British thriller drama film directed by Lone Scherfig and written by Laura Wade, based on Wade's 2010 play ''Posh''. The film stars Sam Claflin, Max Irons and Douglas Booth. It is set among the Riot Club, a fictional ...
'', ''
Pride
Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) w ...
'')
*
Marina Sirtis
Marina Sirtis (; born 29 March 1955) is a British actress. She is best known for her role as Counselor Deanna Troi on the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and four ''Star Trek'' feature films, as well as other appearances ...
Sarah Sutton
Sarah Sutton (born 12 December 1961) is a British actress. She played the role of Nyssa in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''.
Early life
Sutton was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. Sutton studied ballet a ...
David Thewlis
David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis (), is a British actor, author, director and screenwriter.
Thewlis rose to prominence when he starred in the film ''Naked'' (1993), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Awa ...
Seven Years in Tibet
''Seven Years in Tibet: My Life Before, During and After'' (1952; german: Sieben Jahre in Tibet. Mein Leben am Hofe des Dalai Lama; 1954 in English) is an autobiographical travel book written by Austrian mountaineer and Nazi SS sergeant Heinrich ...
'')
*
Dominic West
Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in HBO's ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Noah Solloway in Showtime's '' The Affair'' (2014–2019), ...
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...
'')
*
Jodie Whittaker
Jodie Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress who is best known for portraying the thirteenth incarnation of the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2017–2022) and as Beth Latimer in ''Broadchurch'' (2013–2017).
She came to prominence ...
Broadchurch
''Broadchurch'' is a British crime drama television series broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV for List of Broadchurch episodes, three series between 2013 and 2017. It was created by Chris Chibnall, who acted as an executive producer and wrote a ...
The Witcher
''The Witcher'' ( pl, Wiedźmin ) is a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous "witcher", Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski's works, "witchers" are be ...
'')
Technical Theatre
Some notable alumni of Guildhall School's technical theatre department include:
* Neil Austin, lighting designer
*
Judy Craymer
Judith Sarah Jarman Craymer (born 26 October 1957) is an English creator and producer of musical theatre who has also worked in the film, television and music industries. She is the founder of Littlestar Services Ltd. Craymer worked on '' Mamma ...
(born 1957), producer
*
Eric Fellner
Eric Fellner, (born 10 October 1959) is a British film producer. He is the co-chairman (along with Tim Bevan) of the production company Working Title Films.
Early life and education
Fellner was born to a Jewish family in England. From 1972 t ...
film producer and co-chairman of
Working Title Films
Working Title Films is a British film studio that produces motion pictures and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a division of Comcast. The company was founded by Tim Be ...