Sol Taibi wins the Luke Westlake Scholarship 2022

Sol Taibi won the Luke Westlake Scholarship 2022. The prize was established in 2019 by Just Add Milk, a charitable theatre group committed to making the industry more accessible to actors from working-class backgrounds.

The award is open to students in their second year at either drama school or university in the UK. For Sol, it was a major boost to his career, one that almost did not get off the ground. He made multiple applications to drama schools before finally being accepted by Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Growing up in working-class Middlesbrough, his enthusiasm for acting developed from the age of sixteen. He studied for a BTEC in Acting and went on to complete a one-year professional acting course in Newcastle, supporting himself during that time by working part-time at Sainsbury's.

Before training at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Sol had already started building experience in the industry through theatre in education tours and pantomimes.

Now in its fourth year, the Luke Westlake Scholarship is an annual prize awarded to working-class actors in their second year of drama school or university in the UK. The recipient receives financial support and development opportunities as they complete their training.

The scholarship is named in memory of Luke Westlake, a friend of JAM and a talented actor who trained with the company at ArtsEd from 2014 to 2017. JAM remembers Luke as a diligent, fierce, working-class actor.