Share in the community

The theatre, we are told, is increasingly becoming the domain of the privately educated. The Guardian has even claimed that the working-class actor is ‘a disappearing breed’, and it’s certainly true that public school-educated actors such as Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Damian Lewis (the list goes on) are rarely off our screens. But what’s the reason for it? Why are our independent schools so good at churning out Bafta- (or indeed Oscar)-winning actors and actresses?

A large part of it comes down to the teaching and the facilities available. Most public schools offer a school theatre, as well as full-time drama teachers, theatre managers and so on. In the state system, you may well have to make do with the school hall and an English teacher who’s keen on am dram. Sadly, in the state system, music and drama also tend to be the first subjects to face cuts. Trips to concerts and to the theatre are common in private schools, particularly boarding ones. But that’s not the case for everyone.

Increasingly though, schools which boast top-class facilities are opening them up to the world, and encouraging the local community to benefit from them as well. St Edward’s School in Oxford funds a proper theatre and art gallery — the North Wall Arts Centre. The centre is home to the school’s drama, dance and gallery facilities; but it also has a programme of more than a hundred public events per year, including theatre, dance, comedy, music and talks. Opened in 2006, it was established with the aim of encouraging emerging artists and new talents, and it has a 200-seat theatre, studios for dance and drama, plus a public art gallery. Its links to the school aren’t made obvious, and the centre brings in about 20,000 public visitors annually. Theatre critic Lyn Gardner describes the centre as ‘a crucial part of theatre’s wider ecology, providing a platform for cutting edge theatre that inspires both audiences and emerging artists.