Senior House Drama – March 2023

The Senior House Drama Competition gives full responsibility to the students to direct and perform their own 15 minute pieces, which are then judged by a panel of industry professionals.

Whilst Drama is of course entirely subjective, here it takes on a new competitive edge as both House points and artistic validation are on offer! It also offers the opportunity for the students to engage with a range of contemporary playwrights and texts, that they may not otherwise have the opportunity to perform, and it was great to see several groups who were inspired to devise and write their own work.

These were honest, funny and sensitive pieces that explored a range of ideas and themes – From young fatherhood in Samuel Bailey’s Shook, to an unflinchingly honest portrayal of grief amongst a group of young friends in Luke Norris’s So Here We Are. From a brilliantly satirical examination of cancel culture in John Donnelly’s A Series of Public Apologies, to the messiness of young relationships and the role of social media in IMU.

We were incredibly lucky to have director Matt Harrison and actor and writer John Hollingworth, to judge the evenings’ events and both talked about the level of authenticity and the bravery of our young performers to be in the moment, to sit with silence and to listen and affect each other on stage.

Special mentions must go to the company from Hendersons, who not only wrote and devised IMU but brought a brilliant theatricality and use of ensemble to win Best Play and to Ben Rossiter and Lanre Pratt, who won Best Actor and Best Actor Runner-up respectively, however the standard, creativty and talent accross the board was noted by the judges.

Best play – IMU – Hendersons

Best play Runner up – So Here We Are – Russells

Best play 2nd Runner up – Bricks – Strouts

Best Actor – Ben Rossiter – Russells

Best Actor Runner up – Lanre Pratt – Meadows

Best Actor Second Runner up – Saad Khan -Strouts

Best Direction – Joblings