BAFTA winning writer, CALM ambassador and Journalism BA Honours alumnus Jack Rooke has been made an Honorary Doctor of Arts at the University of Westminster.
On 25 July, the former Westminster student took to the stage to receive his Honorary Doctorate and gave a speech to the University’s latest graduates. He spoke about his own experience studying at Westminster and the importance of education to harness creativity and build confidence.
Rooke graduated in 2014 and very quickly made an impression with his 2015 show Good Grief. Co-written with his 85-year-old Nan, the comedy-theatre piece told the story of his father’s death and was a protest against the government’s proposed cuts to the widowed parents’ allowance. The show ran at Soho Theatre and went on to be adapted for Radio 4 by BBC Comedy.
His second show, Happy Hour, commissioned for the Edinburgh Fringe by the Soho Theatre in 2017, was a one-man documentary theatre piece with Rooke telling the story of his university life, coming to terms with his sexuality and the importance of supporting friends through their mental health struggles.
In 2022 he adapted both shows into the BAFTA winning Channel 4 comedy-drama series Big Boys. As both writer and narrator, Rooke tells the story of two misfit guys becoming best friends at university and was inspired by his time at Westminster. The show explores grief, depression, identity, sexuality and friendship, and won the hearts of the masses with its humour and emotional depth. It also won the praise of critics, with Jack being named a BAFTA Breakthrough creative and taking home the BAFTA for Best Comedy Writer for the second series.
Big Boys is now in its third season and features Westminster’s own Harrow campus where Rooke spent a lot of his time.
As an ambassador for CALM, a suicide prevention charity, Jack is passionate about raising awareness for the mental health struggles young people face daily and these themes are also at the heart of Rooke’s work on screen and stage.
Rooke said: “I am completely chuffed to be here today to receive this Honorary Doctorate of the Arts. And I, like many of you in this hall, am honoured to be receiving this in front of my loved ones, my mum, my aunty, my brother and friends, it is an honour.
“The role of higher education in the creative industries is always more than just the acquisition of skills and the teachings of creative practice. It’s about the development of self, the ways in which you learn how to be a creative around other creatives. The key I believe is to learn how to have an uncompromising vision for something, whilst being able to practically compromise, with hopefully collaborators you trust.”
Find out more about studying Media and Communication courses at the University of Westminster.
Find out about last year’s Honorary Doctorates.
Photo credit: Tempest Photography
