PLAY Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2021

PLAY
The
Guildhall
School
Magazine
2021
12 Dangerous
liaisons
28 Friends Reunited
4 Behind the Scenes
Leaders on
(and off) stage
6 Coming to a
screen near you
20 The Interview
Prema Mehta
30 Research Works
Queering the
Conservatoire
32 Creative Careers
Lewis Hannaby
17 Surround sound
35 School news and
stories
24 Hard graft

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Editorial Group
Alumni Relations Manager
Charlotte Mathé
Head of Development
Caroline Hawley
Deputy Director of
Advancement
Jo Hutchinson
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& Communications
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Guildhall School
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Photo Credits
Toni Nandi, Justin Mamo,
Reb Ricci, Dave Hamblett,
Clive Totman, Paul Cochrane,
Mihaela Bodlovic, Ruth
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Illustration (p13)
Eleanor Shakespeare
Welcome to the latest edition of PLAY
It is my pleasure to welcome you to this edition of PLAY, and
introduce myself as the new Interim Principal of Guildhall
School. Although I am new to this role, I am no stranger to
Guildhall School, having been Vice-Principal and Director of
Music for the last 15 years.
In September, we bid a deeply affectionate farewell to our former
Principal, Lynne Williams. Lynne has been an inspiring, gracious
and visionary leader, who has lead us unfalteringly through
one of the most turbulent times in the School’s history. We will
all miss her greatly and we are determined to honour her legacy.
As a new academic year begins at the School, it is a time of
renewal, to inspire each other to new heights, and to push
ourselves beyond the limits. This is a moment for us all to
refocus on excellence in performance, revitalising and refining
our craft, and amplifying our creative spirit.
We continue to address and discuss questions of equality, justice
and respect within our community. This is ongoing and critical
work, and I am grateful to all the alumni, students and staff
who have given their time and thought to these discussions. You
can read more about just one area of this work, which is being
explored by students on our doctoral programme, on page 30.
In this edition we also explore how digital learning at Guildhall
transformed students’ learning during the pandemic, as well as
why the role of the Intimacy Director has become so crucially
important for the industry. We spotlight the valued work being
done by Guildhall musicians in the community, and we interview
alumna Prema Mehta, esteemed lighting designer and founder
of Stage Sight, an organisation which aims to create an off stage
workforce more reflective of our society today.
Please do keep in touch and let us know your news and successes
for the next issue of PLAY.
With best wishes,
Jonathan Vaughan
Interim Principal
2 3

BEHIND THE SCENES
LEADERS
ON (and off)
STAGE
Management gurus often
point to orchestras as
prime examples of a highperforming
team. But,
says Jane Booth, Leader
of Guildhall Coaching
Associates, orchestral
players can also benefit
from the knowledge
and understanding that
highly effective teams
from other backgrounds
have acquired.
“Rehearsals are often conducted under
immense time pressure,” she says. “Within
the orchestra, with all the complexities
of the score to work through, players
can leave the rehearsal with personnel
issues left unresolved. On stage, the
orchestra comes together, puts on a great
performance and it all appears seamless.
But a principal player may find themselves
torn between focussing on their own best
performance and supporting others, being
mindful of everyone’s physical and mental
health. That’s where coaching can help.”
“Coaching bridges the gap between an
individual’s current performance and
their ability to be at their very best, to
be in a state of flow. To get there, we
might explore some thorny issues, and
work to unlock the very best version
of themselves.”
Jane, along with Associate Coach Trudy
Wright, recently devised Leaders on
(and Off) Stage, a training programme
in non-musical leadership skills for
principal players. “Within the training we
discuss some of the tensions in orchestra
life. Incredibly, it is often the first time,
after decades of playing in an orchestra,
that they have really discussed leadership
skills of this type.”
people to date, Guildhall Coaching
Associates offer bespoke programmes
for corporate teams, CEOs and other
leaders at charitable organisations,
local government and educational
establishments. Common issues to address
include change management, building
resilience and working through conflict.
Jane, a clarinettist who still performs
internationally, says “A lot of my day
goes on writing tailor-made proposals
for clients, assessing client needs, making
sure I have matched the right people from
our team to the client, and responding
to queries on our training programmes.
I get a lot of questions on ethics!”
She still finds time to coach but she is not
offering a cosy chat. “The language a
client uses can give me great insight into
what they are really feeling. I do a lot of
listening. I try to balance the challenging
moments with some lightness and shade. It
helps if we’re digging deep into ourselves.”
“If I take what I learned
forward, I hope I will
show up stronger on
stage, and wiser off it.”
And it works. As a participant in the
programme admitted recently: “Leaders
on Stage was an eye opener. It helped
structure my thoughts around what
excellent orchestral leadership is. It gave
me a variety of tools to help deal with
sticky situations, from interpersonal
relations to fostering a better overall
working atmosphere. It also showed me
that issues I grapple with are by no means
mine alone. This was the first time I had
ever had the chance to air some of these
with others in similar positions.”
As another participant in Leaders on
(and off) Stage puts it, “If I take what
I learned forward, I hope I will show
up stronger on stage, and wiser off it.”
Find out more about coaching services
at Guildhall at gsmd.ac.uk/coaching
Jane Booth
Many others have been helped in the
nine years the Coaching Programme has
been running at Guildhall. Born out of
a successful professional development
initiative for teachers at the School, and
aimed at improving their mentoring
skills, Guildhall Coaching Associates
is now a professional development
consultancy in its own right. Jane believes
Guildhall is the only conservatoire in
the world to offer such a service.
As well as providing accredited
professional training to more than 500
4 5

“And the winner for the best
performance venue is….
Guildhall School of Music & Drama.”
COMING TO
A SCREEN
NEAR YOU
6 7

Announced at this year’s Mondo*
dr International Awards for
Technology in Entertainment,
Guildhall’s victory over other
established multi-millionpound
venues came after a year
of COVID-19 in which the School safely
put on more than 300 public-facing
productions online. Roughly, in fact, the
same number as students could expect
pre-pandemic. What’s more, many of
these streamed productions attracted far
bigger audiences than could be seated
in the venue itself.
The technical wizardry that made it all
possible was largely down to Jules Hepple,
Head of Audio-Visual and Recording,
who says that the School was quick to
set out priorities. “From the outset, the
Some of the Gold Medal
finalists and jury
aim of the School was to minimise
disruption to the students’ educational
experience. Big bands, orchestras, piano
recitals, string quartets and, of course,
the annual Gold Medal, would all still
go ahead. We were never led by the tech
– we used it to provide the support
needed for education and training.
Students have ended up with the same
performance opportunities, except it
has mostly been to camera instead of
live to an audience.”
To achieve this, Hepple and his team
effectively turned the Guildhall site into
one large TV production company. “Our
facilities had to allow large numbers of
people to create music, put on a play or
simply share education simultaneously
while socially distanced – which often
meant performing in separate rooms.
On day one of lockdown, I found myself
helping a string quartet to practise at
home and I realised the time lag meant
we needed a whole new approach just to
allow them to play in sync.”
“We were able to undertake
an installation programme
that would normally have
taken five years due to
access constraints.”
Hepple also saw an opportunity. “Because
the School was closed to students, all
the rooms were empty. In a couple of
months, we were able to undertake an
installation programme that would
normally have taken five years due to
access constraints.” The solution lay in
a new Network Device Interface (NDI)
together with a Dante Audio Network,
enhanced and customised to enable
collaboration between different spaces
around the school.
“What is unique about our system is
the speed the audio passes around the
space. At less than six-thousandths of
a second, it feels quicker than real time,
as one conductor said to me. The video
transfer time, at under one-tenth of a
second, enables us to sync everything
together seamlessly.”
The system’s first real test came at last
year’s Gold Medal, put back from May
to September, which marked the first
performance by an orchestra in the
UK since lockdown began. “We had 90
musicians in total across four separate
rooms on the campus, with the largest
space used by those on string instruments
and the piano – all socially distanced.
The woodwind and brass sections were
based in separate rooms while the
conductor, Richard Farnes, was located
in a fourth room.”
Soohong Park played his winning
performance of Rachmaninov’s Piano
Concerto No. 2 in C minor in the same
room as the strings and was in direct
communication with Farnes, via a
headset, throughout. Park remembers
it as a very special evening. “I felt we
were connected through the music even
though we were sitting far away from
each other. We all had to listen more
carefully and trust each other when it
came to the performance, and it worked!”
Opera Double Bill
at Guildhall School
This year’s Gold Medal winner, baritone
Tom Mole, is nonetheless grateful that
by the time his chance came around he
was able to perform back on the Barbican
stage, albeit to an audience of just five
in the auditorium – the jury. “Any
performer feeds off their audience, so
of course it is a different experience.
As an opera singer, your reactions can
become smaller, more nuanced when you
are making eye contact with a camera
rather than a person. But, on the day, I
was most worried about whether I would
step off the red cross where I had to
stand for the cameras throughout my
time on stage.”
Mole has since been able to watch his
winning Gold Medal performance,
though it is not an experience he relishes.
“Filming and recording definitely gives
you a greater element of perfectionism
and you have to learn to watch your
own performances without being in
excruciating pain. I don’t think it is
something I will ever get used to, but the
recording has been a great blessing as I
make applications for the next stage of
my career.” Mole made his Glyndebourne
debut this summer.
Guildhall’s Head of Opera, Dominic
Wheeler, believes the challenges set by
the pandemic have been hugely valuable
educationally. “No way has this just
been about artistic survival. The technical
challenge has shone a bright light on how
students self-monitor when they perform,
and sharpened our discussions about how
to listen to self. The students have been
through a high concentration crash
course in adaptability and what it means
to deal with your inner perfectionism.”
Not that it hasn’t been a struggle for all at
times. Mole recalls being “inundated with
technical kit from Guildhall” as he filmed
himself remotely on location for his role
as Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas,
part of last year’s opera double bill which
was put on as a virtual performance. “At
the beginning of the pandemic, I was
definitely gloomy as to how my opera
course would work, as so much depends
on live performance. But Dominic
was so positive that we would get the
opportunities. Drama coaching, language
training, I got them all remotely.”
In fact, right up until the day of release,
Wheeler himself was not sure the
resulting opera would ever be shown
publicly. “Our opera course is all about
a vibrant creative process, and we don’t
focus just on the end result. Now we
were experimenting with the technology
as well as asking new questions of
students, so I wanted to take the pressure
off everyone. But the response was so
positive when we released the 3D virtual
realisation as well as the filmed version of
Dido and Aeneas that we felt emboldened
to make the production available online.
It turned out to be miles beyond anything
else available at that point. No one
had streamed a production with a full
orchestra, let alone an opera.”
In the drama department, too, new
challenges called for new solutions.
They were among the first drama schools
to stream productions live to audiences
around the world, and further adapted to
deliver training in self-led performance
to our final year actors. “This project
is a key moment in their training and
has historically culminated in a sharing
of work to audiences in our rehearsal
room,” says Gilly Roche, Head of
Interdisciplinary Practice.
‘we created a festival
of digital performance
written, directed and
performed by the
students in lockdown
across the world.’
8 9
Gilly Roche

“With the students in lockdown, we
created Pieces of Us – a festival of digital
performance written, directed, performed
and filmed by the students in lockdown
isolation across the world,” continues
Roche. “Filmed on smartphones from an
array of different locations, from city
parks to garden sheds, these 24 pieces
provided a unique and deeply personal
snapshot of the diverse range of stories,
artistry and lived experiences that exist
within Guildhall’s student community.
Pieces of Us was watched by more than
7,000 people around the world – more
than 11 times the number of people who
could have fit into our Concert Hall.”
Preevue CEO Ryan Metcalfe (Technical
Theatre 2017) was worried that his
company’s production of Romeo and Juliet,
streamed online in February 2021, would
not make it through to the public. “My
co-producer and I were self-funding the
production, with no insurance available,
so if we had to shut down production
due to a case of COVID-19 we were done
for. It’s the first time I have felt like Tom
Cruise, when he was shouting at people on
his film set for not wearing their masks!”
Metcalfe has been working on creating
virtual replicas of theatre venues since
what he describes as “my R&D days” as a
student, when he first set up the company.
“When the pandemic struck, Preevue
could already provide the theatre, the
lighting and the music as a virtual
package. All that was missing was the
Pod, Drama production
at Guildhall School
‘watched by more than
7,000 people around
the world – more than
11 times the number of
people who could have
fit into our Concert Hall.’
actors. And having watched the first
Zoom play readings, I started wondering
how we could produce something
believable with real people dropped in.”
The innovative solution was to film live
actors performing individually in front
of a green screen using a range of
cameras, with their digitally enhanced
performance put into a 2mm accurate
version of the Manchester Palace Theatre.
“We had very strict COVID-19 protocols,
so the entire rehearsal period was just four
days, almost entirely socially distanced.
With one day of COVID-19 testing by a
nurse on-site allowing contact between
actors, Romeo and Juliet had just a day
together to meet, marry and then die.”
With filming finished safely, 482
different visual effect shots made the
Ryan Metcalfe
final edit. The Guardian concluded in
its four-star review that “the digital
enhancements, which leave us questioning
where theatre ends and film begins,
create a marvel of hybridity”. Metcalfe is
“phenomenally proud” of the production
and sees it as the way of the future.
“the hybrid 3D virtual
world of theatre combined
with real live actors
offers the audience at
home something new and
different, and is here
to stay.”
Pod, Drama production
at Guildhall School
“Theatre producers are beginning to see
that the primary audience has changed.
Where once they feared streaming
threatened seat occupation, now they
recognise that streaming can bring in
new, much larger audiences, with greater
revenue potential. I don’t recommend
shooting actors individually for fun – in
many ways it was a horrible experience
– and of course we all missed live theatre.
But the hybrid 3D virtual world of
theatre combined with real live actors
offers the audience at home something
new and different, and is here to stay.”
10 11

DANGEROUS
LIAISONS
Accepting her Leading Actress BAFTA for I May
Destroy You, Michaela Coel (Acting 2012) dedicated
her award to Ita O’Brien, the founder of Intimacy
on Set and a leading exponent of intimacy practice
in theatre, television and film both in the UK and
internationally. “Thank you for your existence in
our industry,” Coel said. “For making the space safe,
for creating physical, emotional and professional
boundaries so that we can make work about
exploitation, loss of respect and about abuse of power
without being exploited or abused in the process.”
12
13

She might have been the first, but Coel is unlikely to
be the last to acknowledge the importance of intimacy
directors and co-ordinators. As the industry reflects
and learns the lessons of the #MeToo and #TimesUp
movements, these practitioners – intimacy directors in
theatres, intimacy co-ordinators in film and TV – are
key to creating a safe space on set and on stage. They work
with actors, directors and producers to choreograph movement
and ensure that everyone truly consents and understands
everyone else’s boundaries. The resulting trust and confidence
gives actors the freedom to create the best work possible.
“Actors, like anyone in any job, should be safe, and there should
be no compromise on that, ever,” says Diane Alison-Mitchell,
Guildhall School’s Head of Movement. “We are all storytellers.
And we can tell the story of the most sexual, sensual moments
just as we would any other part of the story – by being carefully
guided and crafted. From Normal People to I May Destroy You
to Bridgerton, we’ve recently seen the most incredible,
believable sexual scenes. Those actors have spoken publicly in
the media about how much safer they felt, and how they
could just concentrate on their work. It proves that the actor’s
craft thrives because the physical and psychological as well
as emotional care and preparation are securely in place.”
“Actors, like anyone in any job,
should be safe, and there should be
no compromise on that, ever.”
Intimacy directors come from a multitude of backgrounds,
including movement direction, dance and fight direction.
Yarit Dor began her career as a fight and movement director
and is now one of the UK’s leading intimacy directors and
co-ordinators. She has delivered intimacy workshops at
Guildhall every year since 2018. She is the first credited
intimacy director in the West End (for Death of a Salesman in
2019) and is a fully certified intimacy co-ordinator for TV
and film, with credits including Channel 4’s Adult Material,
HBO’s The Nevers and FX Production’s Atlanta. “Because
I work in fight and movement, I facilitate moments that
include extreme emotional states, which very much include
intimacy,” she says. “So, when I heard about intimacy as a
discipline, I was eager to explore it.”
Gone Too Far, Drama production
at Guildhall School
Choreography, says Dor, should never be pre-determined by
the director or the intimacy director in advance and then just
taught to actors – that takes away the actor’s ability to give
informed and continued consent. Instead, it is created through
a collaborative facilitation process, to ensure that it allows the
actor to communicate any feelings of confusion, uncertainty
and fears. The aim is to create a choreography that is as safe
as possible both physically and emotionally. “The minute
something starts to feel uneasy or dangerous we modify it or
remove it entirely, particularly for the stage, where the actors
may be repeating the scene every night for months,” says Dor.
And finally, closure invites the actor to leave the role behind.
“When we touch, kiss or do any kind of intimate positioning,
the nervous system reacts,” says Dor. “Feelings belong to the
actor and so does the body: the character is a mask we wear.
Therefore, stepping out of the character is crucial. IDC teaches
us: ‘The emotions are real but the situation is fake’.”
Dor says that when she’s running workshops in drama schools,
actors have many questions about how they talk about intimacy.
“For example, “What language do I use? How can I avoid
sounding inappropriate? How do I say no to something without
losing a job?’ The moment we equip actors with better
communication tools, then those power dynamics shift.” This
also helps directors, she points out – they, too, may be uncertain
how to talk about what they would like characters to do while
considering their power dynamic in the space.
The intimacy role is much needed but also a wonderful job to
do, says intimacy co-ordinator and director Louise Kempton
(Actor Training - Movement 2018), whose credits include
Peacock’s Brave New World, BBC1’s Chloe and Starz’ Dangerous
Liaisons. She is currently at stage three of a four-part extensive
training programme with Intimacy on Set, and is being
mentored by O’Brien. A project usually starts with highlighting
instances of intimacy in a script. “And it’s incredible how many
people don’t realise what constitutes intimacy. For example,
there’s a shot of someone in the shower – how are you going
to shoot that?”
Much of the work takes place well before she goes on set; she
will discuss the scenes with the director and individually
check in with actors to discuss their boundaries and preferences.
Once on set, Kempton helps to create the scene, thinking about
how it reflects the character and drives the story forward but
also considering the practical elements – for example, is it
repeatable? “I have had actors across genders and all levels of
experience tell me that they are really glad we are here and part
of the process,” she says. “It’s nice to have someone who can
reassure them when they are anxious and feeling vulnerable.”
Intimacy is becoming an accepted industry standard – and
a vital part of training, too. In August 2020, Dor helped to
establish the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications
Barbarians, Drama production
at Guildhall School
and Theatre Union (Bectu)’s Intimacy Coordinator Branch,
which she currently chairs. She contributed to Director’s
UK guidance, as well as co-writing guidance supported by
Equity, giving a comprehensive intimacy practice document
for live performance and film and TV. The intimacy directors
and co-ordinators network she co-founded with Lizzy Talbot,
Intimacy for Stage and Screen, has worked with Equity to
create a comprehensive intimacy practice document for live
performance and film and TV. And at Guildhall, intimacy
will become embedded into the new BA Acting curriculum
that began in September. It will be approached just like any
other core aspect of the actor movement training, says Diane
Alison-Mitchell, and will be applied practically through all
productions and projects.
“It’s a critical time, as the shifts being
made in this area are long overdue.”
“We want to have a really close relationship with how the
industry is moving and changing in this area,” she says. “It’s
a critical time, as the shifts being made in this area are long
overdue. Actors are skilled artists who understand themselves
within the profession and in the world, and the training needs
to support that. We are part of that change.”
She trained in intimacy direction with IDC (Intimacy Directors
& Coordinators) in the US. There, she was taught by Tonia
Sina, who researched and taught intimacy choreography for
stage since 2004, and Alicia Rodis, who originated the role
of the intimacy coordinator on set. IDC created The Pillars of
Intimacy – context, consent, communication, choreography
and closure.
What does that mean in practice? Context looks at the intimacy
in the script and the dramaturgy of it throughout the play.
That way, directors and actors start from a place of full
transparency and clarity. Consent is throughout: especially
once they agree on the vision, actors can give informed
consent. Communication is a huge keystone, particularly in
a space where power dynamics are very much in play.
One student on Dor’s workshop found this aspect of the
experience particularly enlightening. “She told us that we
have a lot more power than we might think,” she said. “I can
say that I’m happy with, for example, people seeing my
stomach or my thighs but not my bum. I can negotiate how
many people are in the room, or the modesty protection that
I wear. I know that if someone tries to get me to do something
that isn’t in my contract, I can ask for filming to be stopped
so we can talk about that. And, of course, I can ask for an
intimacy co-ordinator to be present.” Another workshop
attendee found the experience a revelation. “Once you know
the boundaries, you have so much freedom,” he said. “You can
just focus on being present, instead of worrying that you’re
going too far. And that’s when the scene comes alive – it
ignites and it’s incredible.”
14
15

S U R R
O U N D
A new mother lies exhausted on her hospital bed in the
postnatal ward, alone except for the baby asleep next
to her. The lullaby playing through her headphones
transports her back to her own childhood. An NHS worker
pauses, exhausted, in a community garden, closing his
eyes and listening to the sounds of the grass in the wind.
A man living with dementia in a small flat, in lockdown,
taps his fingers along to the Spanish guitar melodies he’s
loved all his life. And a young musician in a church hall
discovers, for the first time, the joys of improvisation.
The use of music in their disparate worlds has brought
something to all their lives. It could be happiness, escape,
self-expression or remembrance. But it’s always powerful.
Helena Ricci
16
SOUND17

“To me, creating music in the
community, where many different
points of view exist, is a political act,”
says Rhia Parker (Leadership, 2015), a
recorder player, composer workshop
leader and tutor for the Barbican’s
Creative Learning department. “It is
no accident that totalitarian regimes
clamp down on artistic expression.
It’s an incredibly important thing.”
The past year has seen so many people
apart and isolated: venues locked and
streets empty. But community music
practitioners have shown extraordinary
ingenuity in finding new ways to reach
them – moving from church halls
to Zoom calls. Parker is the leader of
the Music, Memory and Me project,
a collaboration between Guildhall,
University College London Hospital
(UCLH) and the Royal Free Hospital
that enables musicians to play live to
elderly people on dementia wards. When
the pandemic hit, and they could no
longer take their music to the wards,
UCLH suggested creating a new project
to engage with women in the antenatal
and postnatal wards.
Parker and her team carried out extensive
research around the experiences of
women giving birth during the pandemic.
“Many had had traumatic experiences:
perhaps their partners hadn’t been
allowed to be present for the birth, or
they had been left alone and feeling
isolated immediately after giving birth
or in the days following,” says Parker.
“We wanted to offer something to these
women which they could access in
whatever way they felt was useful during
this incredibly difficult time.”
Initially, it was hoped that this could be
a face-to-face project, but as the enormity
of the pandemic sank in, Parker and her
team of postgraduate students had to
find a way to deliver it remotely. They
created Music for Relaxing, Bonding and
Healing: six pieces of music including
lullabies, folk songs and a field recording
Rhia Parker
of nature sounds. To make the music
accessible to everyone, no matter what
language they spoke, each piece was
assigned a colour: blue for rocking,
swaying and calm, green for nourishing
and growing, yellow for warmth, light
and glow. They then created a website
that women could access via a QR code
on a poster on the ward wall.
Running a community project remotely,
with no direct contact with the groups
you hope to serve, has been a huge
challenge. “As a practitioner, you never
want to helicopter in. You want to follow
through and get feedback,” Parker points
out. “But if just a few people found joy
in those moments, that’s great. And most
of the time, when we are performing,
it’s a transient experience. But this
website is still there, and it can stay
there.” Projects like these are, she says,
part of the care ecosystem, playing a
valuable and impactful role in the lives
of not just the patients but also the
musicians. “It’s not like music comes in
and solves all the problems. We might
help connect some dots. Or provide a
moment of respite, enabling someone
to take their medication.”
Creating space for those moments is key
for Tara Franks (Leadership, 2009), the
founder, director and creative leader of
SoundsCreative Projects, a Hackney-based
social enterprise which Franks hopes to
take with her to her new home in
Hastings. A classically trained cellist and
trained primary school teacher, she is
now a workshop leader and collaborator.
SoundsCreative Projects brings those
two parts of her life together. Tots Tunes,
which she started 10 years ago, is an
interactive parent-and-baby music
session aimed just as much at the adults
as the children; Vox Voices is a joyful,
supportive group for women who want
to find or rediscover their voices; and
the SoundsCreative Ensemble brings
young musicians together.
“I’m a huge advocate for the physical
and mental benefits of singing and
movement as well as playing,” says Franks.
“But friendships also develop. Perceptions
can change. A woman who came to one
of my workshops said she had no idea
how she could use her voice. It has given
her a different sense of herself.”
‘Much of the work I do facilitates
the self-expression of someone
who may have little control over
their own life.’
project inspired by an object. Objects as
Memorials was a series of workshops
centred around the restored organ in
the North London church of St Mellitus,
which commemorates lives lost and
saved in the First World War. It focused
on objects that represent us – our stories
and our past and future journeys. The
players recorded their contributions as
voice memos which were put together
to form a whole. “Everything I do is
about gathering people and connecting
people through music,” Franks says. “It
could be any kind of music, anywhere.
It’s experiential; it’s about being part of
the sound, feeling it, and using it to
express yourself.”
Taking music out to the community
doesn’t just benefit those who hear it,
but also the practitioners themselves.
During the pandemic, harpist Helena
Ricci (Harp 2019) wanted to use her skills
to help. She volunteered for the Music
Bank project, which saw Guildhall
partner with Age UK Camden to bring
music to isolated people living with
dementia during the winter months.
She regularly played over Zoom for an
audience of one: a man with dementia
who loved jazz, Spanish music and
acoustic guitar music.
Em Davis (Production Arts, 2020) recently
created the promo film for the Moor
Lane Community Garden, a temporary
installation aiming to increase green
space in that part of East London, along
with current student Charlie Vince-
Crowhurst and Sam Storey (Electronic
Music, 2023) who created the music.
The video brings a portrait of you in a
garden, now, a poem by Kit Finnie, to
life, with images and sound inspired
by the garden itself. “It is so important
that we keep creating for each other,
even when we are not together,” says
Davis. “To celebrate something like a
community garden, a place of such
tranquillity and beauty, was an incredible
privilege, as was working with all the
community members who made the
project happen.”
Tara Franks: Vox Voices
Moor Lane Community Garden
Tara Franks: Tots Tunes
This year, she brought together crossgenerational
groups and young string
players together in a virtual space for a
“He was a true music lover, so connected
to the music,” says Ricci. “But we also
talked: it felt more like a conversation.
He looked forward to the Zoom calls
very much, so I know it helped his
wellbeing. But it helped mine, too – I
looked forward to them as well. Live
music wasn’t possible during lockdown
and doing this helped me feel that my
work as a musician was valued. It was
such a rewarding experience.”
As the world starts to open up,
practitioners in the community are once
again excited about the possibilities of
creating a space where those moments
can happen – whatever they might be.
“Much of the work I do facilitates the
self-expression of someone who may have
little control over their own life, such as
a rough sleeper or a dementia patient,”
says Parker. “But in that moment, they
can choose what song they want to hear.”
18 19

THE INTERVIEW
It’s the last few frantic days before the production
of A Winter’s Tale and 18-year-old Prema Mehta
is finalising her lighting plan: in particular, the
key moment when Hermione changes from statue
to real person. Notebook in hand, she rattles off
her instructions to her tutor, who was balanced
precariously on a stepladder. Mehta doesn’t know
it yet, but in 20 years’ time she will find herself
doing the same thing, for the same production.
Except this time, it won’t be for Theatre Studies
A-level at Woodhouse College, North Finchley – but
as lighting designer for Erica Whyman’s acclaimed
production at the Royal Shakespeare Company.
CAMERA, ACTION
20

“I remember that first production so
clearly, particularly my tutor David
Kinder, who was a real inspiration to me,
and was up that stepladder, focusing the
lights as per my instructions,” Mehta
says. “To picture that snapshot and then
realise I’ve made it to the RSC – that’s
a very special journey.”
Mehta first encountered the theatre as a teenager, during a
school trip to a West End production of Willy Russell’s Blood
Brothers. “I’m British Asian, and my immediate family didn’t
go to the theatre, so I was something of a late starter,” she says.
“I remember the emotional impact of that performance, but I
also left knowing that there was some sort of magic happening
that I couldn’t pin down. As I got older, I broke it down and
it was all about scene changes, choreography, costumes – all
that coming together.”
She knew that she wanted to get involved in this world
somehow, but acting never appealed: “I was the kid at the back
during improvisation class thinking, ‘Please don’t pick me!’”
Taking GCSE Drama – which was then compulsory – and
then an A-level in Theatre Studies opened her eyes to all the
different careers available behind the scenes. “Had I not been
introduced to theatre by the education system, I wouldn’t have
chosen a career in theatre: it’s as simple as that,” she says. “Mr
Kinder said to me, ‘Why don’t you consider drama school?’
And I said, ‘What’s drama school?’ That’s when I first heard
about Guildhall.”
Mehta arrived at Guildhall for her BA (Hons) in Stage
Management and Technical Theatre eager to learn about
“everything I didn’t know”. She didn’t decide on a career in
lighting design until her second year, having narrowed down
her options to either set design or lighting design. Placements
with two practitioners at the top of their game, stage designer
Es Devlin and lighting designing Neil Austin, helped her
decide. “Neil said to me that the purpose of spending time with
him was to put me off being a lighting designer – the low fees,
the intense hours, the back-to-back contracts,” she remembers.
“I’m sure he did his best, but he didn’t know me very well!
That one sentence made me even more determined to go out
there and be a lighting designer.”
Of course, it wasn’t that easy. After she left Guildhall, Mehta
started again, right at the bottom: small venues, profit-sharing,
working other jobs to get by. There were other, unexpected
challenges, too. “The job demands that you’re independent,
that you finish late, that you travel extensively,” she points out.
“I didn’t come from a family where we finished work at 10pm
and were comfortable walking home, or who travelled here,
there and everywhere on the train. Most people think these
things are easy, but they weren’t to me.”
It took her eight years, she says, before she felt comfortable
enough to focus entirely on her lighting career, during which
she had to focus not just on her craft but also on relationshipbuilding
and her confidence. There wasn’t a single day that
she didn’t consider giving up. “The brilliance – and the fear
– of theatre is that you are working with different people all
the time. How are you going to collaborate with new team
members? How are you going to lead a group of technicians
– who are largely men? But you must go through that process:
find your confidence, build your skillset, and style and trust
your instincts. You can’t be taught what you learn on these
journeys. You have to experience them yourself.”
To say that her work paid off is something of an understatement.
“Prema Mehta’s lighting stains the setting with the blush of
dawn, the fire of sunset and the glow of the moon,” wrote
The Times’ Sam Marlowe in his review of Sebastian Armesto
and Simon Dormandy’s A Passage to India. Mehta now has
16 years’ experience under her belt and has lit more than 200
productions across the UK, including Simon Evans’ A Day
in the Death of Joe Egg at Trafalgar Studios, Nick Winston’s
Fame at the Peacock Theatre, and Natalie Abrahami’s Swive
(Elizabeth) at the Globe.
Her lighting design is permanently installed in Madame
Tussaud’s A-List Area and, in 2019, she was nominated for
the h100 Awards, recognising the UK’s most innovative and
diverse talent. Most recently, Mehta lit Blanche McIntyre’s
Hymn at the Almeida, which was live-streamed in February,
and shown on Sky Arts, as well as opening to a live audience
this summer. “That was quite a journey, as lighting for camera
is very different from lighting for the stage,” says Mehta.
“You just have to learn! It helped that Blanche has a fantastic
way of working. She gives you so much space as a creative
collaborator: no idea is too daring to discuss.”
And Mehta’s years spent backstage in venues around the UK
– observing who makes up the backstage workforce and
having frank conversations with artistic directors about
diversity – led directly to her founding Stage Sight in March
2019. It’s a collaborative network that aims to help create an
off-stage workforce which is truly reflective of society and
inclusive of ethnicity, class and disability.
“So many people I talked to acknowledged the lack of diversity
but didn’t know how to address it,” she says. “Stage Sight has
brought people together, mapped out where we were and built a
model that focuses on three areas: recruitment, reaching out and
new pathways. It’s about shared learning. We’ve never said that
one person has the answers. We’re about making a practical
change and sharing what’s worked and – more importantly
– what hasn’t.” It’s the right time, she feels, to double down
and put diversity and inclusion at the heart of our values, as
the industry starts to recover and make sense of the pandemic’s
impact. “I was lucky enough to find work and I’m very aware
that puts me in a very privileged position,” Mehta says. “But
we can’t ‘go back better’ if we go back to the way things were.”
And they won’t, if Mehta has anything to do with it. At the
beginning of the pandemic – that terrifying time when
it seemed like so much of value had gone forever – Mehta
remembers a conversation with an artistic director who told
her he couldn’t imagine her future without being part of
British theatre. It inspired her, she says, to sit down with a
blank piece of paper and think: how could she personally
contribute to help shape the future of British theatre. “What
does it look like? What should it look like? How can I help?
How can I provoke the industry to go that little bit further?
I’ve shown that it’s possible to build a career in theatre, despite
your background. I think it’s really important to be the change
you want to see.”
Swive, 2019
“Prema Mehta’s
lighting stains the
setting with the
blush of dawn,
the fire of sunset
and the glow of
the moon,”
22 23

HARD
GRAFT
Creation is bloody hard
work. Whether recalling the
old adage that creativity
is “one per cent inspiration,
99 per cent perspiration”,
or Roald Dahl’s injunction
to “keep your bottom on
the chair and stick it out”,
that truth is universally
acknowledged by every
creative practitioner. So,
is there a magic formula,
or a universally successful
set of routines to ensure
you can face up to the
prospect of sheer graft,
rather than just waiting
for a visit from your muse?
“Up until recently, I had the luxury of
not having to demand that the muse
show up every day,” says Alice Victoria
Winslow (Acting 2015), whose screenplay
adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion
starring Dakota Johnson just wrapped
filming for Netflix. “But now my
livelihood is dependent on my creative
work, I don’t have the choice of waiting
around – I have to be at my desk,
inviting her in.”
That’s a feeling recognised by Oliver
Leith (Composition 2013). “I work to
commission because I need to live, and
that necessity provides the drive needed
to meet deadlines,” he says.
Crucially, for both, the deadline-driven
life of a professional creative doesn’t
dilute the inherent artistry of their work
– it simply requires that artistry shows up
when needed, whatever the circumstances.
“I’m lucky that I’ve never been given a
brief with any serious limitations, so I
can always find something,” says Leith,
who has taken on commissions from the
BBC Symphony Orchestra, the LSO and
Festival Aix-en-Provence, and who won
a prestigious Ivor Novello award in 2020.
“I make sure I love my material – which
can take a lot of smashing about and
being messy – and then I make a piece.”
“The hardest part is getting myself to
sit down,” says Winslow, “and then my
next step is to set a kitchen timer for 20
Alice Victoria Winslow
minutes. I say to myself: ‘You just have
to put your head in that creative space for
a short amount of time, then you can
take a break.’ Some days, if I’m feeling
resistant, I’ll need to set it a few times.
Usually, after a period, I’ve sunk into
a creative space.”
“now my livelihood is
dependent on my creative
work, I don’t have the
choice of waiting around
– I have to be at my desk,
inviting her in.”
Both headspace and physical space are
important. “My studio becomes more
and more chaotic as I finish pieces,” says
Leith, “until I can’t see my desk or floor
anymore. It’s separate from my living
space, so that I am bearable to live with
– hopefully.” Leith admits that, on
occasion, he feels the need to tidy up the
chaos: “Sometimes I wonder if I should
find a healthier process, but I’m sure I
won’t – and, anyway, I’d always worry
that it might be a little sterile.”
Fellow composer Christina Athinodorou
(Composition 2005), who has just
completed a new solo violin piece for
the Code Modern festival and a substantial
work for voices and orchestra for the
Royal Theatre of La Monnaie, Brussels,
likewise has a studio used only for
composing and to study scores. “Nothing
else, so I associate this room with ‘going
to work’,” she says.
24
25

Christina Athinodorou
surprise myself. If I’m not writing from
a place of joy and resonance, I’m not
going to punish myself by trying to
keep at it.”
“I need to feel free,” says Athinodorou.
“I seek quietness and tranquility of
mind before I start working, because if
for some reason I happen to be upset,
my creative flow will very likely be
disturbed. Walking is a good habit during
breaks from work and at the end of a
day. In the city streets, or on the beach.
Seaside living is a blessing.”
During the constraints of the COVID-19
pandemic, Winslow wasn’t so fortunate.
“I was locked in a studio apartment
in LA, in one room, writing every day.
It was the biggest career pressure I’d
ever faced in my life and we had notes
meetings on Zoom, with rewrites on
and off all year. It was such strange
times and I’m grateful I had projects
to focus on.”
Having to relocate his space during the
pandemic was itself inspiration for Ellis
Howard (Acting 2018). “I went home
to Liverpool to isolate,” he explains. “I was
inside all the time, but my family are
frontline workers – my two sisters and
my mum are all nurses. I felt I had
nothing to give, so thought about how I
could be of service. My skillset is writing
and performance, so I set out to give a
voice to unplatformed people, the
thousands of kids in the north who have
no access to the internet, the people
working three jobs, the young people
whose access to education was rubbish
and whose football clubs had shut.”
“I was locked in one room,
writing every day. It was
the biggest career pressure
I’d ever faced in my life.”
From that experience sprang Howard’s
latest short film, We Are Not In The
Same Boat, which is now being used
by the Marcus Rashford and Church
Action Against Poverty campaign to
end child hunger in Britain. “I was
knackered and pissed off and angry
that working class people were being
blamed for defying lockdown, and
frontline workers weren’t being given
the recognition they deserved,” says
Howard. “But volatile emotions are
always good for art, and I started to write
with a clear purpose, which is good for
productivity.” Now he is exploring
those emotions and perspectives in a TV
series, LOUIS, currently in development
with Sid Gentle, producers of Killing
Eve and The Durrells. “LOUIS grew
out of that working class world which
people do not see. One that’s not peopled
with drug dealers and violence, the
cliches of Benefits Street and ITV crime
dramas, but one that has real and
magnetic characters, and celebrates
their intelligence.”
While volatile emotions may be good
for productivity, they can exact a toll on
the producer. Managing this requires a
creative to be as disciplined at self-care
as he or she is with deadlines. “Everything
I do is politically minded,” says Howard.
“It’s art that has a social lens. It’s a lot,
and it’s stressful. If I’m dealing with
topics that can cause anxiety, like climate
change, I can cocoon myself in dread.
My best practice is to try and make
myself laugh and enjoy myself; to treat
my work like self-love, to try and
For Winslow, it’s not serenity but
playfulness that best supports her
productivity. “I like to make my space
feel playful,” she explains. “I’ll light a
candle or get down on the floor. I’ve
been known to work from my closet.
I have little plastic dinosaurs I’ll put on
my computer. Anything to invite that
spirit of play into my environment, to
remind myself to be 10 per cent closer
to play than to homework.”
“volatile emotions are
always good for art, and
I started to write with
a clear purpose, which is
good for productivity.”
All creatives have their routines. For
Howard, that’s browsing TikTok – “the
genius of it, making people the main
character in their own lives for one
minute, moves me and blows my mind”
– while for Athinodorou, it is her cup
of specialty coffee and spurning her
computer mouse in favour of a pencil
to capture ideas: “Especially those
pushing to be born,” she says, “because
my hand runs faster on paper. I try to
keep to a working day, but I make sure
I embrace periods when I write more
intensely, all day and all night. It can
be painstaking, but this is when I
become more aware of what creation
means and what it takes to maintain
flow in my process.”
However diverse the practices of these
successful artists, Winslow pinpoints
two traits they all share. “Creativity is
about being relaxed and playful enough
to be open, but having the discipline
to keep showing up regularly,” she says.
“Of course, some days are easier, and
some are harder.”
Ellis Howard
26 27

Friends Reunited
Caroline and Louise in 'Once in a Lifetime’, at Guildhall School
“We had this incredible shared experience.
We are still the best of mates.”
LOUISE
BRECKON-
RICHARDS
AND
CAROLINE
TROWBRIDGE
I
n her first term away from home, an
18-year-old Louise Breckon-Richards
(Acting 1993) was surprised to be
approached by an intense young
woman at a house party. It turned
out to be a fellow student – Caroline
Trowbridge (Acting 1993). “She looked
me dead in the eyes and said, ‘I am
going to know you for the rest of my
life’,” she laughs. “And she was right.”
Both students had arrived from small
town backgrounds and were energised by
the hurly burly of drama school. “We
hit it off straight away,” says Trowbridge.
“We had this incredible shared experience.
We are still the best of mates.”
They remember it as a time of forging
that strong friendship. “It was our first
time in a big city, and the training felt
full-on,” says Breckon-Richards. “There’s
a part of you that’s explored in new
ways when you arrive there. You learn
so much about yourself emotionally,
habitually and physically – and that’s
stayed with me in everything I do.”
For three decades the pair have supported
each other as their own acting and
writing careers flourished. Breckon-
Richards went into theatre while
Trowbridge went straight to BBC drama.
“I thought, ‘Wow, this is how it’s always
going to be’,” says Trowbridge. “Because
I looked younger than I am, I got cast
very quickly. What we’ve learned over
the years is that you go in so many
different directions, life takes over.”
While both are still actors, Trowbridge
has gone on to publish a couple of
children’s books, and Breckon-Richards
is an accomplished playwright.
They never worked together – until
recently. Breckon-Richards cast
Trowbridge in her 2019 play Four O’Clock
Flowers, which looks at the aftermath
of knife crime through the eyes of two
Louise Breckon-Richards
Caroline Trowbridge
mothers, struggling to manage their
grief and guilt. Haunted by growing
violence, Breckon-Richards wanted to
reflect the poignancy and heartbreak
behind street-corner shrines for victims
that she sees close to her London home.
“We’re both mothers, we know what it
means to love unconditionally,” says
Breckon-Richards, who’s now turning
her play into a film, still with Trowbridge
in the leading role. “Caroline auditioned
and she was brilliant – I knew she would
be. As a play it had a great response and
I felt it still had more to say.”
For Trowbridge, playing a hardworking
single mother trying to understand the
maelstrom unleashed by violent crime
is a raw experience. “How does a mother
stand by her son? How does she show
him unqualified love?” But she says it’s
been a joy to work with a close friend.
“Caroline believes in my writing,” says
Breckon-Richards, “she always has. She’s
one of the best actors I know. To give
one of your dearest friends a space to
shine is glorious.”
If the past year and a half has taken its
toll, both are now overjoyed to be out
and filming, and are busy fundraising
to complete the project. “We do giggle
a bit together,” says Breckon-Richards.
“Caroline has comedy bones. I’ll be
concentrating on set and catch her
smirking, and that will set me off. We
have to watch that because we need to
be in professional mode.”
“You always hear people talking about
Guildhall graduates as great team
players, great ensemble actors,” she adds.
“That’s what they equip you with – that
generosity and ability to collaborate.”
facebook.com/fouroclockflowers/
Twitter @clock_flowers
Insta @fouroclockflowersfilm
28
29

RESEARCH WORKS
Nick Bonadies:
Queering the Conservatoire
Beyond the Diversity Checklist
Nick is completing their DMus on queer/queer(ing)
performance practice: un-erasing and archiving how
conservatoire-musicians can do queer work in how
they play works of the conservatoire-canon. We caught
up with them during their final few weeks to find out
how their research is impacting the Guildhall School
community and the wider world.
When my doctoral colleagues Imogen Flower, Sarah
McCabe, and I hosted our two ResearchWorks sessions
at Guildhall last year – which we called Queering the
Conservatoire: Beyond the Diversity Checklist – we introduced
ourselves as Guildhall’s Queer Performance Faculty, titles
and roles which do not, strictly speaking, exist.
To publicly inaugurate a Guildhall Queer Performance
Department regardless, we felt, served a few functions.
One was to highlight a growing community in Guildhall’s
Research Department who work with arts practices as
they intersect with social justice and marginalised groups.
A second, more central function was to take up space, thus
to make space. Naming our fake department calls attention
to presence as much as it does absence. Each year that passes,
higher arts education invites a more and more diverse
student body through our doors – but (we might ask) then
what happens? We may hear queer performance department
and find it funnily incongruous to the conservatoire’s
work – but why would we think that? Queer or otherwise,
why would common sense place our daily work as artists
so separately from who we are, the communities to which
we belong, the ways our art-making functions within a
changing world?
It was with these questions in mind that Imogen, Sarah and
I organised a series of round-table discussions, made up of
queer, trans*, and gender non-conforming conservatoire
students in the UK and North America. We designed our
ResearchWorks sessions, which are a programme of
events centred around the School’s key research strands,
as a platform for their experiences – in what ways they
had felt supported or empowered in their institutions, and
their ideas for how they could change.
While we encouraged the participants to be bold, expansive,
and unencumbered by the realistic in their suggestions, we
found many of their desires entirely within reach: a respect
for individuals’ pronouns, gender-inclusive bathroom
access, and access to gender-responsive pastoral care, for
example – issues taken up as part of Guildhall’s ongoing
equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.
Where I believe the most keenly-felt desires emerged,
however, is also where, as leaders and educators, we have
the most work and critical reflection to do. It can be at the
site of art-making – our daily practices as conservatoiredenizens
– that the most powerful patterns of inclusion
and otherness play out, often going unquestioned (or
unquestionable) under the banner of tradition, or a belief
that aesthetics and vulgar politics are contradictory terms.
These problematics play out more or less obviously in
different areas – canonic opera has no shortage of violent
gendered narratives, for example, and poses particular
hostility to trans and nonbinary vocalists. But what of other
practices: string playing, ensemble work, teaching? How
can we actively recognise and respond to the unrecognised
political work embedded in our practices, as Anna Bull
puts it ‘Class, Control, and Classical Music?’.
I believe our Interim Principal Jonathan Vaughan had it
spot-on, when in the last issue of PLAY he wrote, ‘we have
a civic responsibility to our students for them to temper
their maturing artistic voice with their own ethical and
political identities’. I also believe the work is on us, as
practitioners and teachers, to be critical in our self-reflection,
and wherever possible, to provide students with platforms
for inventing new ways.
This is the subject of my research, incidentally, which as
I write is due for submission in a few days. I speak of
queer(ing) performance practice, highlighting the ways
classical piano pedagogy does socially, regulatory work
for performers and audiences, in recognisably gendered,
sexed, raced, and classed terms. I believe engaging with
this can open one up to beautifully, radiantly different ways
of doing classical musicianship – and ways of reconsidering,
too, what kind of work we do when we teach.
Nick Bonadies
30
31

CREATIVE CAREERS
Lewis
Hannaby
Lewis Hannaby (Theatre Technology 2019)
had his heart set on lighting the theatres
of the West End and beyond. However,
when the pandemic hit and Lewis lost his
job at the Royal Shakespeare Company,
he found his way into the world of gallery
and museum lighting design. We caught
up with Lewis to find out more about the
new industry he finds himself in.
A
fter graduating, I started working at the RSC as a
Lighting Technician, but unfortunately, my contract was
terminated prematurely due to the pandemic. During
lockdown, I worked on a virtual production of The Turn
of the Screw at Wilton’s Music Hall. Though I had not
designed for screen before, I was delighted to read that the
lighting of the show received critical acclaim in multiple reviews.
In late 2020, I began working at Bridgwater and Taunton
College as their Production Technician and Lighting lecturer.
This provided a platform to share my knowledge to the current
students, which I found incredibly rewarding. However, I
missed the buzz of working in the lighting industry, which
is when I saw a job had come up with Beam Lighting Design,
a gallery, museum and architectural lighting consultancy.
Coming from a theatrical background, I found the change
of pace in this new role quite refreshing. Often with museum
projects, the planning and design phase can usually take
anywhere from six months to over a year. This way of working
is not something I was used to, but I’ve loved the way our
designs are so well documented and organised, and how much
time and care goes into each project.
Although many of the lighting principles remain the same,
when working in a museum environment there are often very
strict conservation levels that must be adhered to. When lighting
objects and artefacts, there are various brightness and UV
levels of exposure that have to be considered. We play a careful
balancing act, cautiously balancing the lighting levels of the
objects for a harmonious experience, all while ensuring a sense
of theatricality and vibrancy from the environmental lighting.
One of the exciting aspects for me is getting to see and work in
the ‘backstage’ areas of well-known museums and galleries.
There are always little spaces or aspects closed off from the
public that have been lost to time. It’s great fun being able to
work there after hours too, although it can become a little
eerie at times when you’re in a dark room surrounded by statues.
Recently we lit two projects at Kensington Palace; one being
the newly unveiled Princess Diana Memorial Statue in the
Palace Gardens, the other being Diana’s wedding dress at the
Royal Style in the Making exhibition. I find working closely
with Royal garments incredibly exciting.
The work has involved many of the same principles I had
learned from the theatre, so it was great that I was able to jump
straight in. My colleagues also started out in the theatre
industry, so it’s nice to be able to share the same grounding
and language when working on projects together.
For now, I’d like to stay within gallery and museum lighting
design as I’m still gaining so much knowledge about this
intriguing avenue of lighting. I do miss working in theatre;
however, since taking on my new role, I have found myself
having more time to go as an audience member, which is such
an added bonus.
I wasn’t sure where I would end up or what I might be doing
after Guildhall, but I was certain I needed to find myself
somewhere in the world of lighting. I’m very happy to have
landed feet first and I cannot wait to see how things pan out
in the future.
If I were to give advice to students graduating this year, it
would be to follow your heart. If you are passionate about what
you do, you’re quickly going to become a master of your trade.
It’s your quirks and passions that set you apart from the crowd.
Be uniquely yourself in everything you do.
Lewis Hannaby
32
33

Guildhall Futures
Fund
Over the last year and a half, the world has
changed dramatically. As the industry begins
to rebuild itself from the ground up, many
artists face more challenges than ever before.
Guildhall Futures is a brand new funding
scheme for graduates who have completed their
studies with us in the last five years.
This funding will give our alumni artists
space to consider their practice, adapt to
a fundamentally changed landscape and
maintain sustainable and fulfilling careers.
Graduates of the last five years are invited
to apply for funding between £500-£3,000
with the intention for this to support the
advancement of creative practice and creative
careers. It is intended to support artists to
consider, adapt and redefine their practice in
line with a rapidly shifting arts industry. It is
designed to be flexible to support a range of
professional and artistic development activity
broadly related to the disciplines of Music,
Drama and Production Arts.
Applications will open in spring 2022.
If you’re not already, make sure
you’re signed up to our alumni e-list
at alumni@gsmd.ac.uk to be the first
to hear when applications open.
News
Guildhall is granted £637,000 of Leverhulme
Arts Scholarships over the next three years
by the Leverhulme Trust
Guildhall School is delighted to announce it has been granted
£637,000 of Leverhulme Arts Scholarships over the next three
years by the Leverhulme Trust. This includes major scholarship
support for undergraduate and postgraduate musicians, as well
as for children and young people under the age of 18 studying
with Guildhall Young Artists, including Junior Guildhall and
Centre for Young Musicians.
The School’s grant is the second largest of the 57 specialist
arts institutions funded by the Leverhulme Trust and comes in
addition to Leverhulme research grants made to the School. The
awards include a 112% increase in funding from the Trust for
Guildhall Young Artists of £286,000, as well as a 30% increase
for both undergraduate and postgraduate music scholarships,
with £253,500 for students studying on the Guildhall Artist
Masters and Artist Diploma programmes, and £97,500 for
undergraduate music students.
Guildhall aims to ensure that no student who is offered a
place at the School is prevented from attending on grounds of
financial hardship. The School awards in excess of £3million in
financial support per annum, with over 40% of students receiving
some level of support, thanks to a diverse body of funders such
as the Leverhulme Trust and many other generous individuals,
City livery companies, trusts and foundations.
34 35

More than 200
alumni perform at
the BBC Proms 2021
The BBC Proms was back this summer
with six weeks of live music between
July and September, with 52 concerts
over 44 days broadcast across radio, BBC
Sounds and TV.
More than 200 alumni and staff
members performed or worked on the
production, including 54 Leaders and
Principal players, 17 soloists, four
conductors, five composers and two stage
managers and production supervisors
(that we know of).
Over 100 alumni took part as orchestral
members in more than 20 orchestras,
from the BBC Philharmonic to the
Manchester Collective.
New online centre for under 18s
Guildhall partners with School
of Sexuality Education on
programme for Acting staff
and students
Students and staff within the Acting programme
will embark on a bespoke programme of
workshops and conversations this year about
consent, sexual violence and bystander
intervention as part of the School’s commitment
to creating a more equitable and inclusive
environment for everyone.
Delivered in partnership with the awardwinning
School of Sexuality Education, this
comprehensive and pioneering training, for
academic year 2021/22, will be evidencebased,
trauma-informed, trans-inclusive
and intersectional.
The workshops are part of a wider programme
of training and reflection undertaken by the
Drama Department since July 2020, which
aims to embed progressive industry practice
into the School’s Acting training and prioritises
inclusivity, representation, anti-racist practice
and wellbeing in all areas, from repertoire
to pedagogy.
Vice-Principal & Director of Drama, Orla
O’Loughlin said “Ongoing incidents of sexual
misconduct within the theatre, TV and film
industries further highlight the urgent need
to be proactive in ensuring that we all have
a clear understanding of consent within our
sector and the wider world. This work is a vital
part of the ongoing culture change within the
Drama Department.”
The School’s Production Arts, Music and
Research faculties will also be offering training
in consent and anti-sexual violence, working
with different providers in order to respond to
specific departmental contexts.
This summer, Guildhall School launched its
first dedicated online music centre. Guildhall
Young Artists Online will enable young musicians
to access high-quality training from Guildhall
School tutors and industry professionals, in
a fun and supportive environment.
The online centre will offer 1:1 music tuition
and a selection of courses throughout the
year specially tailored for 8–18 year olds
and led by staff from either Junior Guildhall,
Centres for Young Musicians or Guildhall
School. The online offer for autumn includes
1:1 music tuition and a nine week course for
young composers.
Anyone from the age of 8–18 can access
1:1 tuition, with no previous experience or
knowledge required. Tutors will be selected
to fit individual requirements and experience,
and new programmes and courses will be
added throughout the year.
Find out more at gsmd.ac.uk/GYAonline
36 37

Guildhall School hosts preview screening
of new Bond film
News in brief
The Cosman Keller Art & Music Trust
will support the expansion of Chamber
Fellowships at the School from September
2021, in memory of Hans Keller.
Penguin Random House UK recently
collaborated with Guildhall School
actors for an innovative audio adaptation
of Joseph Knox’s TRUE CRIME STORY
which has been published in hardback,
ebook, and audio.
Upcoming events
Guildhall School hosted a charity preview screening of the
latest film in the James Bond franchise, No Time To Die, on
29 September, the night before the film’s official release date.
The film features Acting alumnus Daniel Craig in his fifth
and final appearance as James Bond, after 15 years in the
historic role. The release broke UK box office records, grossing
more on its opening weekend than any other film in the
history of the James Bond franchise, and became the biggest
movie of the year after only four days in cinemas.
After an 18 month wait, the School was delighted to host
more than 200 guests at the charity screening, which took
place at the Barbican Cinema.
The event raised more than £20,000, with all proceeds
supporting Guildhall School’s Scholarships Fund, ensuring
students from all backgrounds can access the School’s
world-leading training.
Guildhall is extremely grateful to producers Barbara Broccoli,
Michael G Wilson and film distributor NBC Universal for
providing us with this preview screening.
Congratulations to Acting alumni
Michaela Coel and Ewan McGregor
who recently won Emmys at the
Primetime Emmy Awards 2021.
Guildhall School’s Gold Medal winners
2021: Baritone Tom Mole wins the Music
medal, while Aoife Gaston wins the
Acting medal and Joshua Collins the
Production Arts medal.
Aoife Gaston and
Joshua Collins
Junior Guildhall student Apollo, aged 6,
performed a composition in honour of
the NHS’ 73rd birthday. Apollo contacted
St Bart’s hospital in 2020, during the
height of the COVID-19 pandemic, to tell
them about his composition Pandemia,
which he had written as a thank you to
health workers. The piece, which has
three movements - Survival, Hope and
Fight, represents the different stages of
the past 18 months that many around
the world have been through.
Apollo with staff from Newham hospital
and the Royal London hospital
Monday 22 November, 6pm
Milton Court Concert Hall
Songs at Six:
Schumann’s
Kerner-Lieder
Join us for a concert performed by
postgraduate singers and pianists, devised
and prepared by Eugene Asti.
25 – 30 November, 7pm
Milton Court Studio Theatre
Opera Scenes
Outstanding singers and repetiteurs
from the first year of the Guildhall
School Opera Course perform classical
and contemporary operatic excerpts
with piano accompaniment.
Friday 26 November – Wednesday
1 December, 7.30pm
Silk Street Theatre
Anna Karenina
Award-winning playwright Marina
Carr’s fresh and contemporary take
on this classic love story is directed
by Derek Bond.
Monday 29 November, 6pm
Online event
ResearchWorks:
Léon
Melchissédec’s
‘leçon de chant’
Professor Sarah Fuchs contextualizes
Melchissédec’s ‘leçon de chant’
alongside his pedagogical writings,
exploring how operatic pedagogy
evolved in response to the emergence
of sound-recording technologies
in turn-of-the-century France.
Monday 29 November, 6pm
Silk Street Music Hall
Songs at Six:
Highlights of
Hispanic Art Song
Guildhall singers and pianists embark
on a musical journey through some
Spanish-speaking countries to explore
Hispanic Art Song’s vast riches.
Tuesday 30 November, 6pm
Milton Court Concert Hall
Spotlight on Wind,
Brass and Percussion
The spotlight shines on brass chamber
groups and soloists from Guildhall’s
Wind, Brass and Percussion department.
Wednesday 1 December, 7pm
Silk Street Music Hall
Guildhall Big Band
– Louis Armstrong’s
Hot 5s and 7s
Guildhall Big Band welcome as codirector
one of the leading forces in jazz,
Byron Wallen, as they discover and
re-imagine the legacy of the Hot 5
and Hot 7 – landmark recordings that
herald the essence of jazz as a unique
20th-century art form.
Thursday 2 December, 7pm
Milton Court Concert Hall
Guildhall Jazz
Orchestra
Guildhall Jazz Orchestra, directed
by Scott Stroman, perform an eclectic
programme of contemporary big
band music.
Saturday 4 December, 5.30pm
Milton Court Concert Hall
Junior Guildhall
Symphony Orchestra
The outstanding young musicians of
Junior Guildhall Symphony Orchestra
and String Ensemble return to Milton
Court Concert Hall for a performance
under the exciting British conductor,
Julian Clayton.
38 39

Join the
Guildhall Patrons
Empower our students
to light up stages
and concert halls
around the world
Your support will preserve the School’s
specialist training of international
musicians, actors and production artists
and provide expert masterclasses, strands
of specialist teaching and the equipment
essential to maintaining Guildhall School
as a world-leading conservatoire.
As a Patron you will be richly rewarded
with performances across the breadth of
the School’s artistic disciplines. We invite
you to witness artists in training and enjoy
a fulfilling rapport with Guildhall staff,
students and fellow supporters.
For more information about becoming
a Patron, please contact:
Daniella Rodriguez,
Development Officer (Individuals),
daniella.rodriguez@gsmd.ac.uk