Local youth to be mentored by Philip Barantini in ‘serious’ acting course which ‘isn’t like a drama club’
Director Philip Barantini (Image: Getty)
A new initiative aimed at unearthing and developing Liverpool’s next generation of acting talent is launching this September – and it’s being spearheaded by two of the of the city’s own. Philip Barantini, the Liverpool-born director behind the critically-acclaimed Boiling Point and Adolescence, has teamed up with long-time collaborator and producer Samantha Beddoe to launch workshops offering serious, professional training for young people aged 14 to 17.
Based in Liverpool city centre, the workshops are not your average drama club. They’re designed as a springboard for working-class kids to break into an industry often seen as exclusive and out of reach.
Phil told the ECHO: “I started out as an actor 30 years ago, and there wasn’t anything really, other than the Playhouse and things like that. And there certainly wasn’t anything where you could go and have a safe space where you can meet industry professionals and get a sense of how it all works.”
Both Phil and Sam come from working-class Liverpool backgrounds and say their mission is personal. They want to offer what they never had: accessible, high-quality training in their hometown.
Phil said: “For amateur actors who want to come into the industry, you’re told that you have to go down the drama school route. I never went to drama school. I found my own way, but I would have loved to have had something like what we’re setting up.”
The pair are keen to differentiate their workshops from traditional youth theatre. Phil explained: “It’s not just about teaching people how to act. Personally, I don’t think acting is something that you can teach. You can certainly get the best out of people, but there’s no one shoe fits all.”
Instead, the workshops focus on helping students discover their own voices and methods – with input from professionals including casting directors, agents, and working actors. Phil added: “You’re allowed to just be yourself, be vulnerable, and figure stuff out. We want to create that environment.”
Students won’t just learn techniques – they’ll also be given opportunities to shadow professionals and even visit live sets. Phil said: “If I’m on a job and someone wants to see what it’s like to be on a film set, they can come and shadow me for the day.”
Sam explained that the workshops are grounded in a clear goal: helping young people become working actors. She said: “Although we want them to enjoy it, this is to equip them so that they could easily become a working actor. It’s not like a drama club to do something with your friends on a Saturday. This is, ‘You want to seriously be an actor? These are the things you need to know.’”
Both Sam and Phil know firsthand the barriers young people in Liverpool can face when entering the arts. Sam said: “We want to make it accessible to all. A lot of the frustration that we see is that people forget that socio-economic background holds people back quite a lot – not just religion or culture.”
She continued: “We really want to put people in rooms where they’re on an equal playing field to someone who might go to drama school. We don’t want anybody to feel disadvantaged just because they weren’t brought up with access to the arts.”
The pair believe that working-class talent brings something special to film and television – not just on screen, but behind the scenes too. Sam said: “Working-class people who work in the arts have had to work that much harder, so when they get there, they give it their all. Having working-class people on your crew and in front of the camera is so important because it lifts everyone up.”
For Phil, now a successful director, it’s all about opening a door for others to follow. He said: “We just felt like there was an opportunity to set something up in Liverpool. We want to be helpful and just create this hub and this community.”
He’s clear that these workshops are about showing that this path is possible for anyone, adding: “I always used to put actors on a pedestal and thought, ‘I’ll never be able to do that,’ because of my background and where I’m from. You absolutely can achieve that. We want to be able to give that opportunity to everyone.”
When asked what he’d say to a young person in Huyton, where he is from, who dreams of acting but thinks it is out of reach, Phil said:. “I would say that’s a load of b****cks. It 100% is accessible to you and the only person stopping that is yourself. Believe in yourself. You are an individual like nobody else.”
His advice? “Put your blinkers on, don’t think about anyone else’s career, just move forward. Don’t listen to anyone who says, ‘That’s unachievable.’ And don’t even listen to your own inner voice. Just say, ‘I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna try it.’ What’s the worst that can happen?”
Phil’s own turning point came after the sudden death of his mother. He said: “I always put myself down and was like, ‘There’s no way I could ever be a director. Someone like me is not typically a director’. That’s what I thought in my head. ‘Someone from Huyton is not gonna be directing films and stuff’. I always put myself down but I would’ve loved to be able to do that.
“And then when my mum passed away quite suddenly – it was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me – and what that did was it sparked a fire in my belly to go, ‘What’s the worst that can happen here? Let me give it a go and see what happens. If I fail, then at least I’ve tried. And at least I know for myself that I’ve tried it’.”
Reflecting on his own career path – which started with cold-calling agents and asking the job centre for advice – Phil said: “Not everybody is like that. They don’t see it being accessible. We wanted to create a stepping stone, or at least a platform, where they can go, ‘Now I understand. I’ve got help. I can go off and do it myself.’”
Auditions for the first round of workshops will be held in early July, with sessions starting in September. The location will be disclosed on application.
For more information or to apply, email actorsworkshop@madeupprods.com.