London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music was founded in 1861; its dramatic department, added later, proved the more durable calling, and the acronym long ago outgrew the expansion. The school now occupies a purpose-built campus at Barons Court — rehearsal rooms around a courtyard, the District line visible from the windows.
LAMDA's examinations — taken by schoolchildren across the country as graded speech and drama exams — fund and feed the professional training at the top. Its graduate list runs from Richard Harris to Benedict Cumberbatch and Ruth Wilson; the training is classical, the temperament practical, and the alumni reliably booked.
Field notes
- LAMDA exams are taken by tens of thousands of schoolchildren every year — the academy is a verb in the suburbs.
- Its 1861 founding makes it, by most reckonings, the oldest drama school in the English-speaking world.
- The Barons Court campus was purpose-built in 2003 — the newest drama buildings among the oldest traditions.
Notable connections
In brief — from the field guide
Founded as a music academy in 1861 whose drama department quietly took over the family business. Now at Barons Court, west of the river — and the oldest drama school in Britain by most reckonings.
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