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National Student Drama Festival

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National Student Drama Festival (NSDF) is a UK based organisation 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 was originally targeted towards people aged 16–25 years old; in 2021–22, the age bracket was extended to include 26-year olds.

National Student Drama Festival
GenreArts festival
Dates2022: 9–15 April (exact dates vary each year)
Years active1956–present
Founded1956; 70 years ago (1956)
Websitensdf.org.uk

NSDF is a year-round organization whose work peaks at its annual festival, held for one week in one chosen city. A daily magazine, Noises Off, is written by a team of writers and participants at the festival.

History

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The NSDF was founded in 1956 by the Sunday Times arts columnist Kenneth Pearson, Sunday Times theatre critic Harold Hobson, and National Union of Students (United Kingdom) president Frank Copplestone. Pearson went on to become the organization's first artistic director. Early supporters also included Sunday Times Editor Harry Hodson and Professor Glynne Wickham, a pioneer of the academic discipline of drama based at the University of Bristol.

Even before 1956, the National Union of Students had organised dramatic festivals, such as in 1947 at Birmingham,[1] 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 until 1962, as universities not affiliated with the National Union of Students were not allowed to participate before that year.[2]

Even after NSDF allowed Scottish universities, the SUS still ran their own Scottish Union of Students National Student Drama Festival[3] from 1963 to 1967.[4]

On its 50th anniversary in 2006, a book was published, called Fifty years of the National Student Drama Festival.[5] It included a full list of shows for those 50 years.

Past NSDF participants include Harold Pinter, Caryl Churchill, Meera Syal, Simon Russell Beale, Ruth Wilson, Marianne Elliott, and Lucy Prebble. Companies with past affiliation with NSDF include Slung Low, Jamie Lloyd Productions, RashDash, Barrel Organ and LUNG Theatre.

NSDF 22 took place from 9–15 April 2022 in Leicester.[6]

NSDF 25 took place from 22–26 April 2025 after a break because of Covid.[7]

Key figures

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Festival directors

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  • 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[8]

Noises Off editors

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  • 1980 to 1990 – Stephen Jeffreys (latterly in tandem with Nick Phillips)
  • 1991 to 2002 – Ian Shuttleworth
  • 2003 to 2004 – Andrew Haydon and Rachel Smyth
  • 2005 to 2009 – Andrew Haydon
  • 2010 – Phil Mann and Claire Trévien
  • 2011 – Andrew Haydon, Phil Mann and Claire Trévien
  • 2012 – Phil Mann, Andrew Haydon and Claire Trévien
  • 2013 to 2014 – Andrew Haydon[9]
  • 2015 – Jake Orr
  • 2016 to 2017 – Richard Tzanov
  • 2018 – Kate Wyver
  • 2019 – Florence Bell and Naomi Obeng

Prize winners

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Prizes are presented at the festival's closing ceremony. Some of these are named after prestigious theatrical institutions or people. The Buzz Goodbody Director Award 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, Fiona Clift and Richard Hurst.

2012 prize winners

NSDF award winners (as listed in article)

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Buzz Goodbody Student Director Award

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  • Nozomi Matsumori — New National Theatre Drama Studio, Japan

Directors' Guild Award

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  • Harry Williams — Leeds University

Sunday Times Harold Hobson Student Drama Critic Award

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  • David Ralf — Oxford University

Theatre Record Young Critic’s Award

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  • Rosie Curtis — Edinburgh University

Cameron Mackintosh Award

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  • Sweeney Todd — Newcastle University

The Sunday Times Playwriting Award

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  • Edward Nadeem — Kibbutzim College, Israel

Judges' Award for International Spirit

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  • Theatre Intombi Zomqangala School of Arts — Zimbabwe
  • Kibbutzim — Israel
  • Leeds’ Award for Acting — Tainai (New National, Japan)
  • Moderate Light Fastness — Cologne University, Germany

Judges' Award for Theatre Magic

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  • If Room Enough — Giggleswick School

Judges' Award for Devised Productions

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  • Inheritance Blues — Leeds

Judges' Award for Adaptation

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  • The Lives They Left Behind — North West Kent College

Judges' Awards for Acting

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  • Milly Falkner-Lee — Newcastle University
  • Marian Mandrade — Shota Rustaveli Theatre & Film State University, Georgia
  • Tom Coxon & Chloe Crenigan — Giggleswick School
  • Fridman & Zili-Hen Sacks — Kibbutzim, Israel
  • Mariel Petee — Harvard, America
  • Phoebe Sparrow — Leeds

Judges' Award for Sound

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  • Ayumi Higuchi — New National, Japan

Judges' Award for Lighting

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  • Jade Shaw — North West Kent College

Judges' Award for Costume

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  • Bronya Arciszewska — Oxford

Judges' Award for Design

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  • Moderate Light Fastness — Cologne University, Germany

Stage Electrics Award for Sound

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  • Sennheiser Rebecca Carter — Leeds

Stage Electrics Award for Lighting

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  • Martin Professional Emma Toozs — Hull University

Technical Achievement

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  • Shiri Stern — Birkbeck, London

Front of House Award

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  • James Barker & Freddy Porter — Hull, Scarborough Campus

Festgoers' Award

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  • Inheritance Blues — Leeds

References

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  1. ↑ "Birmingham Daily Gazette, BLA". Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  2. ↑ "EUTC Wiki reference on NSDF". Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  3. ↑ "SUS-NSDF 1963 listing". Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  4. ↑ "EUTC Wiki reference on SUS-NSDF". Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  5. ↑ "50 years of selected productions". Archived from the original on 15 July 2005. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  6. ↑ "NSDF 22... IS COMING!".
  7. ↑ "NSDF25: Making It!".
  8. ↑ NSDF Team https://www.nsdf.org.uk/about-us/the-team
  9. ↑ NSDF, Website. "National Student Drama Festival | Noises Off". Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  10. ↑ RASHDASDH
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'
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