We are delighted to announce that our annual Backstage Club fundraiser is back on July 9th, 2025! Chase away the winter blues with our fab, fun, summer party. Have a great night with friends, colleagues and our students from 6:30pm til late. Join us for a show, food, cocktails and cabaret. The Backstage Club will take place during Gradfest, our annual festival featuring the work of our undergraduate students and our MFA directors, designers and producers.BOOK NOW at this link here.
Applications for autumn 2025 are open for our MFA programmes with an initial deadline of March 31st. If you missed our information evening sessions but want to learn more, email [email protected] to get a recording of these sessions. See more on our postgraduate programmes here.
Applications are still open for our Bachelor in Stage Management and Technical Theatre, but limited spaces are available. Learn more on our website here.
See more below about our upcoming short courses below, a selection of our summer courses are already live for booking.
Upcoming Production!
Our next production Mr. Burns, a post-electric play by Anne Washburn and Michael Friedman explores the world after a nuclear holocaust, memory and storytelling - and what happens when a forgotten TV episode becomes the bizarre sacred text.
Check out our online gallery of our recent production of Curse of the Starving Class by Sam Shepard, photography by Bill Woodland. See here
Patricia Leggett Scholarship
Now in its ninth year, the Patricia Leggett Playwriting Scholarship is a fully paid scholarship for a place on the MFA in Playwriting degree at The Lir Academy. You can see more details on how to apply through the link below.
To apply, please send a cover letter, CV and a 45-minute play (reading time) to [email protected] with the subject line Patricia Leggett Playwriting Scholarship by Sunday, 6th April 2025.
Course Begins: 26th April (1 weekend) Duration: 10.30am - 5.30pm
Learn the fundamentals of directing! This includes actors and writers who have worked in different areas and want to evolve their work, as well as newcomers who would like a chance to gain knowledge of the tools needed to become a director.
Course Begins: 12th May Duration: 6.30pm - 9pm, Mondays
If you love musicals and want to have a go yourself but don’t know where to begin, this course is for you! We offer adults with a passion for musical theatre an opportunity to develop the fundamental techniques required to perform in Musical Theatre.
The Lir Academy’s Introduction to Acting course is perfect for those who are both inquisitive about a future career in acting and those who simply want to challenge themselves by stretching their creative muscles.
This ten-week course, a continuation from the Introduction to Acting course, will concentrate on working with a director on the study of characters and individual scenes from a number of contemporary plays.
Develop the tools to craft stories using frameworks such as narrative structure through plot and setting. The course will look at how stories unfold to engage, fascinate, or tease an audience. It will also explore character and dialogue.
Designed for people who have never taken a dance class before, try the exotic rhythms of Tango one week and find yourself immersed in a crazy Charleston the next. Learn 4 dances over 8 weeks, suitable for individuals and couples!
Our Youth Academy classes are back in April with the new addition of a Wednesday evening course. These are designed for young people aged 12-14 and 15-17 who are looking to take the next step in their actor training journey. Each course focuses on the core elements of acting training delivered at The Lir Academy. Join is forActing (ages 12-14), Acting (ages 15-17) Each term is a course in itself, so you can choose to participate in one term or take your learnings from one term into the next.
Our two-week summerYoung Actors programme is open for applications, designed for young people aged 16 - 18 years who are interested in applying to The Lir Academy or similar drama academy.
