Acting

BA (Hons) Acting is a vocational training programme with an outstanding reputation for training actors in the skills of theatre, radio, TV and film; more recently encompassing motion capture and animation.

We are looking for your curiosity, imagination, and playfulness. You will be expressive people who are energetic, dynamic and driven to tell stories. We will teach you your craft and encourage you on the path to creative excellence. Through diverse creative modules, you’ll refine your skills and gain the experience needed to excel in a broad range of industry environments.

You’ll be trained by industry experts with specialisms in directing, voice and movement, acting, and theatre-making - academic professionals who continue to work in the field and many of whom are engaged in theatre and performance research.

Studying within our state-of-the-art theatre facilities in the heart of Manchester, a vibrant cultural hub, you'll have access to a wealth of theatres, festivals, and performance events, all of which will enrich your learning.

Special Features

• —Federation Membership: As a proud member of the Federation of Drama Schools, our three-year programme equips you with the skills to excel across diverse performance mediums and adapt to industry demands.
• —Bursaries and Scholarships: You’ll have the chance to apply for prestigious awards like the Carleton Hobbs, Spotlight Prize, and the Buffini Chao Elevate Scholarship.
• —Industry Connections: Rooted in tradition but future-focused, we maintain strong connections with key employers like the BBC, ITV, and The Royal Exchange Theatre.
• —Professional Training: Our industry-experienced team offers hands-on training in areas such as motion capture, acting through song, devising, and puppetry.
• —Collaborative Opportunities: As part of Manchester Metropolitan University, you can collaborate with departments like Digital Arts, Law, and the Manchester Writing School.
• —Expert Lecturers: You’ll learn from professional lecturers and visiting experts who ensure you receive cutting-edge, relevant training.
• —State-of-the-Art Facilities: With purpose-built rehearsal rooms and a dedicated theatre, you’ll train and perform in a professional environment.
• —Cultural Hub: Located in Manchester’s cultural heart, you’ll have access to theatres, festivals, and performance events to enrich your experience.

Watch the BA (Hons) Acting showreel. More videos of our students performing can be seen on the Acting Showcase page.

Course Content

The first two years of this course are all about training. The third year is industry facing, preparing and readying our actors for the profession. The first year is entirely process driven with little emphasis on performing. The second year introduces elements of performance through workshops and culminates in a black box production readying the students for the third year. 

Year 1

In the first year of your training you will explore your voice, your body and your self. You will experience the ensemble as a tangible, meaningful presence and you will begin the rudiments of the actor’s craft, working with key principles derived in part from the work of Konstantin Stanislavsky, Uta Hagen and Michael Chekhov. You will learn how to read a play and turn dried ink into character and action. You will learn the rudiments of working on camera and have several opportunities to experience truthful self and the transformation into a present character. You will start to apply what you have learned in a series of scene studies working with both contemporary and European Naturalism texts. By the end of your first year you will have experienced using self as the basis of character and have established a personal, structured process to apply to rehearsal. 

Year 2

In the second year of your training, you will consolidate and develop what you have learned in the first year. You will work have considerably more experience in front of the camera as well as behind the mic. You will work with heightened stakes, intense feeling and poetic speech through your Shakespeare project and you will have further classes in singing, combat, acting for camera, improvisation, poetry, as well as deeper and more sustained scene studies in which to develop your process and hone your craft.

Year 3

Your final year is very much about preparing for and engaging with the profession. You will work with professional directors on at least one public performance per term. You will have workshops and talks from practitioners and professionals including successful directors of stage and screen, agents, producers, casting directors, artistic directors and many more. You will have the opportunity to audition for the various awards and bursaries, including the Sam Wannamaker Festival, the Carleton Hobbs Bursary Award (which we have won and come runner up in several times in recent years) the RSC weekend and many more. You will receive advice on auditions and self-tapes culminating in a series of mock auditions. You will also take part in the annual Showcase, which will be at our new theatre in Manchester and in a West End theatre in London.

Assessment Methods

Continuous assessment and public performances.

Assessment Weightings & Contact Hours

10 credits equates to 100 hours of study, which is a combination of lectures, seminars and practical sessions, and independent study. A three year degree qualification typically comprises 360 credits (120 credits per year). The exact composition of your study time and assessments for the course will vary according to your option choices and style of learning, but it could be—

Staff

• Sofia Jones
  Programme Leader
  —
  
• Gareth Aled
  Lecturer (Acting)
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• Seán Aydon
  Lecturer (Acting)
  —
  
• Seb Harcombe
  Senior Lecturer (Acting)
  —
  
• Ellie Hawthorne
  Lecturer (Voice)
  —
  
• Amaia Mugica
  Senior Lecturer (Movement)
  —
  
• Sam Robertson
  Lecturer (Voice)
  —
  
• Caitlin Smith
  Senior Lecturer (Movement)
  —
  

Visiting Tutors

Some of our recent visiting teachers and practitioners—

• Naomi Ackie, Actor, Star Wars
• Geraldine Alexander, Actor & Director
• Sarah Amankwah, Actor
• Hammed Animashaun, Actor
• Mina Anwar, Actor & Director
• Zawe Ashton, Actor
• Mark Babych, Artistic Director, Hull Truck Theatre Company
• Mick Barnfather, Teacher & Actor
• Zora Bishop, Actor
• George Bukhari, Actor
• Lucy Campbell, Director
• Ian Chesworth, Singing Teacher
• Jude Christian, Associate Director, HOME
• Caroline Clegg, Director
• Kate Colgrave Pope, Teacher & Director
• Michael Cox, Hammond Cox Casting
• Kwesi Davies, Coaching For Creators
• Matthew Dunster, Director
• Joe England, Improvisation
• Stefan Escreet, Director
• Comfort Fabien, Actor
• Ashley Gerlach, Actor
• Rupert Goold, Artistic Director, Almeida Theatre
• Darren R Gordon, Director / Acting and Presentation Coach
• Burn Gorman, Actor
• Thom Hammond, Hammond Cox Casting
• Seb Harcombe, Director
• Sir David Hare, Writer
• Julie Hesmondhalgh, Actor
• Elianne Hawley, Actor & TV teacher
• Graeme Hawley, Actor & TV teacher
• Carla Henry, Actor
• Sharon Henry, Sharon Henry Management
• Kaitlin Howard, Stage Combat tutor
• Chris Hunter, Actor & Teacher
• Jonathan Kent, Director
• Oliver Kent, TV Producer
• Noreen Kershaw, Actor & Director
• Elliot Knight, Actor
• Alastair Knights, Director
• Jerry Knight-Smith, Casting Director, Manchester Royal Exchange
• Neil LaBute, Writer
• Omar Malik, Actor
• Cheryl Martin, Writer & Director
• Jonathan Martin, Director
• Javier Marzan, Improvisation
• Jonathan McGrath, Director & Actor & Producer
• Roger Michell, Director, Notting Hill
• Rachel O’Riordan, Artistic Director, Lyric Hammersmith
• Mary Papadima, Director
• Craig Parkinson, Actor
• Maxine Peake, Actor
• Madeleine Potter, Actor & Director
• Quarantine, Theatre Company
• Joe Gilmour Rees, Director
• Kyle Rowe, JAM
• Indhu Rubasingham, Artistic Director, Kiln Theatre
• Ginny Schiller, Casting Director
• Bryony Shanahan, Joint Artistic Director, Manchester Royal Exchange
• Elizabeth Shofi, Voice
• Penelope Skinner, Playwright
• Teunkie van der Slujs, Director
• Simon Stephens, Playwright
• Hannah Stevenson
• Abii Strudwicke, Voice
• Imogen Stubbs, Actor, Director & Writer
• David Threlfall, Actor
• Si Trinder, Actor & Director
• Pat Trueman, Director
• Ted Van Griethuysen, Actor
• Annie Wallace, Actor
• Yusra Warsama, Actor & Director
• Roy Alexander Weise, Joint Artistic Director, Manchester Royal Exchange
• Jason Wingard, Director

Also see Directors of Final Year Productions

Graduates

Former students who have gone on to highly successful careers in film, television and theatre and graduates include Sarah Amankwah, Zawe Ashton, Zora Bishop, John Bradley, George Bukhari, Amanda Burton Steve Coogan, Ashley Gerlach, Richard Griffiths, Graeme Hawley, Zoe Henry, Bernard Hill, Noreen Kershaw, Elliot Knight, Adam Kotz, Nathan McMullen, Yasmin Mwanza, David Threlfall, John Thomson, Annie Wallace, Julie Walters CBE, Assad Zaman.

Making an Application

How to Apply

Apply through UCAS.

We will invite you for an Audition.

You will be notified of our decision through UCAS.

Entry Requirements

International Students

A minimum IELTS score of 6.0 overall with no individual element below 5.5 is required.

There’s further information for international students on our international website if you’re applying with non-UK qualifications.

Tuition Fees 2026 Entry

The fees for 2026 entry are still to be confirmed.

See Funding your studies for further information and advice.

Additional Costs

Specialist Costs

Headshots

Year 2 professional 'headshot' photography approximately £150 - £400 (mandatory). 

Specialist equipment

Knee pads for movement - prices start from £10 (optional).

Professional Costs

Spotlight membership - Final year - £75 initial joining fee, rising to £154 per year (mandatory).

Equity membership – Years 1/2/3 initial joining fee £49.50 per year rising with annual income (optional).

Other Costs

Field trip

Final year mandatory trip - Return ticket to London for Showcase between £70-£100 (based on rail ticket) subject to change. Other modes of transport can be used, and prices start from £7.50 (based on coach ticket) subject to change.

Laptop

We would encourage students to have or buy a laptop at onset of the course, to facilitate the best possible learning environment. The approximate cost of this could be between £500 - £1000.

Should a student be unable to purchase a laptop, or use an existing one, we have on-site PC labs and the option to borrow laptops from the library.

* All amounts shown are estimates.