There are a wide variety of top-notch acting classes in London that cater to various interests and levels of experience. Since they range in length from single evenings to 12-week intensives, you’re sure to find something that suits your needs and budget.
We’ve sifted through professional accreditations, online reviews, alumni success stories, accessibility ratings, and industry reputations to compile this list of the best acting classes in the city.
Most courses don’t require you to audition; you simply need to register online. Places are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The Screen Acting Foundation course at City Academy, however, requires you to upload an audition video.
The 12-week course at London Actors Workshop and the Acting for Improvers Ensemble Company course at the Anna Fiorentini Performing Arts School are aimed at actors with some experience, and they ask applicants to describe their performance history in their application.
Whichever course you’re interested in, do your own research to ensure it will give you the tools you need to take your acting to the next level.
Details: This four-week intensive focuses on practical training, with the aim of not just refining your craft, but providing you with essential industry knowledge. Since students study under award-winning tutors—some who are directors or casting directors—you might even gain some useful contacts.
Modules include Technical Screen Skills, Continuity in Performance, Psychological Gestures, Breathing, Scene Study, and How to Find Acting Work. Though the class isn’t aimed at complete beginners, there are no previous qualifications required.
Cost: £2,950–£3,050
Why choose it? In addition to your new skills, you’ll also leave with a professionally filmed showreel.
Details: This class focuses on the fundamentals of acting and runs for 10 weeks each term on Saturday mornings. Areas of study include Improvisation in the Theatre, Theatre Scene Study, Action the Text, and Perform the Scene.
Cost: This class offers a taster session for £10, allowing you to judge whether or not it’s a good fit before you commit to the £482.64 fee for a full term (or £410.24, if you take advantage of the early bird discount). The winter term course runs cheaper, at £399 (or £319.20 with the discount).
Why choose it? The Fiorentini School is a registered not-for-profit charity and was a winner in the 2024 UK Small and Medium-Sized Business Awards. Former pupils include Jermain Jackman, who won the third season of ITV’s The Voice, and Eastenders regular Belinda Owusu.
Details: This school focuses mainly on Meisner technique and its own Beck Emotional Access Technique. According to the website, classes go beyond, “encompassing philosophical and psychological theories of self, personality, character, and mind.”
This three-hour course, which takes place over five Saturdays, introduces the fundamentals of acting for the screen, including facial awareness, self-taping, auditioning, and BEAT script-analysis tools.
Cost: £330
Why choose it? The Actors Door Studio has received plenty of positive reviews. It also has two affiliated film production companies: Angry Bee Films and Aberrant Gene Films, and it provides graduates of its longer courses with opportunities to apply their acting skills in professional film production.
Details: Over the course of three months, this course promises that you’ll learn “how to find opportunities, audition successfully, and feel confident on any film or TV set.” You’ll also work on two short films and a professional showreel, while studying a variety of techniques to adapt your performance to different shot types.
Cost: £5,400
Why choose it? City Academy’s mentions on the BBC and Channel 4, and in Vogue, the Times, the Telegraph, and the Guardian speak to its credibility, and reviews from former pupils are mostly glowing.
Details: In this five-session course, students study Meisner, a technique that emphasises emotional truth. This method helps actors learn to react in the moment, making their performances feel more authentic and spontaneous.
Cost: Around £300
Why choose it? The Foreman Centre has a stamp of approval from the Accreditation Service for International Schools, Colleges, and Universities, so you know you’re in safe hands.
Details: If you’re looking to hone your Hamlet or Cordelia, this class at one of the best acting schools in London is a great place to do it. Ewan McGregor and Daniel Craig took degree courses here, and Guildhall was ranked number one in the country for arts, drama, and music in the most recent Complete University Guide.
This two-day weekend class takes a step-by-step approach to Shakespearean verse that “will enable you to unlock an audition piece, a role, or a rehearsal room using golden clues within the verse.” The course is aimed at both industry professionals and acting and directing students. Places tend to fill up early, so book in advance.
Cost: £260
Why choose it? As Guildhall is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools, you can rest assured that any training you do there will look good on your acting CV.
Details: This class is designed for people with an interest in acting who are considering further study, and runs Monday through Friday for one week. You’ll learn about acting, voice, movement, and singing. You’ll also take rehearsal classes and gain insights into what full-time training is like. Each run of the course is for a specific age group, so make sure to book the right one.
Cost: £552
Why choose it? LAMDA is considered to be one of the best theatre schools in London, and student satisfaction rates are high, if its BA acting reviews are anything to go by.
Details: This course provides 12 classes and three evenings with casting directors; recent speakers include CDs from Eastenders, Holby City, and the Royal Shakespeare Company. You’ll also leave with a showreel. Taking place on Sundays and Wednesdays for 12 weeks, the class covers Method acting, Shakespeare, audition technique, script analysis, and improv.
There’s also an online element—Business of Acting Zoom sessions every Wednesday evening—that gives you the opportunity to get to know other students while further developing your knowledge.
Cost: £1,100
Why choose it? LAW alumni have landed major roles in Hollywood films; BBC radio dramas; and TV shows including Eastenders, Emmerdale, and Outlander. The course also helps participants put together an online acting CV, professional headshots, and a showreel.
Details: This is a series of evening workshops each dedicated to a particular subject, including voice, movement, contemporary text, classical text, and improvisation. Students learn techniques to enhance their vocal presence, physicality, and emotional expression onstage.
Cost: £75 per session
Why choose it? RADA received a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework, and it’s one of the leading acting schools in the world. A-listers like Mark Rylance, Tom Hiddleston, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge studied here (though not on this specific course). RADA is also a member of the Federation of Drama Schools, an industry stamp of high standards awarded to institutions that provide training with recognisable value in the industry.
Details: This eight-week evening course focuses on acting techniques for beginners. It covers essential skills like voice work, movement, improvisation, and scene study, as well as helping participants develop their confidence and performance abilities.
In the class, students approach characterisation using imagination and improvisation, rehearse a scene from a play, study the role of the body and voice in acting, and work with an experienced tutor who will nurture their confidence and creativity.
Cost: £575
Why choose it? Distinguished alum Dame Judi Dench said that she’s “so proud to belong to Central”; The school has even named a studio after her. Other famous graduates include Dawn French and Martin Freeman.
