AWARD-winning Hollywood actor, writer and comedian Simon Pegg made a special return to Stratford College – the place where his creative journey began.
The former student, who studied at the college from 1986 until 1988, toured the campus to see how it has evolved since his time as a student before sitting down with performing and production arts and media students for a Q&A session in the Gordon Vallins Theatre. He shared stories from his early days, and offered advice on forging a career in the creative industries.
He said: “By some sheer chance, there was a fund in the village I lived in that was set aside for children who wanted to go into the creative arts, a grant for £1,000. My mum, bless her, scrimped and saved, and I came here and lived with a family nearby. I had the best years of my life here – it was so formative and inspirational. I found my tribe and people I had been looking for my entire childhood and so began an incredible process of learning.”
Simon, whose career spans cult classics such as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz to blockbuster franchises like Star Trek and Mission: Impossible, began his visit with a tour of the college’s modern creative facilities, including its professional TV studio, upgraded theatres, and rehearsal spaces, before stepping back into the Gordon Vallins Theatre, where his passion for acting first took shape.
The theatre was the only performance space at the college during Simon’s time as a student. It is named after Gordon Vallins, the lecturer who taught him and inspired generations of young performers. Earlier in the day, Simon reunited with his former tutor, making the occasion especially meaningful.
Simon continued: “Find somewhere like this, somewhere that has these kinds of facilities and enthusiasm, and come here. This is such an incredible space. When I was here, we only had this theatre, and now you guys have a TV studio and three different performance spaces.
“Colleges like this are vital because they don’t consider the performing arts, or art of any kind, any less than academic fields. There’s such a pressure to achieve academic excellence that performing arts is sometimes seen as a hobby subject and it’s not.
“For people that want to go into this business, this is an invaluable foundation. It’s a perfect place to go before you go to drama school or university because you’ll get to those places with a brilliant foundation going forward. It was such an amazing experience for me both academically and socially.”
He added: “I am so impressed with the facilities… I might come back here and shoot something.”
