Minotaur Column: National Student Drama Festival

Where would you find a babysitter, twelve murderers and a two part harmony about the futility of an all-female love triangle?

Theatre of course! As if there was any doubt in your mind. Mix that with a coastal wind strong enough to throw a petite woman across the width of a bridge and you have the National Student Drama Festival in Scarborough. I was fortunate enough to attend the festival on the windy east coast over the Easter holidays… ah, Easter, that time before you lost your hair due to exam stress, when chocolate filled your belly without you feeling guilty about it. It seems a distant memory now, but my experience at the festival is unlikely to be forgotten.

The NSDF, the abbreviation through which it is most recognised, gives students the opportunity to enter a piece of theatre they’ve created. The top eleven plays are put through to the festival to be performed to a larger audience, including individuals who have been selected to attend, as well as others who pay a slightly higher fee. This year over 80 plays were submitted, including Minotaur’s own original short play When the Ship Docks by James Ferguson. A representative then watches and judges the play. We were lucky enough to have the lovely James Phillips – charming, kind-natured James…

Who didn’t put our play through.

But hey, there’s no bitterness there. NONE. AT. ALL.

No, in actual fact, he gave us some invaluable feedback and l was fortunate enough to get an invitation to the festival. The experience was truly inspiring. There was a modern day, in-your-face musical loosely based on The Picture of Dorian Gray, a gripping 80 minute monologue, and twelve dancing princesses. But my favourite was a beautifully crafted play called Babysitters, written by a student and performed with such excellence that the play received a standing ovation almost every night.

There were workshops by leading professionals such as Struan Leslie, movement coach from the RSC and other leading professionals from LAMDA, Slung Low Theatre Company, Bristol Old Vic and many more. They were so valuable and I will treasure the advice, the contacts and the friends I made at the festival.

If you would like to attend or submit a play to this thriving festival in the future, be sure to check out their website here: http://www.nsdf.org.uk/  and/or video here:
http://www.ideastap.com/IdeasMag/all-articles/video-national-student-drama-festival-highlights