On a chilly January evening in a community centre in Gatley, a quiet suburb of Stockport, a group of teenagers gather under the glow of overhead strip lights. They are preparing for imaginary scenarios: a moon landing, the royal court of an imperious queen, trekking in the Arctic, or screaming at a Taylor Swift concert. The performers are so full of energy and conviction that it is hard not to be transported along with them. 'As soon as we step through the doors, put our phones down, I feel like time just stops here,' one girl says. 'It is like a break from reality.'
This weeknight session is just one of the classes run by Drama MOB, the Manchester drama school and talent agency founded by Esther Morgan and longtime Coronation Street actor Tina O'Brien. They have been in business since 2013, but over the past year, the whirlwind ascent of one of their star pupils has brought their work into the spotlight. When Netflix's Adolescence was released last March, the single-shot drama exploring the pernicious influence of the manosphere on teenage boys became 2025's most talked-about television show. Much of the conversation centred around the extraordinary performance of Warrington-born teenager Owen Cooper, who plays Jamie, a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering his classmate.
The show marked Cooper's first professional role; as the Adolescence cultural juggernaut gathered pace, headlines seemed to suggest that Cooper had been plucked from nowhere. But this was not the full story. In the two years leading up to his casting, he had attended lessons with Drama MOB. Morgan describes him as a 'very focused' pupil who 'was up for a laugh as well', while O'Brien notes that he 'had his parents' support behind him, which is obviously massive' for a young actor.
Record-Breaking Success
In January, the now 16-year-old became the youngest ever winner of the Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role on Television award at the Golden Globes, beating nominees with decades more experience. In his acceptance speech, Cooper spoke of how he 'took a risk' on the classes, unsure if his interest in acting would ever amount to much. 'I was the only boy there, it was embarrassing,' he said. 'But I got through it.' He has gone on to break more industry records, becoming the youngest ever individual winner at acting union SAG-AFTRA's Actor Awards after being crowned Best Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series in March. In May, he became the youngest ever winner in the Best Supporting Actor category at the Bafta TV Awards.
'We didn't think we'd end up with a Golden Globe Award or an Emmy winner,' Morgan says. 'We were laughing because he won the National Television Award first [last September] and it was the first time anybody's ever won one of those [from the classes], and we were really pleased then.'
Founding Drama MOB
Morgan and O'Brien have been friends for more than three decades, since meeting at the age of 11. 'We started high school together,' O'Brien explains. When her daughter Scarlett was about three or four, she started looking around for local drama groups, but 'really struggled to find anywhere that was good enough quality', as Morgan puts it. So they decided to set up their own. Given their joint experience, it made sense. O'Brien has played Sarah Louise Platt since 1999; Morgan had previously taught drama to primary school pupils. They held their first class in January 2013 in Didsbury, another leafy Manchester suburb, and 'we had seven children come along', Morgan says. These days, they run 29 classes across the region, with just under 600 children attending each week.
Their casting agency, which Morgan oversees, launched in 2015, 'because we were getting lots of requests from people wanting really good northern kids, because they were struggling to find them. Obviously, we have them coming to class.' They now have about 300 performers on the books, with ages ranging from newborns to grown-ups. Over the years, they have built up their reputation with casting directors, who are 'now coming to us directly for different jobs'. Pupils have 'done feature films, we've got a number of regulars on the soaps', Morgan says, and in 2018, one of their students played a young Elton John in the John Lewis Christmas advert.
Breaking Barriers
Accessibility has always been important to Morgan and O'Brien. Acting is an increasingly elitist profession, and the 'class ceiling' can force talented young performers to give up early on. 'In each of our classes, we've got a number of places that are free,' Morgan explains. 'We've both said it was something really important to us – we don't want there to be a barrier.' O'Brien agrees. 'As a child myself, I know that I was very fortunate to be able to go to drama classes, but we didn't have any money,' she says. 'I remember my mum and dad saying, "Well, you can choose between going to drama or gymnastics."' She was 'so fortunate' that she did choose the former, but 'for some children there's not even the possibility of that'. Through their funded places, 'we're trying to really target those kids that really want to do it, but maybe they wouldn't [otherwise] be able to', Morgan adds.
Although they work with plenty of great casting directors in the North, the industry can still feel very London-centric, adding another layer of expense for parents. 'We would still like to see more things being cast here,' Morgan says. 'Often, recalls are still happening in London, so you've got to factor in train fares for a child and an adult, maybe a hotel.'
The Owen Cooper Effect
Since Adolescence aired, they have noticed a leap in the number of boys signing up for classes. As Cooper put it in his Golden Globes speech, there is still a lingering preconception that drama is somehow 'embarrassing' or not something for boys. In Gatley, in the session for 12- and 13-year-olds, the gender split is almost 50/50; it skews more female in the adjacent session for older teens, though the boys still make up a good third or so of the numbers. 'It does leave you feeling positive afterwards, and like you can take on anything else, I guess,' one of them says.
The classes, Morgan says, are 'somewhere they can express themselves and feel safe to do so with other boys. We've seen a bigger uptake since Owen – other boys going, "Oh actually, it's alright to do drama."' Sometimes, she adds, 'sport might not be their thing, so they're looking for something where they feel like they fit and they can meet other like-minded kids'. O'Brien is hopeful that they will see more of them keep acting for longer, rather than dropping out when they start high school. 'You find when they're younger, they're not embarrassed or bothered. But they get to a certain age, and they're like, "Ugh,"' she says. She has seen plenty of discussions online and in the media focusing on how boys are being brought up, asking, 'Are we setting up young men to be all "I am a provider, I am strong, I don't feel"?' But in the classes, the emphasis is on getting attuned to the emotions. 'Here, it's all about expressing – how does your character feel? How would you say that? And I think that's really healthy. We're both parents of boys, and I think for us personally, we would say that to be able to have those conversations and skills is incredible.'
Looking Ahead
Going forward, there are 'other northern areas that we'd like to tap into' to launch more classes, Morgan says, but 'rather than just opening up all over the place, we want to make sure that it's [still] good quality'. The goal is to keep 'pushing our northern talent', finding the Owen Coopers of the future – and making sure they have fun too. 'I remember, years ago, we used to take all the classes, and whatever mood you were in, by the end of the evening you were just so happy because they were so happy,' O'Brien says. 'It's such a lovely thing to be part of.'
