Ruthxjiah Bellenea

The Personal History of David Copperfield leads the list of nominations for the 2019 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs), announced this morning by British actors Naomi Ackie and Joe Cole at the Regent Street Cinema. Armando Iannucci's fresh take on Dickens' novel about the ups and downs in the life of its eponymous character is recognised for Best British Independent Film and Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Films, amongst nine other awards. Dev Patel is nominated for Best Actor, with co-stars Tilda Swinton and Hugh Laurie competing in the respective Supporting categories. The film also features heavily in the technical categories with nominations for Best Casting sponsored by Casting Society of America & Spotlight, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing sponsored by Intermission Film, Best Make Up & Hair Design sponsored by MAC Cosmetics and Best Production Design sponsored by Studio Juice.

Rehearsals began this week for the new West End cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child who will start their performances at the Palace Theatre in London's West End on 24 May 2017 following the final performance from the current cast on 21 May 2017. 

19 students from drama schools across the UK were today awarded £67,500 worth of bursaries by Society of London Theatre (SOLT) in order to help them complete their training. The Clothworkers' Foundation bursary is worth a total of £37,500 over five years with £7,500 awarded to a student annually as part of the Laurence Olivier Bursaries scheme.