Mr Macaroni announces distinction in acting master’s at London drama school

Adebowale Adedayo, the Nigerian actor known to audiences as Mr Macaroni, announced on Wednesday that he had earned a Master of Arts with distinction in Performance (Acting). He studied at Mountview in Peckham, London. In his 4 November post he shared video from his graduation, giving fans who usually see his work on screen a glimpse of his life as a student.

One part of that training took him onto a London stage. In Howard Brenton’s play 55 Days he appeared as Thomas Fairfax under director James Yeatman. The production took place at Mountview’s Backstage Theatre. Here an actor familiar to Nigerian audiences through contemporary satire was working with a company on a story drawn from English history.

There was also a piece of work that audiences could not see simply by attending a play. In May he reported completing a creative performance project and a dissertation. He described investigating how techniques rooted in African performance could work with Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed to explore resistance to political and social oppression.

Mountview describes its acting programme as practical training for stage and recorded performance. The actor’s account shows two different demands that can sit inside such a degree. Playing in an ensemble calls for responding to other performers in the moment. Writing about a performance requires stepping back and explaining the choices made.

The result announced this week follows earlier training. Adedayo earned a first degree in theatre arts and film studies at Redeemer’s University in 2018. In 2025 he completed an advanced acting-for-camera course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. That was a separate course at a different London institution.

What it means for you. If you are comparing training options, look at the work each course asks its students to do. Someone seeking camera practice and someone wanting time for a stage project and a dissertation may need different courses. Adedayo’s two London qualifications offer a concrete reason to read beyond the name of a drama school.