‘Mumbling’ young actors are Rada irritating

Leading figures in theatre have hit out at “mumbling” actors who imitate Americans and are only comfortable playing characters like themselves.

Edward Kemp, artistic director of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and actress Imogen Stubbs warned that an increasing number of young actors were unable to deliver their lines properly.

Stubbs, 52, cited Baz Lurhmamn’s The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan, and said: “You’re just longing for it to stop and breathe. I thought the actors looked embarrassed. They were rather garbling their lines.

“The naturalistic, mumbling acting style tends to go with people who are playing something closer to their obvious self.”

Mr Kemp said he feared the problem could wipe out audience interest in “plays of language” — including works by Shakespeare, Wilde, Coward and Pinter. He said Rada, whose alumni include Vivien Leigh and Ralph Fiennes, has even had to scrap its long-standing sight reading test of Charles Dickens because it was “so painful” to hear. It has introduced grammar lessons and is rethinking its voice training.

Rada is also launching its first public festival, giving actors opportunities to develop and showcase new work.

The event, from June 29 June to July 6, will see three generations of alumni on stage, in and around the Rada buildings in Bloomsbury.