Drama students at the University of Sussex are preparing for the fifth annual Drama Finalist Performance Festival this week – with a virtual twist. 

For the second year in a row, due to the ongoing pandemic, students were faced with a new challenge: to devise their projects and prepare creative outputs which could be experienced online.  

The results, 10 highly innovative and contemplative audio and/or visual experiences, will be shared online from today (Wednesday 21 April) as part of the Finalist Performance Festival.  

Dr Jason Price, Head of Drama at the University of Sussex, said: “This is the Drama Department’s third significant public output since the pandemic began – and each time we have grown in confidence in adapting our theatre-making skills and approaches for virtual/mediatised forms. We are really proud of the results and hope you enjoy the work.”

The performances range in topic, with some addressing the ongoing situation of uncertainty and disruption in our everyday lives. The projects include explorations of the contrast between the beautiful and the monstrous; what dictates the archetype of perfection; a love letter to Brighton which seeks to understand that water is not just an object but also a performing body alongside us; and an audio-visual performance developed from Samuel Beckett’s ‘Krapp’s Last Tape and Other Shorter Plays’ that seeks to create a discourse in navigating a pandemic world in which nothing feels normal, familiar or certain.

The digital festival is being hosted by the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, whose team provided digital and creative support to the students as they faced the challenge of rehearsing and performing within lockdown.  

Dr Price said: “This work would not be possible without the generous support from the ACCA team: Beth O’Leary, Melissa Cox and Laura McDermott. The pandemic has revealed something that perhaps we’ve always known about the ACCA: it is far more than a venue – it’s an enabler and cheerleader of creativity whatever the weather.

"Huge thanks also go to the Drama staff and students for their hard work not only this term, but across the last year where we’ve had to adapt, learn and innovate together since working collaboratively in studio spaces has not been consistently possible.”

To watch the finalists' performances, audiences can log on from 1pm on Wednesday 21 April and choose where to begin.

Alternatively, for a true festival feel, the Sussex Drama social media channels will be posting links to performances along a set schedule across three days. For this option, the Drama department can be found on Facebook @SussexDrama or on Instagram @Sussex_Drama_BA.  

To watch online at your own pace, and to check the list of performances, visit https://www.attenboroughcentre.com/events/3984/drama-finalists-performance-festival-2021