Students put on a show for National Theatre’s festival

LOCAL drama students appeared in the National Theatre’s Connections Festival on Friday.

Each year, the National Theatre commissions 10 new plays for young people to perform and this year Burton and South Derbyshire College students created a performance of Wind/Rush Generation(s) by Mojisola Adebayo.

Students from Level 3 Acting and Musical Theatre courses, assisted by Level 3 Production Skills students, performed this in the College’s Fleet

Street Theatre on March 21, to their National Theatre director and mentor.

Elise Brassington, musical theatre course leader at BSDC, said: “We are extremely proud of how the students performed this very challenging piece, which tackles difficult themes.

“The National Theatre director who came to watch their home performance was also very complimentary and positive about their performance.”

The BSDC play centres around a group of university students who attempt to use a Ouija board to contact a spirit in their common room.

Through the Ouija board they observe scenes all linked to race, racial injustice through history with links to the recent Windrush scandal.

More than 250 youth theatre companies from every corner of the UK take part in the Connections Festival each year, providing opportunities for them to perform in professional, partner theatres.

One production of each play will be selected to transfer to the NT Festival in London, the National Theatre’s annual, nationwide youth theatre festival.

When selecting groups to take part, the National Theatre team looks for clarity and audibility, clear storytelling, conviction and energy.

Judges like to see productions that have observed and realised the writer’s intentions for the play.