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College students take to the stage in Oxford
11/06/2021
The National Theatre’s annual Connections showcase enabled students to perform at The North Wall Arts Centre
Performing arts students from Banbury and Bicester College got the chance to tread the boards in Oxford as part of the annual National Theatre Connections festival.
The students performed Find a Partner by Miriam Battye at The North Wall Arts Centre on Sunday 30 May.
This is the first year that Banbury and Bicester College has taken part in the National Theatre’s annual Connections showcase. Connections is an annual narrating festival where every year the National Theatre commissions 10 new plays for young people to perform, uniting some of the UK’s best writers with the next generation of performers.
The students took part in three workshops during the day and then had just 90 minutes to do a full-dress rehearsal and test all the lighting and sound effects. At 8pm it was curtain up, when the students got to perform in the 200-seat theatre. The show included some pre-filmed work and an abundance of bursting blood bags!
Adam Goldstein, Work Experience Coordinator at Activate Learning said: “The cast really enjoyed the whole day, and it was a great experience for them to perform on a professional stage with professional lights and sound, as well as see other shows.
“Like all theatre shows this year, the rehearsal process has been tricky, with many goal posts moving, and rehearsals on Teams. The cast and crew did have some last-minute changes, but everyone stayed positive and motivated throughout; in particular Elly who was assistant director and stage manager.”
Abie Walton, Participation and Projects Officer at The North Wall Arts Centre said: “It was a pleasure to welcome Performing arts students from Banbury and Bicester College to The North Wall for this year’s National Theatre Connections festival.
“The company really stepped it up from the Home Performance, showing loads of energy on stage, and Elly and Charlie (tech and stage management students) were amazing.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam