The
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (
LAMDA) is a leading
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
drama schoolA drama school is a higher education college which specialises in the vocational teaching of drama . Students at such a college are normally awarded a Bachelor of Arts Degree at the end of their studies....
in west
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
.
The institutions that combined to form LAMDA date from 1861 and include the London Academy of Music founded by
Henry WyldeHenry Wylde was an [English] conductor, composer and music critic. He was the eldest son of Henry Wylde the senior, a music teacher and member of the Chapel Royal choir and Martha Lucy Wylde nee Paxton....
in 1867. In the 1880s the academy began offering speech examinations to the public and since then these examinations have been refined and developed into a comprehensive system of performance evaluation.
Always based in West London, LAMDA moved into Tower House in Earls Court in 1946, (where it was until 2003). The MacOwan Theatre was custom-built as a performing space for LAMDA a couple of streets away in 1963.
Since 2003, LAMDA has occupied a building near
HammersmithHammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London approximately 5 miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, previously used by the
Royal Ballet SchoolThe Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of The Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...
. In addition, it still owns the MacOwan Theatre.
As well as being a member of the United Kingdom's national
Conservatoire for Dance and DramaThe Conservatoire for Dance and Drama is a higher education institution in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2001 to co-ordinate the activities of a number of affiliated schools providing higher-level vocational training in the performing arts...
, the academy's largest programs, in acting, stage management and theatre technical work, are accredited through the
University of KentThe University of Kent is a plate glass campus university in Kent, England.-Name:The university's original name, chosen in 1962, was the University of Kent at Canterbury, reflecting the fact that the campus straddled the boundary between the county borough of Canterbury and Kent County Council...
. It also offers courses for directors and drama teachers. Additionally, the conservatory conducts the LAMDA examinations and medals, acting qualifications for school students.
LAMDA's president is
Timothy WestTimothy Lancaster West, CBE is an English film, stage and television actor.-Career:West's craggy looks ensured a career as a character actor rather than a leading man. He began his career as an Assistant Stage Manager at the Wimbledon Theatre in 1956, and followed this with several seasons of...
and its principal is
Peter JamesPeter James is a British author and historian specialising in ancient history and archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean region. He graduated in ancient history and archeology at the University of Birmingham and does postgraduate research at University College London.James has advanced several...
. It is registered as a company under the name Lamda Ltd and as a charity under its trading name London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. There is an associate company in America under the name LAMDA in America, Inc., previously known as The American Friends of LAMDA.
Alumni
The alumni can be found listed at list of alumni.
External links