Everyone has heard of RADA, LAMDA, and Guildhall, but away from London, in Wales and the South West of England, there are lots of brilliant drama schools ready and waiting to nurture all the talent that regularly comes from those regions. If you fancy joining the likes of Olivia Colman, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Claire Foy, why not give these thriving drama schools some consideration?
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The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama is Wales’ national conservatoire, which has provided performance-based training to actors, musicians, and technicians since 1949. Based in Cardiff, RWCMD has one of the smallest intakes of any UK drama school, so you will get intimate classes and specialised attention. It also means there’s a lot of competition for places in the acting B.A., musical theatre B.A., and M.A. in acting for stage, screen and recorded media programmes. In the 2024 National Student Survey, the RWCMD received 100% overall course satisfaction, and its teaching is well regarded in the industry. Students are encouraged to collaborate and get involved with fellow creatives of different disciplines, and in their final year, they can join the college’s repertory group, Richard Burton Company, where they may work with professional directors.
Famous alumni: Sir Anthony Hopkins, Rob Brydon, Ruth Jones, Callum Scott Howells, Anjana Vasan, Eve Myles, and Edward Bluemel.
How to apply: For the B.A. in acting, you can apply via UCAS. The first-round audition requires self-taping a personal introduction and two contrasting monologues. For round two, you’ll be asked to come to Cardiff to repeat your audition in person. If you get through that round, your final recall will involve an interview and a longer workshop-style audition. There is an audition fee of £35.
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is one of the oldest and most respected drama schools in the UK, with a list of starry former students to prove it. Set up in 1946, BOVTS has paused offering its prestigious acting B.A. this year because it deemed the undergraduate degrees “financially unsustainable.” Don’t worry, though, because it is continuing with its M.A. in screen acting and other related disciplines, as well as short courses, so there’s still the opportunity to study with the school and use its great facilities. BOVTS has rehearsal studios, a recording studio, a scenic workshop, and three sites across the city. The campus is on the edge of the lovely area of Clifton near the centre of the city, so it’s a great place to learn. Actor Alice McCarthy told Spotlight that BOVTS was “the eccentric mad sister of drama schools and there is a beautiful informality to the training.”
Famous alumni: Olivia Colman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jeremy Irons, Naomie Harris, Sir Patrick Stewart, Theo James, Josh O’Connor, Miranda RIchardson, Erin Doherty, and Gene Wilder.
How to apply: To apply for the M.A., go directly to the BOVTS website. The audition process is held online, during which you’ll perform for two members of staff and will be expected to present a piece from Shakespeare (or of that era), a contemporary prose piece, and a song. There is an audition fee of £25.
Stretching the strict definition of the south west slightly, the Oxford School of Drama offers “rigorous and demanding actor training.” It’s a small conservatoire, but some of its former students have found real success after their time with OSD. Set in the heart of rural Oxfordshire in old converted farm buildings, OSD offers a range of courses, from a three-year acting programme accredited by Trinity College London to foundation courses in both acting and musical theatre, and even a one-year acting course. It also boasts strong industry connections, as its student productions regularly perform in major London theatres like the Soho Theatre, Park Theatre, and Southwark Playhouse. Students are encouraged to create their own work, and it seems to be a successful idea, as one of the school’s most notable recent alumni is Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd.
Famous alumni: Claire Foy, Nicola Coughlan, Richard Gadd, Catherine McCormack, Babou Ceesay, Charity Wakefield, Maimuna Memon, and Ritu Arya.
How to apply: There are no academic qualifications and no upper age limit for entry into the school. Entry is by audition only, and if you’re applying for the three-year course, you must be over 18 when it starts. The only way to apply is via the school’s website. During the first round of auditions, via self-tape, you’ll be expected to submit two speeches, one contemporary and one contrasting. If you’re auditioning for the foundation in acting with musical theatre, you’ll also need to submit a song.
If you want to mix conservatoire-style training with a university experience, and potentially some surfing, then Falmouth might well be worth considering. FU offers a three-year acting B.A., or four years if you choose to do a professional placement. Falmouth says its strengths are ensemble work, devised theatre, and a vibrant creative environment. The university also trains games designers, fine artists, screenwriters, and filmmakers, so the creative Penryn community is an exciting one to be a part of. Another of Falmouth’s benefits is that it has its own professional performance centre, the Academy of Music & Theatre Arts (AMATA), as well as green screen and motion capture facilities. Plus, it’s all by the beach!
Famous alumni: Joseph Millson, Simon Harvey, Ben Jones, and Jasper Cho.
How to apply: As with any UK university course, you have to apply through UCAS. Then you’ll be invited to interview and be asked to prepare two audition pieces. One has to be from a contemporary play written after 2010, another from any time period. The school says it’s looking for people who “can vocalise text, vary tone and respond to material.” The annual tuition fee is £9,535 per year for UK students.
Run by University of Plymouth and the Theatre Royal Plymouth, this school provides conservatoire training within a university setting. It offers a B.A. Hons in acting, a B.A. in acting foundation, and a Ph.D. in performing arts, and it describes its creative community as “tight knit.” With the Theatre Royal being one of the UK’s largest regional theatres, the conservatoire provides a definite focus on employability in its training, with modules on auditions and self-taping. It also has a performance space called the House on campus that students can take advantage of. You’ll find all this in the middle of a thriving, creative city.
Famous alumni: Jonny Rowden and Brantley Rogers.
How to apply: To apply for the acting B.A., UCAS is your first stop, and you can still apply for courses starting in September this year. All applicants will be asked to submit a video recording of two contrasting monologues. The school is on the lookout for students with “a serious, ongoing commitment to an acting career in the professional theatre.” Check out more details on the audition process here.