Page 239 - Guildhall Coverage Book 2020-21

The 2017 Acting Up report about class and the performing arts, commissioned by
the Labour Party, pointed the finger at drama schools for being “too expensive to
apply to” and said that “instances of racism and snobbishness inside them are too
common”. The report took evidence from a range of working-class actors including
Cush Jumbo, who spoke of how uncomfortable she had often felt during training at
Central School of Speech and Drama.

Following a 2018 student-organised event called Dear White Central, then-Central
principal Gavin Henderson faced a fierce backlash when he declared: “Quotas would
reduce the quality of our student intake.” A report in the same year by The Stage
pointed to the fact that while the theatre industry was seeing a significant shift in its
artistic leadership, recruitment of teachers from black, Asian and minority ethnic
backgrounds remained stagnant.

Earlier this year, in the wake of George Floyd’s death in the US, many drama schools
issued statements in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, only to be called
out by current students and alumni who talked openly and bravely about their
experiences of racism while training.

In June, RADA admitted to being “institutionally racist” and apologised “for the role
we have played in the traumatic and oppressive experiences of our current and past
black students, graduates and staff”. It is currently addressing the points raised in a
student action plan, described by one member of staff as being “longer than War and
Peace”.