The Manchester School of Theatre (originally the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre) is a
tertiary school of theatre, drama and performance situated in the city of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, founded in 1970. It is a part of
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...
, and, in its work as a conservatoire, a member of the
Federation of Drama Schools
The Federation of Drama Schools functions to facilitate vocational drama training in the UK. It was formed in June 2017.
History
A formal organisation for drama training in the UK was first established with the Conference of Drama Schools (CDS) i ...
.
History
Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre evolved out of an early training course for drama teachers that was introduced by the Manchester College of Art and Design between 1964 and 1966. The theatre school was officially established in 1970 as part of Manchester Polytechnic under its charismatic Head of School Edward Argent and Senior Lecturer
John Cargill Thompson
John Cargill Thompson (1938 - 2000) was a Scottish dramatist specialising in one-person plays. After the performance of his 52nd play, he was described as "Britain's most prolific playwright", surpassing Shakespeare's 37 and Alan Ayckbourn's 51.
...
. It was established to provide a professional training for actors that went beyond the rather staid traditions of the established drama schools: at the time, the
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...
would examine prospective students' teeth, like a horse, to see if they had the teeth of a professional actor. Argent and his team believed that the authentic spirit of an actor, even if contained within a less-than-conventionally-perfect body, was more important.
Based initially at the former Congregational Church on Cavendish Street (now demolished) and the adjacent former Righton's Haberdashery (which survives), in 1971 the School of Theatre moved to the
Capitol Theatre, Didsbury (also now demolished), a former cinema from where in the Sixties ABC Television's influential ''
Armchair Theatre
''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968.
The Canadi ...
'' series had been broadcast. The School established an outstanding national and international reputation due largely to the authenticity and individuality of its alumni, actors such as
George Costigan
George J. Costigan (born 8 August 1947) is an English actor who is best known for portraying Bob in the 1987 film ''Rita, Sue and Bob Too'' and for roles in TV series such as '' Happy Valley'' and '' So Haunt Me''.
Early life
Born in Portsmouth ...
,
Richard Griffiths
Richard Thomas Griffiths (31 July 1947 – 28 March 2013) was an English actor of film, television, and stage. For his performance in the stage play ''The History Boys'', Griffiths won a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, the Drama Desk Aw ...
,
Bernard Hill
Bernard Hill (born 17 December 1944) is an English actor. He is well recognized for playing King Théoden in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Captain Edward Smith in ''Titanic'', and Luther Plunkitt, the Warden of San Quentin Prison in the ...
and
David Threlfall
David John Threlfall (born 12 October 1953) is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series '' Shameless''. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In Ap ...
, as well as
Dame Julie Walters - and from the postgraduate course run jointly with
Manchester University
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
,
Sir Antony Sher
Sir Antony Sher (14 June 1949 – 2 December 2021) was a British actor, writer and theatre director of South African origin. A two-time Laurence Olivier Award winner and a four-time nominee, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982 a ...
. More recent students have included
Amanda Burton
Irene Amanda Burton is a Northern Irish actress. Her notable credits include Heather Haversham in the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside'' (1982–1986), Beth Glover in the ITV drama series ''Peak Practice'' (1993–1995), Sam Ryan in the BB ...
,
Steve Coogan
Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...
,
Jenny Eclair
Jenny Eclair (born Jenny Clare Hargreaves; 16 March 1960) is an English comedian, novelist, and actress, best known for her roles in ''Grumpy Old Women'' between 2004 and 2007 and in '' Loose Women'' in 2011 and 2012.
Early life
Eclair was born ...
,
John Hannah and
John Thomson.
In 1992 Manchester Polytechnic changed its name to
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...
and in 1998, the School relocated to the MMU All Saints campus in Chorlton on Medlock, Manchester, bringing it into closer contact with the city and
Manchester School of Art
Manchester School of Art in Manchester, England, was established in 1838 as the Manchester School of Design. It is the second oldest art school in the United Kingdom after the Royal College of Art which was founded the year before. It is now par ...
, of which it is a part. The move increased access to central Manchester which served to further strengthen the School’s links with many of the region’s key employers – including the BBC, The
Royal Exchange Theatre
The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...
and
Contact Theatre
Contact is an arts organisation in Manchester, England that focuses on youth leadership.
History
Contact was founded in 1972 by Barry Sheppard (General Manager of what was then Manchester University Theatre) and Hugh Hunt (Professor of Drama) ...
.
Academic programmes
The School is part of the Department of Art and Performance at the Manchester School of Art at
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...
. It runs two undergraduate programmes: a conservatoire-style BA Acting degree, and BA Drama and Contemporary Performance degree which combines crticial and historical study with the creation of innovative performance in a studio setting. Both courses last three years. It also offers a multi-strand MA in Performance, including one strand with strong links to the laboratory theatre tradition of
Odin Teatret Odin Teatret is an avant-garde theatre group based in Holstebro, Denmark. It was founded by Italian theatre director and investigator Eugenio Barba in 1964. Odin Teatret is a part of NTL, Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium, which also includes the Inter ...
. The conservatoire BA Acting trains students for work in stage, television and radio industries, and its graduates are eligible for
Equity
Equity may refer to:
Finance, accounting and ownership
* Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them
** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business
** Home equity, the dif ...
status.
In 2019, the School moved into a new purpose-built building on Manchester Metropolitan University's main campus in central Manchester known as Grosvenor East. This building maintains the facade of its predecessor, the Chorton-upon-Medlock Town Hall, which hosted the
5th Pan-African Congress in 1945. An installation pays tribute to this heritage.
Partnerships
The School has partnerships with the
Hallé Orchestra,
RNCM
The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...
,
HOME
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
and
Chetham’s School of Music.
Notable alumni
Notable graduates from the school of theatre include:
References
External links
Capitol Theatre websiteOfficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre
Drama schools in the United Kingdom
Manchester Metropolitan University
Education in Manchester
Educational institutions established in 1970