“Even if you don’t go into performing arts as a career you will never give your child a more rewarding extra curricular activity. I owe my confidence and my communication skills to my time in performing arts, a lot of that to Theatretrain.
People ask me how I was a company director at 22. That’s how, never underestimate it.”
When they’re part of Theatretrain, all young performers are part of something big.
So what makes the Theatretrain Way special?
We take a professional approach to training the performing arts to children. All our teachers are highly experienced and teach dancing, acting and singing skills in the important wider context of professional theatre – covering storytelling, sound, movement and stage attitude. Our classes are divided for pupils aged 6-9, 9-12 and 13-18.
We make that training accessible to all. Energy, enthusiasm and commitment are our only entry requirements. Our unique, step-by-step curriculum enables all young people to build a thorough understanding of the performing arts; developing technique, confidence, imagination, teamwork and individual expression along the way.
We create outstanding opportunities for all our pupils to perform.
We’re the only national performing arts school to involve all our pupils in large-scale West End performances, every year. Our regular pupils perform in more West End theatres than many professional performers!
We create international opportunities as our pupils progress.Our Theatretrain Academy is designed to bring experienced pupils, aged 15-18, from different centres together on a regular basis to collaborate and progress their individual skills. Each year a new piece of work is created and performed overseas in the October half-term.
Our founders
Theatretrain was founded in 1992 by Kevin Dowsett – an international figure of youth performance and pioneer in educational theatre. Kevin’s unique approach draws upon an impressive career of teaching young performers, writing for youth theatre and directing large-scale performances at venues including London’s O2 arena. Kevin’s former pupils include Catherine Tate, Martine McCutcheon, Louise Redknapp, Hans Matherson, Kelly Brook and Daniel Mays.
Emma and her late husband, who was already a Theatretrain teacher, joined Kevin to open the first franchise in 1995. They became great friends and opened a second franchise later that year, 3 more followed in ’99. Emma then gave up lecturing to become Kevin’s full time business partner in 2000 to expand the company nationally. Tragically, her husband died in 2004 but Kevin and Emma continue to drive the business forward and Emma continues to run her 4 centres.
We have centres nationwide, and are growing monthly!
“I’ll take this opportunity to say I am extremely impressed by the effort Theatretrain as a whole have made with the weekly live sessions and various other things that were put into action the minute weekly lessons could no longer continue..... it re-enforces the dedication and care they have for the children. You should all be extremely proud."
An institution in his own right. From I Claudius through to Nanny McPhee, Gladiator & Gosford Park.
“Dear Kevin, Many congratulations on the great work at Theatretrain. Twenty years of outstanding achievement. I send you my very best wishes for the decades to come!“
English actress, writer and comedienne most famously known for her catchphrase as Lauren Cooper ‘Am I bovvered’ from The Catherine Tate Show.
“Many congratulations to Theatretrain on your 20th anniversary. I have great memories of my time working with Kevin. We had such fun, and it was the beginning of my journey as an actor. A fantastic company and a wonderful experience for young people.”
Our latest Patron for 2012! You will fondly know Lucy as ‘Dawn’ in the hit comedy ‘The Office’.
Lucy also featured in ‘Shaun of the Dead’.
The evil villain Dr Octavius in Spiderman 2, he has a vast string of films beneath his belt including The Da Vinci Code, Texas Rangers and Chocolat.
“My daughter has been going to Theatretrain for three years now and she loves it! The team are really passionate about giving every child their voice and their chance to shine! The group is super friendly and everyone is put at their ease, whilst being given many opportunities to step out of their comfort zone. My daughter has made many friends through Theatretrain and she always looks forward to going! She has loved performing in each show!
"Professional hard working teachers and Centre Manager! Students who just love attending because they learn soo much and the London shows are AMAZING! My daughter has grown in confidence and self belief because of Theatretrain and has lots of fun learning new and exciting dances, different musical genres and developed her drama performances. Thank you to an awesome team"
Autumn Term 2020
12th September- 12th December
-Please note, this may vary per Centre due to COVID-19. Please check your local Centre for details
Spring Term 2021
9th January- 27th March
Summer 2021
17th April – 17th July
Click on ‘Centres’ at the top of our website. Enter your postcode in the box and click submit.
There are two options, follow the steps above to find your closest centre and contact them directly or email your CV to admin@theatretrain.co.uk with a list of centres you are interested in working with.
Click on our ‘Open Your Own Centre’ button on our website or contact Emma Meads on 01327 300498 or emma.meads@theatretrain.co.uk
Follow the steps above (Where can I find information on my local centre) rather than contacting Head Office.
please find our Privacy Policy which is inline with GDPR
