About Us

Ron Price, Claire Bowen and Jerry Strachan initiated the Summer School in 1984; three Drama teachers who wanted to experiment with the idea of providing an intensive but fun weeks residential work focusing on just one aspect of theatre history. The hope was not just to explore the subject of the course but to use it as a means of extending and exploring drama and theatre devising skills.

 The first courses were held for many years at the Tirabad Residential Education centre in Powys, Wales. This centre was a popular home for the course but the buildings were mainly designed for outdoor education use and not as a space for large-scale drama and performance work. Some of the older photographs you might see on this site are taken at this centre.

Eventually, as the course and resources grew we needed to find a new home for the course and we moved to the amazing location of Ufton Court in Berkshire, a Tudor manor house with a huge medieval tithe barn that is an inspiring space to work, perform and at the end of the course, party in.

The current complement of staff can be viewed under 'The Staff' and 'Support Staff' tabs above.