The Academy Drama School

The Academy Drama School (often referred to as the Academy) was a British drama school in London. It was founded in 1985 and closed in 2007.

The Academy was founded by Tim Reynolds and his wife Judith in 1985 as the Evening Academy of Dramatic Art (EADA). They saw the need for a drama school offering semi 'professional' instruction for those with the desire and 'talent', but not the money or local authority grant to pay for it, although they still had to pay fees every term. Accordingly, they put together the Full Time Evening Course, a two-year (six-term) programme which enabled students to earn a living from a daytime job, while pursuing an intensive drama training at the school in the evenings and weekends.

The school was initially located at cold and damp premises in Oxford Street, but the rapid rise in demand for the Evening Course soon necessitated a move to its long-term location in Whitechapel. Which at the time of moving in was in an unfinished and dangerous condition and resembled a building site.

The Full Time Evening Course was always the core of the school's activities, but the Academy also established a one-year (three-term) Postgraduate Course and a one-year (three-term) drama school access course ('The Foundation Course') which culminated in a LAMDA Foundation Certificate in Acting (Level 3). A one-year (three-term) Acting with English Course was later created to help talented students with a lack of higher English skills. For these last three courses, classes were taught during the daytime.

The Academy also offered a variety of shorter courses, some oriented towards leisure but all offering the same standard of teaching as on the main vocational courses.

The school's patrons included Richard Briers, Edward de Souza and Ron Moody.

The school had its own theatre space on-site (The Andrew Sketchley Theatre), in which all in-house productions during the training were performed. However, those graduating the Full Time and Postgraduate courses had their final production presented at a London fringe venue. There was also a showcase staged for these graduates, which was presented to an invited audience of agents and casting directors at a West End theatre (venues for this included the Fortune Theatre and the Duchess Theatre).

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