London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art   London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art 155 Talgarth Road

The institutions that combined to form LAMDA date from 1861, making the Academy the oldest of its kind in Britain, with a long-established reputation for excellence. Providing training for, and examinations in, various musical disciplines was originally the dominant purpose of the institution. However, providing instruction in spoken English quickly became a core area of the Academy's work.In the 1880s, LAMDA began offering speech examinations to the public. Since then, these examinations have been refined and developed into a comprehensive system of performance evaluation. LAMDA Examinations has emerged as the largest Speech and Drama Board in the United Kingdom, with an international reputation.The early twentieth century saw a profound change in how theatre was created and this necessitated a change in how actors were trained. What we now recognise as drama schools began to appear. LAMDA was perfectly placed for this revolution and began training theatre practioners in earnest.The past few years have witnessed important growth for the Academy . A vital move to a larger and more visible home on the Talgarth Road in West London has enabled LAMDA to further develop the campus and training facilities for its highly talented students. Furthermore, in June 2004, the Academy became an affiliate of the prestigious Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, reinforcing its status as a leading institution in both acting and technical theatre.Today the Academy is synonymous with professionally trained actors and theatre technicians. Scarcely a year goes by without LAMDA's former students being honoured at a major film, television or theatre award ceremony. LAMDA has equally gained a reputation as a source of critically acclaimed new writing with two plays (Mark Ravenhill's Mother Clap's Molly House and Di Trevis' Remembrance of Things Past ) devised and first performed at LAMDA before transferring to the National Theatre and beyond.In recent years, LAMDA has also gained great acclaim in the corporate and educational sectors. LAMDA Business Performance (LBP) combines expertise in drama training with communication, team-building and public speaking skills. This bespoke training for business leaders has recently been paralleled by special education-based programmes for young people and their teachers devised by LAMDA Learning Performance (LLP). Specialising in reaching children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, LLP seeks to improve the quality of learning through workshops that increase communication skills and confidence.