Term 3 began this week, and we certainly hit the ground running. First years are working on Chaos by Laura Lomas for National Theatre Connections, and this week we were joined by Assistant Director Kirsten Boardman, who is a second year student at Guildford School of Acting. Chaos will be performed at the Everyman on 5th & 6th February, and again at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff in late April.

Second years began the term with a trip to London to see Me & My Left Ball, written by and starring Jack James Ryan, who, following the workshop he ran just before the Christmas holidays, very generously gave them all free tickets. In the play, which is closely based on Jack’s own experiences, he plays the role of Alfie, a young man with no responsibilities. He’s living a carefree life moving from one drunken night with his mates to another. Then he discovers he has testicular cancer. Despite the serious subject matter, the play was hilarious. It’s brilliantly written, and is incredibly moving. Our second years absolutely loved it, and it led to some serious discussion about the nature of masculinity, friendships and mental health issues as well as about cancer. We are very grateful to Jack for giving us the tickets – it’s an important play, and it was fantastic to go to London and see something that is challenging and exciting. We’ll be watching closely to see where it goes next.

It’s also the beginning of drama school audition season, and our second years will be across the country in the next few weeks attending auditions and interviews. Keeping everything crossed for them – more news as we get it!