London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art: Difference between revisions

| name = London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art

| latin_name =

| image = [[File:LAMDA building.jpg|250px|border|alt=Gower Street entrance]]

| caption = The main entrance to LAMDA

| motto =

| mottoeng =

| established = {{start date and age|1861}}

| type = [[Drama school]]

| endowment =

| staff =

| chancellor = [[Benedict Cumberbatch]]

| principal = [https://www.lamda.ac.uk/professor_mark_othomas Mark O'Thomas]

| rector =

| students =

| undergrad =

| postgrad =

| logo = File:London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art logo.svg

| logo_size =

| doctoral =

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| location = [[Hammersmith]], [[London]], England

| campus =

| free_label =

| free =

| affiliations = {{plainlist|

*[[Federation of Drama Schools]] [[Conservatoires UK]]

| website = {{Official URL}}

The '''London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art''' ('''LAMDA''') is a [[drama school]] located in [[Hammersmith]], [[London]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Find Your Local Council:search |url=https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council/hammersmith-and-fulham}}</ref> It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the [[Federation of Drama Schools]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Granger |first1=Rachel |title=Rapid Scoping Study on Leicester Drama School |url=https://www.dora.dmu.ac.uk/xmlui/bitstream/handle/2086/17394/Scoping-Curve_FINAL_Dec2018..pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |publisher=De Montfort University Leicester |access-date=7 September 2019}}</ref> The institution is ranked 1st in the [[UK]] in the "[[Drama]] and [[Dance]]" category by [[The Guardian University Guide]] rankings for [[2025]] with a perfect score of 100. It is also ranked 6th in the world by [[The Hollywood Reporter]]'s annual list of the 25 top drama schools and is currently rated as the top UK drama school for student satisfaction according to the [[2024]] [[National Student Survey]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2024/sep/07/the-guardian-university-guide-2025-the-rankings|title=The Guardian University Guide 2025 the Rankings}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Huston |first=Caitlyn |date=June 22, 2024 |title=The 25 Best Drama Schools in the World |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/best-drama-schools-2024-1235925897/ |access-date=26 June 2024 |website=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thestudentsurvey.com/|title=National Student Survey}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/national-student-survey-data/provider-level-dashboard/ |title=Office for Students: provider-level}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lamda.ac.uk/news/lamda-retains-strong-national-student-survey-results |title=LAMDA retains strong National Student Survey results}}</ref>

The academy's graduates work regularly at the [[Royal National Theatre]], the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]], [[Shakespeare's Globe]], and the theatres of London's [[West End theatre|West End]] and [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]], as well as on the [[BBC]], [[HBO]], and [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]. It is registered as a company under the name LAMDA Ltd<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.do-business.net/Indexer/Company/Lamda-Ltd|title=Lamda Ltd|access-date=2018-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107055532/http://www.do-business.net/Indexer/Company/Lamda-Ltd|archive-date=2017-11-07|url-status=live}}</ref> and as a charity under its trading name London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.<ref>[http://www.charitiesdirect.com/charities/london-academy-of-music-and-dramatic-art-312821.html London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, charitiesdirect.com] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120722201028/http://www.charitiesdirect.com/charities/london-academy-of-music-and-dramatic-art-312821.html |date=2012-07-22 }}</ref> There is an associate organisation in America under the name of American Friends of LAMDA (AFLAMDA).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aflamda.org/|title=LAMDA {{!}} AMERICAN FRIENDS OF LONDON ACADEMY OF MUSIC & DRAMATIC ART|website=aflamda.org|access-date=2019-10-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lamda.org.uk/development/america/friends.htm|title=What's On – LAMDA|access-date=2018-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224201546/http://www.lamda.org.uk/development/america/friends.htm|archive-date=2012-02-24|url-status=live}}</ref> A very high proportion of LAMDA's stage management and technical theatre graduates find work in their chosen field within weeks of graduation. LAMDA alumni have received 5 [[Academy Awards]] (out of 13 [[Oscar nominations]]), 910 [[SAG Awards]], 13 [[Tonys]], 15 [[Emmys]], 19 [[Golden Globes]], 21 [[BAFTAs]], and 39 [[Olivier Awards]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Hollywood Reporter's list of the top 25 drama schools by Tim Appelo|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/top-25-drama-schools-319963|access-date=4 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506164225/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/top-25-drama-schools-319963|archive-date=6 May 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/list/ls008399253/|title = London academy of music and dramatic art|publisher = [[IMDb]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lamda.ac.uk/students-alumni/alumni|title=Alumni &#124; London academy of music & dramatic art}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://officiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards/winners/|title = Olivier Awards with MasterCard – Previous Winners &#124; #BeInspired}}</ref>

LAMDA is in partnership with the [[Fulbright Program]]. Each year one [[U.S.]] applicant is awarded a Fulbright Scholarship by the US/[[UK Fulbright Commission]] to study for a [[Master of Arts]] in classical acting at the school.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://us.fulbrightonline.org/countries/europe-and-eurasia/united-kingdom/1785|title = United Kingdom: 1 Fulbright/John Wood LAMDA Award in Classical Acting |website=fulbrightonline.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MA Classical Acting for the Professional Theatre {{!}} London academy of music & dramatic art |url=https://www.lamda.ac.uk/all-courses/acting-directing-courses/ma-classical-acting-professional-theatre |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=lamda.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> LAMDA Examinations in the fields of speech, drama, communication, and performance are taken by external students and are recognised by [[Ofqual]], the regulator in England, and its counterparts in [[Wales]] and [[Northern Ireland]]. LAMDA-accredited examinations at Level 3 or above are recognised within the [[UCAS Tariff]] system. LAMDA's Principal is Professor Mark O'Thomas, who succeeded Director [[Sarah Frankcom]] in 2022. [[Benedict Cumberbatch]] succeeded [[Timothy West]] as President of LAMDA's board of trustees in 2018.<ref>{{cite news|title=Benedict Cumberbatch becomes president of Lamda drama school|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42708021|access-date=8 March 2018|publisher=BBC|date=16 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308125227/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42708021|archive-date=2018-03-08|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=LAMDA appoints Professor Mark O'Thomas as principal and chief executive|url=https://www.dramaandtheatre.co.uk/news/article/lamda-appoints-professor-mark-o-thomas-as-principal-and-chief-executive|website=dramaandtheatre.co.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=2022-08-16}}</ref><ref name="lamda.ac.uk">{{Cite web |url=https://www.lamda.ac.uk/news/lamda-announces-next-principal-and-chief-executive |title=LAMDA announces next Principal and Chief Executive |date=2022-08-16 |website=lamda.ac.uk|access-date=2022-08-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/manchester-theatre/news/sarah-frankcom-artistic-director-royal-exchange_48603.html|title=Sarah Frankcom to step down as artistic director of Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre {{!}} WhatsOnStage|website=whatsonstage.com|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-10-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lamda.org.uk/development/press/releases/LAMDAAppointsANewPrincipal_000.pdf|title=Press Office|access-date=2018-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514193536/http://www.lamda.org.uk/development/press/releases/LAMDAAppointsANewPrincipal_000.pdf|archive-date=2013-05-14|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1904, the school was amalgamated with two other London music institutions that had sprung up since the academy was founded, namely the [[London Organ School and College of Music|London Music School]] (founded 1865) and the [[Forest Gate School of Music]] (founded 1885) renamed in 1906 the Metropolitan Academy of Music. (The Metropolitan Academy of Music severed its links with the London Academy of Music in 1907.<ref>'Country and Colonial News'.The Musical Times, Vol. 48, No. 768 (1 Feb. 1907), p.119.</ref>) In due course the Hampstead Academy was also amalgamated. The name was changed to the current name in 1935, under the direction of Wilfrid Foulis. In 1939, it was moved from London due to the war; when it reopened in 1945, it no longer provided musical training.<ref name="Grove">{{Cite Grove |last=Rainbow |first=Bernarr |last2=Kemp |first2=Anthony |title=London (i), §VIII: Educational institutions, 3. Conservatories|name-list-style=amp}}</ref> However, singing has remained integral to LAMDA's actor training and in 2023 it introduced a new MFA Musical Theatre programme.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MA Musical Theatre {{!}} London academy of music & dramatic art |url=https://www.lamda.ac.uk/all-courses/acting-directing-courses/ma-musical-theatre |access-date=2024-03-20 |website=www.lamda.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref>

LAMDA was previously an associate member of the [[Conservatoire for Dance and Drama]], having joined in 2004, and received funding through the Conservatoire from the [[Office for Students]]. It left the Conservatoire on 31 July 2019 to become an independent institution, and now receives funding directly from the Office for Students and [[Research England]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Snow |first1=Georgia |title=RADA and LAMDA leave Conservatoire for Dance and Drama to become independent institutions |url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/rada-and-lamda-leave-conservatoire-for-dance-and-drama-to-become-independent-institutions |access-date=19 August 2020 |work=The Stage |date=26 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Annual Report & Financial Statements For the year ended 31 July 2019 |url=https://ww2.lamda.ac.uk/sites/default/files/LAMDA%20Limited%20Signed%20Accounts%20YE%2031%20July%202019.pdf |website=London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |access-date=19 August 2020}}</ref> LAMDA is a member of [[Conservatoires UK]] - an elite group of drama and music schools in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meet our members |url=https://conservatoiresuk.ac.uk/meet-our-members/ |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Conservatoires UK |language=en-US}}</ref>

In August 2021 it was announced that Sarah Frankcom would step down as Director, and that LAMDA was conducting a search for a successor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/aug/10/lamda-boss-to-leave-job-amid-conduct-and-management-style-complaints?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other|title = Lamda boss to leave job amid 'conduct and management style' complaints|website = [[The Guardian]]|date = 10 August 2021}}</ref> In August 2022, LAMDA announced that [http://www.markothomas.com Professor Mark O'Thomas] had been unanimously appointed by the board of trustees as principal and chief executive, with Dr. Philippa Standberg-Long appointed as head of actor training.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/faces/othomas-named-lamda-principal-and-chief-executive|title=O'Thomas named LAMDA Principal and Chief Executive|website=artsprofessional.co.uk|date=18 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/lamda-appoints-mark-othomas-principal|title=LAMDA appoints Mark O'Thomas principal|website=TheStage.co.uk|date=16 August 2022}}</ref><ref name="lamda.ac.uk"/>

*Vice-president: [[JanetPatricia Suzman|Dame Janet SuzmanHodge]]

*Vice Chair: [[Thomas Lyttelton, 3rd Viscount Chandos|Tom Chandos]], SarahCarole-Anne HabberfieldUpton

*Other Board members: Shamez Alibhai, MattDavid ApplewhiteRoper, OlgaProfessor Basirov[https://www.lamda.ac.uk/professor-naren-barfield Naren Barfield], MarkGeorgia CornellBrown, Mohammad Dastbaz, Frances Corner, Nese Guner, Joanne Hirst, [[PatriciaKatie Hodge]]Channon, Nathan Richardson, Thomas Laing-Baker, April McMahonJoanne Hirst, JohnHelen OwenProtheroe, Carole-AnneMichelle UptonDaisley, [[Leah Harvey]], [[Rory Kinnear]], [[Dame Shirley Pearce]], Helen Wright<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lamda.ac.uk/trustees|title=LAMDA Trustees {{!}} LAMDA|website=lamda.ac.uk|access-date=2023-01-22}}</ref>

* [[Harriet Walter]] – ([[Succession (TV series)|Succession]])

* [[Alan Scarfe]] – (''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'', ''[[Star Trek: TNGThe Next Generation]]'', ''[[Seven Days (TV series)|Seven Days]]'', ''[[The Portrait (1993 film)|The Portrait]]'', ''[[Double Impact]]'')