Walter Meierjohann awarded Colin Cook International Fellowship

LAMDA is proud to announce acclaimed theatre director Walter Meierjohann as the latest recipient of the Colin Cook International Fellowship. 

Established in 2024, this Fellowship honours the legacy of Colin Cook, LAMDA’s esteemed former Head of the Drama School, who profoundly impacted generations of students and staff during his tenure from 1978 to 2015.  

The Colin Cook International Fellowship enables a distinguished artist or scholar to join LAMDA each year to undertake a defined project, working within the school alongside staff and students. This annual Fellowship will help ensure that Colin’s passion for teaching, acting, and directing continues to inspire future generations.  

Walter Meierjohann joins actor and director Dr. Baron Kelly as a recipient of the Colin Cook Fellowship and will direct LAMDA’s graduating year professional acting students in a public production later this summer. 

Alongside the Fellowship, LAMDA has also recognised Walter as a Visiting Professor of Theatre and Directing. This Visiting Professorship has already commenced and will continue over the next three years, encompassing a wide range of projects with LAMDA staff and students. 

On receiving the news, Walter Meierjohann said: 
“It is a tremendous honour to receive the Colin Cook International Fellowship at LAMDA. Having trained in Directing at the Ernst Busch Academy in Berlin and having built my career across Germany and the UK — including my work as Associate Director at the Young Vic and as Artistic Director at HOME Manchester — I have long been passionate about fostering dialogue between theatrical traditions and performance practices.

"To direct graduating students at LAMDA feels especially meaningful. I am looking forward to collaborating with this exceptional cohort of emerging artists this summer and contributing to the vibrant creative life of the Academy over the next three years."

Speaking of the appointment, Philippa Strandberg-Long, Vice Principal of Actor Training and LAMDA’s Drama School, said:
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Walter as a recipient of the Colin Cook International Fellowship. Walter is an artist of rare breadth and curiosity — his work across Germany, the UK and internationally reflects a theatre practice that is rigorous, generous and boldly outward-looking. 

"At LAMDA, we believe our training must never become insular. Our students deserve to encounter theatre that stretches beyond national borders and engages with European and global traditions. Walter’s commitment to cross-cultural collaboration and powerful, human storytelling makes him an ideal collaborator for our graduating creatives. 

"For our graduating actors, technical theatre students and training directors, to work alongside an artist of his calibre is an extraordinary opportunity. We owe our students experiences that expand their artistic horizons, and we very much look forward to the energy, insight and international perspective Walter will bring to LAMDA.”

You can read more about Walter Meierjohann here.