Breaking The Mould
The 11th On The Rocks Festival in St Andrews promises to bring the town together while challenging visitors’ perceptions of the arts
AN arts festival run entirely by university students is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, with the backing of celebrity patrons including Dame Judi Dench and Sir Sean Connery.
On The Rocks began in 2009 as a small film and theatre festival in St Andrews.
Since then, it has grown to become the biggest student-run festival in the UK, with around 50 events showcasing a range of performances, with an emphasis on bringing the university and the town together.
The 11th festival, which runs from April 5 to 14, features performers from around St Andrews, regardless of any connection to the university.
Festival organisers will also be using a range of venues in the town, from university buildings to local bars, theatres, museums and the botanic garden – and they are even hosting a theatre performance on Castle Sands beach.
It’s an opportunity to showcase the arts scene in unusual places around the town and make events as accessible as possible, according to festival spokesperson Holly Scrivener.
“It’s all about creating alternative opportunities, and trying to break the mould a little bit,” Holly explains. “It’s really exciting, as we have full use of the university venues as well as the bigger theatres in town, and we’ll be using some more unusual venues again, as well as organising pop-up events around town.
The committee has selected the events – theatre, music, comedy, film, dance and visual art – following an open call. This year, selected participants will be coming from as far afield as Italy, with a group of Italian school pupils travelling to the town to perform a production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
“Those events make the festival really accessible to everyone in the community,” Holly continues.
The festival has paired up some unlikely groups in the past – including the university art history society with Blind Mirth, an improvisational comedy group, to lead tours around the St Andrews Preservation Trust Museum.
“That was great, because it was two groups that would never normally work together, creating something artistic. And, of course, we were also using quite an unusual venue.”
In previous years, it has also hosted a concert by the
“The festival’s about creating alternative opportunities – exciting” it’s really