Webber Douglas Academy Of Dramatic Art
History
The school was founded in London in 1926 as the Webber Douglas School of Singing, by Walter Johnstone Douglas (youngest son of Arthur Johnstone-Douglas) and Amherst Webber. It was created from the singing academy founded in 1906 in Paris by Jean de Reszke. By 1932, the school had added full theatrical training to its curriculum, and was renamed the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art. It was located at 30 Clareville St in South Kensington.
In 2006, the academy was absorbed into the Central School of Speech and Drama. Many of the academy's past alumni have formed a theatre company dedicated to keeping the original spirit of the school alive. In 2009, the Central School of Speech and Drama renamed its Embassy Studio the Webber Douglas Studio.
Alumni
- Joe Anderson
- Kate Anthony
- Steven Berkoff
- Hugh Bonneville
- Nicola Bryant
- Natalie Dormer
- Minnie Driver
- Rupert Evans
- JJ Feild
- Julian Fellowes
- Gregory Finnegan
- Angela Flowers
- Johnny Flynn
- Rupert Friend
- Rebecca Front
- Matthew Goode
- Ross Kemp
- Angela Lansbury
- Nigel Lindsay
- Katy Manning
- Julia Ormond
- Garnon Davies
- Clara Perez
- Douglas Reith
- Sutara Gayle
- Ben Roberts
- Amanda Root
- John Sackville
- Antony Sher
- Donald Sinden
- Samantha Spiro
- Terence Stamp
- Bill Treacher
- Irem Bekter
- Shaun Williamson
Notes
- ^ ""Central and Webber Douglas to Merge."". The Stage. 20 April 2004. Archived from the original on 27 December 2004.
- ^ Chambers, Colin. Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre. Continuum, 2002. p. 221.
- ^ Gunn, John. Acting for You. London: Lutterworth Press, 1957. p. 145.
- ^ Darwent, Charles (14 August 2023). "Angela Flowers obituary". Guardian. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Topics at DuckDuckGo". duckduckgo.com.
External links
- Webber Douglas website at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
- Webber Douglas website at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
- Central School of Speech and Drama homepage
- Walter Henry George Johnstone-Douglas in Burke's Landed Gentry