University News Last updated 25 March
Our Royal Birmingham Conservatoire graduates have gone on to star in television shows, blockbuster movies and stage productions. Check out what some of our talented Alumni are up to this month.
Acting graduate stars in BBC Two show
BA (Hons) Acting graduate Gemma Crooks is starring as an acting coach in BBC’s Bring the Drama. Bring the Drama is a new six-part series on BBC Two and iPlayer. Hosted by Bill Bailey, the show sees eight aspiring actors get the opportunity to make their dreams come true. Gemma, who graduated from our School of Acting in 2002, is an acting coach on the show alongside casting director Kelly Valentine Hendry, who has cast for shows such as Broadchurch and Bridgerton.
Alumna to star in West End smash-hit show on tour
Catherine Tydesley, who graduated from our BA (Hons) Acting course in 2006, is playing Blanche Barrow, Clyde’s sister-in-law, in the Bonnie and Clyde UK and Ireland tour. In March, it came to the Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton, and it will be at the Birmingham Hippodrome in September. The West End show won the award for Best New Musical at the What's On Stage awards in 2023.
Graduate stars in award-winning Stranger Things prequel
Acting Alumnus Christopher Buckley stars as Bob Newby in Stranger Things: The First Shadow. The prequel to the hit Netflix show won Best New Play at the WhatsOnStage Awards 2024 and has extended its run at the Phoenix Theatre to the end of the year.
SIX star returns to Brum
BA Acting graduate Alexia McIntosh, who was nominated for an Olivier award for her portrayal of Anne of Cleves in the West End production of SIX, heads to Midlands Arts Centre for WANTED. Alexia stars as Olive Morris, British Black Panther and avid activist.
Graduate stars in Spielberg-produced TV series
Acting graduate Tomisin Ajani stars as Capt. Erwin B. Lawrence alongside Austin Butler in Masters of the Air, a mini-series on Apple TV from the producers of Band of Brothers, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman.
Acting Alumna brings Roald Dahl story to life in Matilda the Musical
Acting alumna Deborah Tracey is playing the role of Mrs Phelps, librarian and friend to Matilda, a role that’s prominent in the musical adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel. Matilda the Musical is performed at the Cambridge Theatre in the West End.
Life of Pi UK tour casts Alumna
Lilian Tsang, who graduated from Birmingham School of Acting in 2013, is starring as Mrs Okamoto, Zaida Khan and Ships Captain in the Life of PI UK and Ireland tour. Whilst touring, the show will stop off in Wolverhampton in April.
Graduate makes West End debut in Agatha Christie play
This month, Acting alumna Rhîan Crowley-McLean made her West End debut in Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution at London County Hall.
Alumnus stars in Magic Mike stage show
Acting alumnus James Percy is starring in Channing Tatum presents: Magic Mike Live at the Hippodrome Casino in London. The Actor and Comedian provides the laughs at this immersive show.
Graduate film out on DVD
Acting graduate Blake Heaven stars as Mick in The Shamrock Spitfire: the story of ‘Spitfire Paddy' which is now available on Amazon and Apple TV.
Graduates return to Birmingham
RBC graduate Diljohn Sidhu stars in Indigo Giant, which is on tour around the UK and came to the Birmingham Rep theatre 14-16 March. Presented by Komola collective, Indigo Giant is a drama based on Nil Darpan by Dinabandhu Mitra, a play written in Bengali about the Indigo Revolt of 1859.
Main image: Catherine Tyldesley as Blanche Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde, image credit Richard Davenport