In the Spotlight

We are very proud of our alumni community. Old Cumnorians (OCs) have followed a wide variety of paths post Cumnor, across the UK and indeed the globe, and we love to celebrate these achievements.

Each term, we will shine the spotlight on one of our OCs, asking them to share their stories, words of advice and sprinklings of nostalgia from their Cumnor days. We hope these examples offer interest and inspiration – whether you are an OC yourself, a parent of a current pupil or are looking at our school as a potential destination for your own child. If you’d like to be part of this series, or have someone to suggest, please do get in touch by emailing oldcumnorians@cumnor.co.uk.

Billy Byers

This term, we feature Billy Byers (Class of 2020) who began his dance and musical theatre journey at the age of just 5 years old. Earlier this year, he landed the role of the Artful Dodger in a new West End production of Oliver! which has been produced by Cameron Macintosh and choreographed by Matthew Bourne.

What are your memories of being a pupil at Cumnor?

What life skills did Cumnor equip you with?

The values of Aim High, Be Kind and Dare to be Different are so appropriate.

I have always tried my best, it is so important to be nice to everyone on set or in a theatre company (they could be your next boss or colleague, so you need to have a good reputation!) and daring to be different encouraged me to pursue a route that is risky and unconventional.

When you are in a production, what does an average day look like for you?

In the West End, we start late and finish late! We usually have a 1pm call time. If it is just an evening show, then the day starts with rehearsals and going over notes from the previous performance.

We get an hour from 5pm to have food and then it’s back for the Company warm up on stage. Lots of nervous activity follows that – into costume, the mic operator comes to the dressing room to hook us up and then I head to make up to get ‘dirtied up’.

Back to the dressing room to await the announcement calling me to the stage. Down to the wings, deep breath and….show time!

What advice would you give to current Cumnor pupils, especially those about to move up to senior school?

For current pupils or OCs who want to pursue a career in drama, do you have any words of wisdom?

You have got to really want it. It has got to be your dream and nobody else’s, otherwise you would be able to handle the inevitable failure on the pathway to success.

It is such a buzz when you succeed, but it can be crushing when you don’t – you must accept that you will fail more than you will succeed, so you need to be able to cope with that.

I recommend that you do LAMDA, it really develops your skills. I also recommend that you learn to dance, sing, play an instrument and do as many things as you can to make you appropriate for as many roles as possible.

Who inspires you the most?

I study lots of actors to learn their skills. For me, Bill Nighy is just an incredible actor and I admire how he kept trying until he finally broke through in his 50s.

I also have to credit my Mum and Dad who have supported me consistently. Dad reads for me in all my audition tapes and has basically become my manager. Both have busy lives balancing jobs and looking after my three siblings, but Dad sees my career as his ‘side hustle’! He is an entrepreneur so he has taught me to keep believing in myself and not give up.