The UK based National Student Drama Festival (NSDF) was founded in 1956 with the purpose of creating new art, new artists and new communities. It also runs a charity aimed at empowering young artists. The NSDF is targeted towards people aged 16–25 years old (in 2021–22 they extended the age bracket to include 26-year olds). NSDF is a year-round organization whose work peaks at its annual festival: for one week, in one chosen city. There is a daily magazine, Noises Off, written by a team of writers and participants at the festival.

History

The NSDF was founded in 1956 by the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' arts columnist Kenneth Pearson, ''Sunday Times'' theatre critic

Harold Hobson Sir Harold Hobson CBE, (4 August 1904 – 12 March 1992) was an English drama critic and author. Early life and education Hobson was born in Thorpe Hesley, near Rotherham, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He attended Sheffield ...

, and

National Union of Students (United Kingdom) The National Union of Students (NUS) is a confederation of Students' union, student unions across the United Kingdom. Approximately 600 student unions are affiliated, accounting for more than 95% of all higher and further education unions in th ...

president Frank Copplestone. Pearson went on to become the organization's first artistic director. Early supporters also included ''Sunday Times'' Editor

Harry Hodson Henry Vincent Hodson (12 May 1906 – 26 March 1999, aged 92) was an English economist, editor of The Sunday Times, founding Provost of the Ditchley Foundation and editor of The Annual Register. Positions held Henry Vincent Hodson, 1906-1999 ...

and Professor

Glynne Wickham Glynne William Gladstone Wickham (15 May 1922–27 January 2004) was a British Shakespearean and theatre scholar. Life Wickham was born in Cape Town, and was the great-grandson of William Ewart Gladstone. He was educated at Winchester College and ...

, a pioneer of the academic discipline of drama based at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

. Even before 1956, The National Union of Students had organised dramatic festivals, like in 1947 at Birmingham, but this was the first year that it had been backed by the Sunday Times. Scottish universities that were a part of the Scottish Union of Students were not allowed to participate till 1962, as universities not affiliated with the National Union of Students were not allowed to participate before that year. Even after NSDF allowed Scottish Universities, the SUS still ran their own Scottish Union of Students National Student Drama Festival from 1963-1967. On its 50th anniversary in 2006, a book was published called "Fifty years of the National Student Drama Festival: Oberon Books 2005". This book included a full list of shows for those 50 years. Past NSDF participants include

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

Caryl Churchill Caryl Lesley Churchill (born 3 September 1938) is a British playwright known for dramatising the abuses of power, for her use of non- naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and feminist themes.

Meera Syal Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is an English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and by portraying Sanjeev's grandmoth ...

Simon Russell Beale Sir Simon Russell Beale (born 12 January 1961) is an English actor. He has been described by ''The Independent'' as "the greatest stage actor of his generation". He has received various accolades, including two BAFTA Awards, three Olivier Awar ...

Ruth Wilson Ruth Wilson (born 13 January 1982) is an English actress. She has played the eponymous protagonist in ''Jane Eyre'' (2006), Alice Morgan in the BBC psychological crime drama '' Luther'' (2010–2013, 2019), Alison Lockhart in the Showtime dram ...

Marianne Elliott Marianne Phoebe Elliott (born 27 December 1966) is a British theatre director and producer who works on the West End and Broadway. She has received numerous accolades including two Laurence Olivier Awards and four Tony Awards. Initially de ...

, and

Lucy Prebble Lucy Ashton Prebble (born 18 December 1980) is a British playwright and producer. She has received numerous accolades including three Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for a BAFTA Award and two Laurence Olivier Awards. Prebble made h ...

. Companies with past affiliation with NSDF include Slung Low, Jamie Lloyd Productions,

RashDash RashDash is a British feminist theatre company. The company was founded by Abbi Greenland and Helen Goalen. Becky Wilkie later joined. They have produced and created many works, including '' We Want You to Watch.'' Although they lead with feminis ...

, Barrel Organ and LUNG Theatre. NSDF 22 took place from 9–15 April 2022 in Leicester.

Key Figures

Festival Directors

* 1971 to 2000 – Clive Wolfe * 2001 to 2003 – Nick Stimson * 2004 to 2006 – Andrew Loretto * 2007 to 2012 – Holly Kendrick * 2013 to 2018 – Michael Brazier * 2019 – James Phillips

Noises Off Editors

* 1980 to 1990 –

Stephen Jeffreys John Stephen Gerrard Jeffreys (22 April 1950 – 17 September 2018) was a British playwright and playwriting teacher. He wrote original plays, films and play adaptations and also worked as translator. Jeffreys is best known for his play ''The Libe ...

(latterly in tandem with Nick Phillips) * 1991 to 2002 –

Ian Shuttleworth Terence Ian Shuttleworth (born 6 July 1963 in Belfast, UK) is a retired Northern Irish theatre critic and author. He was one of the senior theatre critics for the ''Financial Times'' from May 2007 to March 2019, and editor and publisher of '' Th ...

* 2003 to 2004 – Andrew Haydon and Rachel Smyth * 2005 to 2009 – Andrew Haydon * 2010 – Phil Mann and

Claire Trévien Claire Trévien (born 1985) is a poet and academic. Biography She was born in Pont-l'Abbé, France in 1985. She obtained a PhD from the University of Warwick in 2012 on 'Revolutionary Prints as Spectacle' and has been published in a number of ...

* 2011 – Andrew Haydon, Phil Mann and

* 2012 – Phil Mann, Andrew Haydon, and

* 2013 to 2014 – Andrew Haydon * 2015 – Jake Orr * 2016 to 2017 – Richard Tzanov * 2018 – Kate Wyver * 2019 – Florence Bell and Naomi Obeng

Prize Winners

At the end of the festival there is a Closing Ceremony where prizes are presented. Some of which are named after prestigious theatrical institutions or people. For example, the Buzz Goodbody Director Award which was named after the first female director for the RSC, who attended the festival in 1967. Previous winners include Roland Smith (artistic director of Theatre Delicatessen), Phil Young,

Jane Prowse Jane Prowse writes and directs theatre and television. Her play, '' A Round-Heeled Woman'', is a stage adaptation of Jane Juska's book ''A Round-Heeled Woman: My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and Romance''. The play starred multi-award-winning a ...

, Fiona Clift, and

Richard Hurst Richard Hurst is a British writer and director of comedy, theatre and television. Biography Born Richard Turner in Surrey, he attended Boston Grammar School and Oakham School before studying at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and training as a directo ...

References

;General * 'Raw Talent : Fifty Years of the National Student Drama Festival' ({{ISBN, 1-84002-553-0). * 'NSDF Programme 2010' (printed and distributed by the Festival) * 'NSDF Programme 2011'

External links

National Student Drama Festival
Scarborough, North Yorkshire Festivals in North Yorkshire Student theatre festivals Student theatre in the United Kingdom Theatre festivals in England