The National Theatre's Connections Festival has returned for another year. The festival involves the commissioning of 10 new plays by established and emerging contemporary playwrights and theatre companies, in which school groups from across the UK take part in performing these plays. From the some 273 companies who performed one of the plays this year, one performance of each play was selected to be performed on the Dorfman Stage for the week long festival. Of the 10 plays in the festival, I went to see three and was delightfully surprised by how different each production was.
The festival kicked off with the Outwood Academy (a school group) performing Katie Hims' Variations. It tells the story of a young girl who wakes up multiple times - each time in the same kitchen with the same breakfast, but every morning there is a slight variation on 13 year-old Alice's real life. One time she wakes up with two brothers rather than two sisters, another time she is an only child, and another she wakes up as her mother in the mid-80s. As described in the play text itself, it was sort of a mix between 'Groundhog Day', 'Freaky Friday' and 'Back to the Future'. The company itself, hailing from Hemsworth in West Yorkshire, was full of talent and, bringing out the intricate humour woven into the play, they created a piece that was enjoyable to watch. The use of physical theatre to represent the transition between variations also served to make an exciting piece of theatre. And to be sure, there was some strong home support coming from the auditorium!
On Wednesday, Easy Street Theatre Company (a non-selective company from Sheffield) performed Class, a play about the selection of a new student president. The play itself was clever and engaging, slowly feeding the audience pieces of information, building up tension and ending in an explosion of revelations. Dramatic irony was heavily used throughout, with the audience being able to see both what was happening in the room as well as the subtext behind all the character's thoughts. Playwrights Ben Bailey Smith and Lajaune Lincoln did this by showing the audience text messages being sent between members of the group, thus revealing secrets about the complex characters. Through the everyday situation that the play explored, underneath all the humour and comedic characters, an acute criticism was made of society - the play dealt with the subjects of social class, leadership and corruption - the classroom acting as a microcosm of the wider world. The actors showed great versatility in their ability to shift the tone and mood of the piece so quickly and convincingly.
The last play I saw was The Small Hours, performed by the Kildare Youth Theatre from Newbridge in Ireland. The play offered a snapshot into the lives of different duos in the early hours of the morning. The text was captivating and the cast breathed life into it, performing it with a beautiful sensitivity and simplicity. Unlike the other two plays I saw, this was designed in a much more abstract way, with blocks placed in different positions on the stage to create different settings, as opposed to the much more naturalistic kitchen and classroom (which were both furnished down to the finest detail) that were used in the other two. Every element of the play was excellent, from the direction to the design to the performance. It was a piece bursting with promise for the future - both from the playwright Katherine Soper (who is a playwright to keep your eye on, I am keen to see what she will produce next) and from every member of the company, some of whom I am sure have bright futures on the stage. The production was of professional quality and for the duration that I was sitting there, I forgot that I was watching a performance by a youth theatre company.
The festival itself is an excellent initiative, giving young people across the nation (over 6,500 of them) the opportunity to perform new theatre, and giving 10 lucky groups the experience of a lifetime performing in the National Theatre. All aspects of the production of each piece fully involves young people who take on many off-stage roles such as operating the lights, designing costumes and stage-management, making this festival a key part in giving young people a look into theatre - not only into the world of acting, but also in to all the work that goes on behind stage. The atmosphere in the Dorfman was electric, people buzzing with excitement, and there was a real sense that this festival and these plays were bringing people together. In fact, the festival was bringing people together from all over he UK, with groups performing from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. And on top of all that, a ticket to one of the plays costs £5, so you ca see 10 new and exciting plays for the price of one ticket to a show in the West End. Definitely worth it if you ask me!
If you are part of a youth theatre or school drama group, and would like to take part in this amazing festival, why not get your group to apply for next year's Connections Festival! The National Theatre is looking for 300 school and youth theatre companies across the UK to take part, and applications are now open! For more information and to sign up, head over to nationaltheatre.org.uk/connections
If you are part of a youth theatre or school drama group, and would like to take part in this amazing festival, why not get your group to apply for next year's Connections Festival! The National Theatre is looking for 300 school and youth theatre companies across the UK to take part, and applications are now open! For more information and to sign up, head over to nationaltheatre.org.uk/connections