EXCLUSIVE: The Guildhall School of Music & Drama, a top London drama school, had a racist culture in which multiple Black students were called the N-word and were “suppressed” by white tutors, according to an external investigation.
Guildhall, which counts Daniel Craig, Ewan McGregor, and Michaela Coel among its alumni, commissioned an independent review into discrimination experienced by students on its prestigious acting course following the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. A document was prepared for the school in 2021 and Deadline is reporting on its contents for the first time as part of our Drama Schools Uncovered series.
The 26-page report, compiled by Freshwaters Consultancy, found that graduates were “consistent and explicit” in their accounts of experiencing or witnessing racism, including “various incidents” in which the N-word was allegedly used during teaching exercises.
Salmon’s evidence, based on interviews with more than 30 alumni and Guildhall staff members, supports accounts given by Coel and Paapa Essiedu, the I May Destroy You stars who claimed that they were called the N-word by a teacher during their time studying at the school.
In a statement to Deadline, Guildhall said it had apologized to all alumni affected by the findings. The school added that Freshwaters Consultancy’s recommendations had been implemented, including anti-racism training and the launch of a more diverse curriculum.
The report, written by academic Maureen Salmon, found evidence that Black students experienced the worst forms of racism at Guildhall, but teachers also made anti-Semitic comments and were derogatory towards Asian students.
Guildhall’s culture was described by alumni as “unwelcoming” and teaching practices were deemed to be “hostile.” The report said Black students’ identities and personalities were “suppressed” rather than celebrated as part of learning processes.
“Incidents of personal racism were alleged to have been perpetrated by a small number of named individuals who had been in leadership positions within the acting programme for many years. Their behaviours appeared to have been enabled and empowered through structural racism in the school’s systems,” the report said.
In this environment, white students refused to work with Black peers. In one incident described in the report, a white student allegedly spat in the face of a Black classmate during an acting exercise and the tutor deemed that it was dramatically justified, even though the Black student disagreed.
In other findings, Freshwaters Consultancy said there was “unconscious bias” in casting decisions and that pastoral care for students fell short of professional standards. It said Black alumni lacked trust in Guildhall’s people, culture, and systems.
Freshwaters Consultancy said the findings were “disturbing” and pointed to “significant past failings and weaknesses in the leadership, governance, culture, policies, and practices” in Guildhall’s acting course, which had a “harmful” impact on students between 1974 and 2020.
Deadline’s Drama Schools Uncovered investigation has found that racism existed at Guildhall as recently as last year. The drama school upheld two complaints of discrimination after Freshwaters Consultancy delivered its report, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Guildhall said: “As part of a sustained programme of action to address and dismantle longstanding systemic racism within the acting programme, Guildhall School appointed Maureen Salmon of Freshwaters Consultancy in September 2020, to receive accounts and experiences of racism from acting alumni in order to produce an independent, anonymised report.
“The report was written with and for our acting alumni, summarising the culture of the Acting programme over recent years and making a series of recommendations. In April 2021 the report was sent to all of our acting alumni, accompanied by a response and unreserved apology from the Vice Principal & Director of Drama and the Principal.
“The recommendations of this report for the drama department have since been implemented, and in addition, its school-wide recommendations have been fed into the work of Guildhall School’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.”
Guildhall said it was in “constant” dialogue with students about their experiences and the acting course is updated accordingly. It added that staff are involved in “reflective sessions” twice a month in which they consider anti-racism and other training in an effort to improve personal responsibility and accountability. An “acting advisory group” also gives critical feedback and advice on anti-racist practices.
The school added: “We understand that this work is long-term and requires sustained commitment to build a culture that is inclusive and equitable.”
