Royal Conservatoire of Scotland unveils archive portraits of actors early in their careers
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) has opened its photographic archives to mark 75 years of training performers for stage and screen, releasing images of students who later became prominent actors and entertainers.
The archive material includes matriculation and production photographs capturing familiar faces before they achieved national and international recognition. The images illustrate the institution’s long history of preparing talent for theatre, television and film.
Among the photographs is a 1982 matriculation portrait of David Tennant from the RCS Junior Academy, taken when the institution was known as the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Tennant later completed a BA in Dramatic Studies in 1991 and has since appeared in major television and film productions, including roles in Doctor Who, Broadchurch, Good Omens and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and as Dennis Nilsen in Des. Reflecting on his time at the conservatoire, he said: "I came from a background where nobody really knew how you go about becoming an actor. We sniffed around and found out there was a Saturday morning class called the Junior School. I later found out that it was run by the students and it was part of the BA Acting course. At the time I just thought I was going to a Saturday morning drama club, and I did that every year until I left school and then I came here as a full-time student. I don't think I would have been able to survive professionally without the training here."
Another image shows James McAvoy performing in The Beaux Stratagem in 1999. McAvoy graduated from RCS in 2000 and has since built a career that spans stage and screen, including high-profile film roles. In 2015 he established the James McAvoy Drama Scholarship at RCS to support applicants who might otherwise be unable to meet tuition costs for pre-higher education drama training. McAvoy was presented with a Fellowship at RCS in 2008.
Sam Heughan appears in a production of Romeo and Juliet from the RCS archives. Heughan graduated from the BA Acting programme in 2003 and later achieved international recognition for his lead role in Outlander. Heughan has supported RCS through philanthropy, announcing a 10-year scholarship in 2021 that funds three annual undergraduate awards, and creating an annual creative commission to encourage students to devise new work. Heughan also received an honorary doctorate from RCS in 2022. The archive caption notes his Romeo and Juliet co-star Alana Hood went on to appear in television drama River City and the film Bridget Jones' Baby.
Jack Lowden is pictured in a production of Sweet Sorrow. Lowden completed the BA Acting degree programme in 2011 and had spent his third year on stage with the National Theatre in Scotland's Black Watch. He has received recognition for his work in theatre and screen, including BAFTA and Olivier awards, and nominations for Golden Globe, Emmy and Screen Actors Guild awards. Lowden returned to the conservatoire in October to receive an honorary doctorate in drama; he later appeared in a West End two-hander written by a fellow alumnus.
Ncuti Gatwa is photographed performing as Valere in Tartuffe in 2012. He graduated from the BA Acting programme in 2013 and went on to roles in Netflix’s Sex Education and as the lead in BBC’s Doctor Who, a role he played for two series. Gatwa, who moved to Scotland as a child after his family fled the Rwandan genocide, returned to RCS in 2022 to receive an honorary doctorate. His screen credits also include appearances in major productions such as Barbie and The Roses.
The archive also includes a 1977 production photo linked to Sir Billy Connolly’s An' Me Wi' a Bad Leg Tae. The students involved in that production toured to London’s Royal Court for a three-week run. Sir Billy, who did not study at RCS, was later presented with an honorary doctorate in drama in 2006.
Earlier records show Mary Marquis as Juliet in a 1955 production of Romeo and Juliet. Marquis graduated from the Diploma in Speech and Drama in 1955 and went on to become a familiar television news anchor for BBC Scotland.
RCS’s released selection highlights the variety of careers its alumni have pursued. The conservatoire’s training has supported performers who moved into film, television, theatre, comedy and broadcasting, with graduates moving into leading roles on stage and screen in the UK and internationally.
The archive release also lists further notable alumni associated with the conservatoire across decades, spanning stage, screen and television. These include Robert Carlyle, Alan Cumming, Richard Madden, Kate Dickie, Colin Morgan and Tom Ellis. Other former students and attendees named in the material include Ruby Wax, Elaine C Smith, Jonathan Watson, Tony Roper, Denis Lawson, Maureen Beattie, Greg McHugh, Bill Paterson and David Hayman.
The images form part of the RCS’s celebration of its seven-and-a-half decades of training performers, designers, directors and other creative professionals in Scotland.
Key Topics
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