Theatre-school founder Anna Scher dies aged 78
Hattie Fisk
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
‘I owe everything to her. What a remarkable woman,’ said agent Brooke Kinsella in tribute.
Courtesy Anna Scher Facebook
Theatre-school founder Anna Scher has died aged 78.
The news was confirmed in an online statement by agency and management company Nic Knight Management, which worked with Anna Scher Theatre since 2008.
‘It is with deep sadness that I must report that Anna Scher, the best and kindest drama teacher in the UK for the last 50 years, has passed,' read the statement.
Scher, who was made MBE in 2013, has been credited with nurturing working-class talent.
The Anna Scher Theatre (AST) started as a drama club in January 1968. Improvisation is at the core of its teaching, combining a community spirit with excellence and professionalism.
Actors who studied with Scher include Kathy Burke, Phil Daniels, Natalie Cassidy, Dexter Fletcher, Pauline Quirke and Joe Swash.
Paying tribute, actor James Alexandrou who studied under Scher said: ‘I’m sitting in the theatre I founded [and] heard the devastatingly sad news that my first acting teacher Anna Scher has passed. I can’t overstate what a profound influence she had in my life. It’s a joyous realisation that I wouldn’t be sitting here without her.’
Agent Brooke Kinsella said: ‘No one believed in us working-class children more. She changed the course of so many lives. More scared of her than my mum and dad combined, I owe everything to her. What a remarkable woman. Sleep tight, Anna.’
