Paapa Essiedu, Maxine Peake, Claudia Jessie, Fionn Whitehead & Jenny Beavan Named Open Door Ambassadors

Open Door, the award-winning charity helping actors and behind the scenes creatives from low income backgrounds secure places at leading drama schools, has unveiled a string of new high profile ambassadors.

I May Destroy You and Black Mirror actor Paapa Essiedu, Three Girls and Black Mirror actor Maxine Peake, Bridgerton and Toxic Town actor Claudia Jessie, Dunkirk and Great Expectations actor Fionn Whitehead and Oscar-winning Costume Designer Jenny Beavan (Mad Max: Fury Road, Cruella) have all thrown their support by the charity, which was set up in 2017 by David Mumeni to help level the Playing Field and which has since provided an enviable pipeline of new talent who have gone on secure Hollywood roles, leading parts at The National Theatre and numerous other professional accolades. In 2022 Open Door was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the British Independent Film Awards.

This heavyweight support sees the newly announced ambassadors join a growing pool of actors and creators that support Open Door, including Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Riz Ahmed, and David Morrissey.

Open Door will soon launch its 2025-2026 programme for a brand new cohort, and the charity is calling out to any aspiring actors or behind the scenes creatives to apply to audition. Those wishing to apply should go to www.opendoor.org.uk for further information.

This years' acting cohort will receive:

• 8 months of part time acting training to prepare the group for drama school auditions
• 15 hours of one-to-one tuition for each actor to prepare their audition speech
• Free auditions at Open Door's partner drama schools which include Guildhall School of Music and Drama, LAMDA, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
• Travel expenses to all drama school pupils auditions
• Free theatre tickets to leading theatres
• Access to a hardship fund to help cover expenses in attending Open Door programme events
• UCAS conservatoire fees paid for
• Pastoral support from the Open Door team

The behind the scenes creatives cohort will receive:

• A series of creative workshops
• Five hours of online tuition to help with portfolios and interviews
• Free interviews at partner schools which include Guildhall School of Music and Drama, LAMDA, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
• Travel expenses to all drama school interviews
• Access to a hardship fund to help cover expenses in attending Open Door programme events
• UCAS conservatoire fees paid for
• Pastoral support from the Open Door team

Previous Open Door workshops have been led by the likes of Vicky McClure, multi award winning casting Director Shaheen Baig (Adolescence, Peaky Blinders), BBC Commissioner Danielle Scott Houghton and Head of Casting at the National Bryony Jarvis-Taylor.

Partners providing free tickets to shows and workshop space are the Donmar, National Theatre, Royal Court, Spotlight, Almeida Theatre, ATG, Everyman Playhouse and the Pleasance Theatre. Open Door funders for the current year include United Agents, Conway van Gelder Grant, Curtis Brown, Emptage Hallett, Gordon & French, 42, ARG, Friends of Drama Centre, Roger and Ingrid Pilkington Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation.

Open Door founder David Mumeni said: “It's really exciting have this talent of stage and screen come on board as ambassadors. They're all inspirations to the young people we work with so who better to partner and advocate for the important work we do. 

Paapa Essiedu said: “You only need to look at the roster of people who have gone via Open Door, through Drama School, who have gone on to have real careers. There are people doing things they would not be doing without the help of Open Door.  There is no organisation that is as successful or reliable as Open Door in helping to provide the opportunity, support and mentorship necessary to help people get their first foot in the door.”

Claudia Jessie said: “Becoming an ambassador of Open Door is something I feel hugely proud of. I would have benefited greatly from an organisation like this when I started out in this industry, so I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it now. Open Door is breaking down barriers and removing obstacles for so many people. Allowing talented individuals to grow and flourish with less stresses. I will continue shout from the rooftops about this beautiful organisation because I don't want anyone to feel like they don't have a place in the arts.”

Jenny Beavan said: “Open Door recognises that each person it works with is different and beyond the practical training, the team supports participants across a range of areas, be it pastoral care, trips, supplying equipment essential to their training and so forth.”

Open Door alumni are making their mark on the industry with impressive credits and accolades this year. Dionne Brown has made waves with her role in the TV series Queenie for Channel 4/Disney+/Lionsgate. Levi Brown starred as Dante in This Town for BBC One, a series written by Stephen Knight, and also appeared in Macbeth, directed by Simon Godwin and starring opposite Ralph Fiennes. He was nominated for an Edinburgh TV Festival Award for his role in This Town. Evie Drummond Ward was at the BAFTAs this year for her tv ITV show G'Wed.

Sesley Hope revived a Emmy nomination with the rest of her cast for best ensemble in Bridgerton for Netflix. Eva Morgan starred in the British thriller The Gathering for Channel 4, which won the Golden Nymph Award for Best Fiction Series at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, where Eva also picked up the Best Actress prize. Brandon Grace appears in the new Amazon series Lady Jane and was a lead in London Tide at The National Theatre, directed by Ian Rickson. Joe Barber starred in Coma for Channel 5, opposite Jason Watkins as well as recently featuring in smash hit Adolescence for Netflix.

Elizabeth Ayodele made her West End debut in Standing at the Sky's Edge and now opposite Jodie Whitaker in The Duchess of Malfi. Madeline Charlemagne also made her West End stage debut Starring in Hadestown. Melanie-Joyce played Princess in Love's Labours Lost (which she recieved an Ian Charleston award nomination) at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Regan in King Lear with the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company, and will soon start in The Bacchae at The National Theatre.

Rilwan Abiola Owokoniran starred as Ferdinand in Love's Labour's Lost at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Jamie in Beautiful Thing at the Theatre Royal Stratford East & Billy in The Real Thing at The Old Vic. He also won the Ian Charleston award for his lead role in The Important of Being Earnest. Ava Hinds-Jones lead in Generation Z for Channel 4, directed by Ben Wheatley. Tara Tijani is starred as Lady Teazle in The School for Scandal and as Anne Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, both with the Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Tinuke Craig and Blanche McIntyre. Sheyi Cole featured in the film The Beautiful Game for Blueprint/Netflix/Film 4 as well as Atlanta for FX and Martha Watson-Allpress wrote play Lady Dealer at the Bush Theatre which received 5-star reviews.

For further information please visit open door.org.uk.