Drama Society – The Orbital

20Oct

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Student Productions: One to Watch

I’ve said it before and I will say it again: theatre is a gift. The dedication and hard work that goes into producing a high-quality show for the audience to enjoy is unparalleled and should be appreciated - even at the student level. University students juggle degrees, part-time jobs and socialising with hours and hours of rehearsals almost every night so that, in just a couple of months, they can stand in the Student’s Union or Jane Holloway Hall performing their hearts out for the students who attend. However, while these shows do attract quite a lot of people, there are scores of RHUL students who will graduate without ever seeing a student production. My only question is why? Student productions are an opportunity to watch a high-quality show for a relatively low cost. Most show...

Interview: Callum Pardoe takes the Reigns of Holloway Players

9Oct

By Olivia DuckworthNo Comments

Sports & Socs

Interview: Callum Pardoe takes the Reigns of Holloway Players

Today we sit down with Callum Pardoe, who this year has taken on the role as the Holloway Players Representative with Drama Society. We spoke to Callum, who is going into his second year at Royal Holloway, about all things Improv and what to him makes The Holloway Players the crazy, talented group of performers they are. What persuaded you to join the Holloway Players last year? I'd always wanted to get into improv and after seeing the Players perform at the Drama Society Taster sessions I was dead set on working with them. I thought to myself 'these are the most hilarious people I've ever seen in life! I have to get to know them!' What are your highlights from last year? Last year had its fair share of highlights for me but if I had to pick one it would have to be performing i...

2Apr

By Josip MartincicNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

An UnScene History

Fresh off their win for Society of the Year at this year’s Socs Ball, Drama Society puts on their termly inclusion event demonstrating creative works in progress. Drama Society markets this event as an opportunity to celebrate new writing by bringing together creatives from all over campus. This UnScene, more than any other, truly illustrated just how varied the mediums in which budding artists of our campus work in are. The theme of history, conceived by the 1st Year Representative and co-organiser Sorel Wilson, was explored in the festival through a variety of genres. The audience was treated to a full visual and aural experience. Although I personally feel that last term’s overall execution showed more of a commitment to the theme of ‘Apocalypse’ through the aesthetic, including...

25Feb

By Josip MartincicNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Playing War: A Review of Pink Mist

Putting on this show was a bold choice, but one that most certainly paid off. The cast and crew need to be congratulated because putting on a relatively unknown play that deals with the subject of war in Afghanistan is difficult but they managed to strongly resonate with the audience and keep everyone engaged and entertained. Issues of psychological and physical effects of warfare on lives of young soldiers, written so well by Owen Sheers, were staged in a powerful but respectful way. Incorporating physical movement with the verse was a triumphant achievement by director Emil Rousseau, and the lighting designed by Matt Fry added another level to this fascinating and complex production. It runs at about an hour and forty five minutes without an interval, but it honestly didn’t feel long ...

20Nov

By Victoria BastableNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

‘Bluebird’: Brave, bold and beautiful.

Drama Society’s production of ‘Bluebird’ by Simon Stephens is filled with raw and visceral emotion. I have to commend director Emily Young for her bravery and experimentation in this very well executed production. Jimmy (Rafael Aptroot) is a taxi driver. He is sullen and monosyllabic. We, the audience, are voyeurs of Jimmy’s interactions with his ‘fares’ on what appears to be typical night’s work for him. From grieving fathers, to smooching couples, to a young sex worker; the customers in Jimmy’s taxi tell their story of living on the margins of society and their fragmented tales create a mirage of the bleak possibility of life in London. ‘Bluebird’ is not the sort of production you can passively enjoy: thought provoking and emotionally charged would be more apt descriptions, althoug...

Drama Society presents ‘No Sex Please, We’re British’

28Oct

By Rosalie FallaNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Drama Society presents ‘No Sex Please, We’re British’

Rosalie Falla reviews the first night of Drama Society's Week 5 Show. No Sex Please, We’re British by Anthony Marriot and Alistair Foot is a simply hilarious concept: when a newly-wed couple, Peter and Frances, receive a box of Scandinavian pornography in lieu of glassware, comedy ensues. Uninvited houseguests, a police investigation, a lost cheque, boxes and boxes of risqué material and many a mix-up make this a show worth seeing. Katie Dale’s and Niamh Dunne's directorial efforts succeed in bringing the British farce to the Jane Holloway stage in only five weeks, no mean feat considering the cast and crew balance intense rehearsals with their degrees- perfectly timed comedy is not an easy skill to master and yet Dale and Dunne's cast had the audience in fits. Speaking of the cast, ...

26Nov

By No Comments

Sports & Socs

In Your Socs- Drama Society’s Poetic Charity

On Thursday the 6th of November, the Drama Society provided the opportunity to take part in a Poetry Workshop run by their chosen charity, Safe Ground. Safe Ground works to decrease the stigma faced by families of people in prison, and strives to promote a social change by connecting communities and rehabilitating the prisoners’ relationships with their families through the use of drama, dialogue and debate. The workshop took place at the South Bank University and was run by the writer and performance poet, Dean Atta. I found the workshop particularly engaging because I was familiar with his work. However, Atta made it clear that a keen interest in poetry was not required, as he successfully involved each participant in a captivating three-hour session. All the exercises were conduct...