Students at a London-based drama school that has trained stars such as Miranda Hart and Denise Goff say they are “devastated” after it closed, saying it was no longer “financially viable”. The Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) fired 44 staff members and told students it would help them find “alternative courses”. A statement on its website said: “ALRA undertook a restructuring in the spring of 2021 designed to stabilize finances, but the losses in the academic year 2020/21 and the lack of significant new revenue streams in 2021/22 meant that the organization was not financially viable “. She said she tried to find a “new owner” to secure her “long-term future” but failed and “is no longer able to teach students and will be closed from Monday 4 April”. ALRA graduate Denise Gough / Dave Bennett
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The college, based in Wandsworth, also had a north branch in Greater Manchester. A statement on Twitter created by third-year students said: “We are delighted to say that we will be in the last third year of ALRA South. Our school closed unexpectedly. Any branch PLEASE help students who have not yet signed up. We have missed so much with covid in the 1st / 2nd year and now the closed school. Alra south 2022 xx. “ Another student, Inigo Robertson, said students who left for “one term” did not “even know if we were getting our degree”, but the rival drama school, Rose Bruford College of Theater and Performance, said it would offer it to everyone. students a place. Mary Oliver, deputy principal, said: “We are committed to supporting each individual student during the transition period and in a stable and productive learning environment.” Among the college graduates are award-winning Gough, who won accolades for her role in People, Places and Things at the National Theater, and Hart, whose comedy series made her a huge star. Comedian Bridget Christie and actress Sarah Parish also studied there.
