Students and staff distraught as famous Wigan drama school goes bust

The Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (Alra), which had educational centres at both Wigan Pier and in London, had fallen into severe financial difficulties and was unable to find a new owner to bail it out.

It made the shock announcement on Monday April 4 saying that the institution would be closing with immediate effect.

All 44 permanent and fixed-term staff across the two sites have lost their jobs while the 284 students have at least all been offered alternative places at the acclaimed Rose Bruford College of creative arts to continue their studies.

Thankfully, despite that establishment being based 235 miles away in Sidcup, Kent Pier-based students have been reassured that they won’t need to make a long trek down south and that college staff will come to Wigan to teach.

Only last month the students had performed a critically acclaimed play at Trencherfield Mill called Bad Roads concerning the Russian annexation of Crimea and with highly moving and contemporary resonances.

Alra was perhaps holed below the waterline though when 13 graduates published an open letter accusing it of failing to address systemic racism.

One student said a teacher had told her she was a “ghetto girl with a rude girl attitude”, while others reported being exposed to racist stereotypes and language from staff at both Alra sites.

The then principal, Adrian Hall resigned and the following year the academy said that it underwent a restructuring. But, after an unsuccessful quest to find new income streams, the board felt it had no choice but to close immediately.

Students took to social media to speak of their distress.

Oliver Knowles, an acting student at Wigan, wrote: “Words can’t describe how I feel. An institution that has raised me gradually into the acting industry from the age of 18. I have seen my institution crumble and it saddens me.”

Alra was founded in 1979 and opened its second base in 2010 at the Elim Centre on Turner Street before decamping to the Mill at the Pier.

The academy’s statement read: “The Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (Alra) is no longer able to continue to teach students and will be closed as of Monday April 4 2022.

"In the coming days the focus will be on supporting students as far as possible while efforts are made to provide them with informed options for where they may be able to continue their studies.

"Discussions are already under way with other higher education providers to identify options for students to continue with their courses at alternative institutions.

"Alra went through a restructure in spring 2021 that was designed to stabilise finances, but the losses made in the 2020/21 academic year and the lack of any significant new income streams in 2021/22 meant the organisation was not financially viable.

"In October 2021 tha Alra board, after taking advice, decided to seek an owner to seek the college’s long-term future through an intensive sales process. Unfortunately, after thorough talks with interested parties, this was not possible to achieve.”

A student helpline has been established at St Mary’s University. Email [email protected] or telephone 0208 240 2394.

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