Young Actors Theatre (Islington)

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The Young Actors Theatre is a community theatre school for children and young adults in Islington, London run on a non-profit sustainable-funding basis.

1 The School
2 History
- 2.1 Anna Scher Theatre
3 Former students
4 Notes
5 Sources
6 External Links

[edit] The School

The Young Actors Theatre provides drama classes, workshops and productions for young people with the aim of training them for professional careers in the performing arts. It aims to have fun through drama, develop social and life skills, foster an appreciation of the arts and develop talent through an accessible community environment.

Classes are divided into those aimed at children aged 6-11, children aged 11-16 and young adults aged 16 and over.

Recent productions include "The Shoemakers Incredible Wife", "Play In The Mountain", "Peter Pan" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream".^[1]

[edit] History

The school grew out of the Anna Scher Theatre which is the former name of a community theatre in Islington, North London now known as the Young Actors Theatre.

[edit] Anna Scher Theatre

The theatre started in 1968 at Ecclesbourne Primary School, Islington, as an after school drama club for youngsters run by inspirational teacher, Anna Scher. The popularity of the club was such that the classes expanded, first into a council hall in Bentham Court, Ecclesbourne Road, and then, in 1976, into a converted mission hall on Barnsbury Road in Islington.

Despite maintaining it status as an after school activity centre, as opposed to a drama school (something Scher herself was adamant about), the theatre grew to accommodate a theatrical agency, finding professional work for both its young students and for the increasing number of adults who attended the community classes introduced later. As Scher's alumni became known for their distinctively natural acting style (often credited to her reliance on improvisation in class), the theatre's popularity continued to grow and waiting lists for places in the children's groups were, and still are, famously long.

In 2000, Anna Scher suffered a breakdown and stepped down during her hospitalisation and recovery period. Scher was never reinstated as head of the theatre, despite a vociferous campaign led by her and her supporters, The Friends of Anna Scher. She now teaches her classes, renamed "Anna in Exile", in a church just two minutes walk from the theatre she founded, which successfully continues as the Young Actors Theatre Islington.