George Caple

I’m gonna need Yildiz to develop as an interior midfielder icl.

It starts before you even get to drama school. Back in 1999 I auditioned for RADA and went through all the recalls to the final round of 50 or so. They eventually took something like 30 people out of the initial 16,000 applicants. In the last audition there were lots of middle class and overseas students who could answer the ‘How are you going to pay your fees?’ question without a problem. Me and one other WC lad couldn’t answer that dreaded question and would have needed a full scholarship to enter and then extra help on top. So we were, I think, effectively auditioning not for one of the 30 places, but for a single space out of 16,000 applicants. He got it and, I heard on the grapevine, dropped out during the first year. You have to be excellent to get a place, then lucky, then be able to work a job as you study. You then graduate in debt whilst colleagues graduate debt free. And then, yes, you need to make connections. The odds are stacked against WC performers and creatives in ways which are not even visible or considered by most.