It moved to buildings on Gower Street in It was granted a royal charter in and a new theatre was built on Malet Street, behind the Gower Street buildings, which was opened in by Edward, Prince of Wales.
It received its first government subsidy in RADA currently has five theatres and a cinema. The school's principal industry partner is Warner Bros. RADA offers a number of foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Its vice-chairman was Alan Rickman until his death in Its members included George Bernard Shaw , who later donated his royalties from his play Pygmalion to RADA and gave lectures to students at the school.
Edward, Prince of Wales, opened the theatre. He later became president of the academy and its first honorary fellow. The Gower Street buildings were torn down in and replaced with a new building, financed by Bernard Shaw, who also left one-third of his royalties to the academy on his death in In , the academy founded RADA Enterprises Ltd, now known as RADA Business, providing training programmes and coaching for organisations and individuals in communications and team building which use drama training techniques in a business context.
The profits are fed back into the academy to help cover its costs. The current principal of the academy, Niamh Dowling, succeeded Edward Kemp in RADA has expanded its course offering over the years. The school offers a three-year BA Hons in acting degree.
The first stage management course was introduced in under the directorship of Dorothy Tenham , and today students on the technical theatre and stage management degree learn theatre production skills including lighting, sound, props, costume and make-up, stage management, production management and video design. The Goodge Street and Euston Square underground stations are both within walking distance. The Gower and Malet Street building was redeveloped in the late s to designs by Bryan Avery , [ 27 ] and incorporated the new theatres and linking the entrances on both streets.
