A great addition to Drama at Worth

Worth’s highly-rated Drama teaching has been boosted by the addition of professional actor and director Matthew Wellman for the 2022-23 academic year.

Mr Wellman arrives at Worth to join Head of Drama Mrs Natalie Lynch and will bring a wealth of experience from a variety of roles in the business.

Having studied acting at both the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and the Guildford School of Acting (GSA), Mr Wellman has worked across the UK in a variety of plays, musicals, films and audio drama. His first acting role was in a show called She Loves Me at the Landor Theatre in London, which then led onto a career of notable credits including Classic Ghost Stories, Beauty and the Beast, A Murder is Announced, Gallowglass, Swallows and Amazons, and Oliver!

He also worked as an associate lecturer and theatre director for Stafford University. Mr Wellman was approached by the university and invited to work with the Drama students there, and that experience began to orient his career in a slightly different direction. He said: “I started to learn the more theoretical side of Drama and the teaching of it. I began to consider how I could use my skills to have a wider impact. Some of my most rewarding experiences have been when teaching. I later went on to do a Masters degree in Theatre Directing at the Royal Holloway University London, which was taught by Katie Mitchell. She has shaped a lot of what I do now.”

Now he is relishing the opportunity to work with the students at Worth. He added: “I think it is important that the students can see the link between what they learn in school and what they see on our professional stages. I hope that with my industry experience I can show them this, and help them develop those core skills that will shape their future careers, whatever they choose to go into.”

The next production at Worth is the Senior School production of Little Shop of Horrors which begins on 30 November.

For more on Drama at Worth click here.