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Durham students continue to excel in sport, theatre, music and volunteering activities, and 2012–13 has been a year to remember for all the right reasons.
DURHAM STUDENT THEATRE
Spotlight on the Durham Revue
Durham’s theatre scene goes from strength to strength with a show on virtually every night of term. Durham University Light Opera Group started 2013 with a flashback to the 1980s with its production of Fame at the Gala Theatre.
Durham’s comedy scene has once again been on the up this year, culminating in the Durham Revue ALLSTARS show, featuring some of the best sketches of the last three years and alumni who have gone on to make waves in the world of comedy.
Durham Drama Festival, now in its 38th year, showcased the best of student writing, with ten plays performed in a week, along with workshops and awards ceremonies. Durham University Classical Theatre Company presented The Trojan Woman; Ooook! Productions showcased Terry Pratchett’s Thief of Time; Kronos Productions produced God of Carnage; and at Queen’s Campus the Infinity Musical Theatre Company entertained audiences with Spring Awakening.
In collaboration with current students, alumni Kieran Boyd (Arts Combined, Hatfield, 2005-09), Naz Osmanoglu (English Lit., Van Mildert, 2005-08), Nick Mohammed (Geophysics, St Aidan’s, 2000-03) and The Gentlemen of Leisure (Tom Neenan (English Lit., Grey, 2004-07) and Nish Kumar (English and History, Grey, 2004-07) produced yet another highly acclaimed show.
Over the summer, Durham theatre hits the road and seven Durham shows will feature at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, while Castle Theatre Company will take its performance of As You Like It on tour around the UK and to selected venues in the USA.
DURHAM STUDENT MUSIC Throughout the year, the University Chamber Choir, Choral Society and College Chapel Choirs have sung in venues around Durham, and the Symphony Orchestra, University Big Band, Hill Orchestra, Concert Band and Palatinate Orchestra have amazed audiences with their talent and ability. Durham University Music Society presented an evening celebrating the best of Durham’s music at the Sage in Gateshead with performances from the University Chamber Choir, Light Opera Group, folk societies, college music societies, and the University string quartet. The Opera Ensemble also returned to the Great Hall in Castle with an exceptional performance of The Merry Widow.
Building on the success of an ALLSTARS show several years ago, current Durham Revue President Stefanie Jones (English Literature, Castle, 2010-13) says she ‘wanted to bring together all the best bits of the Durham Revue from the past few years’.
VOLUNTEERING AND OUTREACH Staff and students have contributed thousands of hours to North East communities through the continued success of our volunteering programmes. In a new venture, Team Durham Community utilised the fantastic facilities at Maiden Castle and the dedication of student sportcoaches and volunteers to run a series of sport and activity camps over the Easter holidays. Offering young people the opportunity to take part in new activities, including rowing camps, multi-sports camps and ‘Bounce and Shout’ activities, the events were such a success that five weeks of summer holiday sports camps are now planned.
The Durham Revue has an illustrious past, and can trace its roots back to the 1950s. But a society dedicated solely to producing sketch comedy was not established until 1973, when Durham University Sensible Thespians (DUST) was founded. In 1977, under the presidency of Arthur Bostrom, DUST took its first show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and this inaugural Fringe show included John Inge (Bishop of Worcester) and Jennie Campbell (former BBC comedy producer). The group has continued to take a show to the Fringe every year, changing its name to the ‘Durham Revue’ in 1988. Today the Durham Revue is a small society, will only six to eight members at any one time. Auditions take place each Michaelmas term and although generally new members have little experience of sketch comedy, they learn from their ‘elders’. The Revue writes all of its material and performs at least two shows a year in Durham, one with its counterparts from Cambridge and Oxford.
To build on the Olympic and Paralympic legacy left after last summer’s Games, student volunteers planned and organised an inaugural talent-spotting event for disabled athletes. The event gave participants the opportunity to try new sports and work with coaches from national governing bodies, and we hope that we may have been able to help find the next paralympians. Alumni and friends are always welcome at any of our events and activities. For more information, visit www.durham.ac.uk/ experiencedurham