London for Dummies – An Actor’s Guide to London
Like the hub of any country’s film and theatre industry, London is a magnetic for performers of all types. The city that was once described by a newspaper as like “sitting in a bath of your own sweat, burning twenty pound notes” can be a little daunting.
So here’s an Actor’s Guide to London to help those that want to make the most of their time in the capital.
BEFORE YOU GO:
NETWORK BEFORE YOU GET THERE: If you want friends and contacts before you get to London, join the British Actors Network on Facebook, or look for more London based forums for actors on the internet. Engage in discussions, make friends and allies and then when its time to visit or move to London, you will have someone to hang out with. A support network is particularly necessary when moving to a large city.
Always meet in public and remember people you meet on the Internet aren’t always who they say they are.
LOOK FOR ACCOMMODATION – AND PREPARE FOR THE SHOCK:
London accommodation is some of the most expensive in the world, on par with Dublin, New York, Tokyo and Sydney. If you are going to live in London, you will really need to look out for the cheapest accommodation necessary, because it’s going to take up a lot of your money. This site seems to be highly recommended by some actors I know. Streatham, West Norwood, Crystal Palace are particularly reasonable places to live, some people even live in Cambridgeshire or Essex and commute in, but that’s not really like living in London and most people go to London to live the experience.
CONTINUED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: While you are in London looking for work, you will almost certainly want to maintain your skills. The Actors Centre is one choice for this, and certainly the most established. There’s also the Actors Guild, which also arranges workshops, masterclasses etc. Check these out to see if you are eligible to join them. This will be one of the best places to expand your network.
WHILE IN LONDON
ACCREDITED PROFESSIONAL TRAINING: Of course, most of the country’s top drama and film schools are based in London. The location and demand reflects their price. Check out Drama UK to find out more about accredited drama school courses.
GO TO THE THEATRE: One of the bonuses of being in what most Londoners end up believing is the centre of the universe, is that some of the best theatre in the world occurs on your front door. Look at the National Theatre of Great Britain, Donmar Warehouse, Old Vic, Young Vic, Finsborough Theatre and my friends in Brixton at Project:Theatre for something with a Fringe feel.
GETTING AROUND: If you like walking, you can walk everywhere, but invest in an London A-Z or at least a really good app for your phone. If you’re only in London for a few days, get a Travel Card, that should save you money. If you want to save money on and you’re there for a while, you should consider getting an Oyster card, a system where you swipe in and out and no money changes hand. Black cabs are expensive, minicabs are much cheaper – go with your budget. Oh and don’t take your car – you won’t need it and it will cost you a fortune to park it and you’ll pay congestion charges, so yeah, sell it, to pay your rent.
WHERE TO HANG OUT: Of course in the good weather, you can hang out on the south bank with your Latte, but you might want to meet other actors for somewhere for a drink. (This wouldn’t be a good Actor’s Guide to London without somewhere to wet your whistle.) There are some great actor’s pubs and bars, from the Phoenix Artist Club in St. Giles, the Pit Bar at the Old Vic, the bar at the Young Vic – these are both in The Cut, Waterloo, SE1. You can try the Lamb and Flag opposite Charing Cross station.
There are of course Pub Theatres like the Old Red Lion and the King’s Head are good places to see pub theatre, and you will meet many jobbing actors there supporting small scale Fringe theatre.
FREE THINGS TO DO: London is expensive, so finding free things to do is important. There’s tons of parks and walks through london. My favourite is Postman’s Park on King Edward Street, which includes plaques to those that died saving us and is used in the play/film Closer. Go to Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park – any day of the week, people have the writer to literally and metaphorically get on their soap box about any subject. Could be a giggle. If you’ve never seen it, they change the Guard at Buckingham Palace every day at 11.30am. It’s a nice piece of English history that is worth a look if you haven’t seen it.
I hope my Actor’s Guide to London is useful to you – if you can think of anything I could add, please let me know.