If you were to fall out of a boat in the North Sea, which playwright would you choose to rescue you? Anton Chekhov might have been a dab hand at CPR, but would he have been able to haul you back on deck like the towering figure of Arthur Miller? Or maybe you'd prefer the famously buoyant Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
I would imagine this is not a question most people have given much thought to but allow me to introduce James Phillips into the equation. Phillips has a powerboat license, a first aid certificate, and has been specifically trained to rescue people from the water safely. Not to mention the major awards he has for playwriting.
Phillips is the current artistic director of the National Student Drama Festival, and also works with the trailblazing site-specific theatre company Slung Low. He recently wrote Flood, a four-part multi-platform epic, which they produced as part of Hull's City of Culture 2017.
This was the project which led Phillips to be so highly qualified at sea. The centrepiece of the production was a live performance on the water at Victoria Dock in Hull, but also consisted of a film broadcast on BBC2, a short film (available on YouTube), and a number of audio plays.
Inspiring the next generation
2020 will be Phillips' second year as the artistic director of the National Student Drama Festival, and he is working hard to reach out to more young people across the country than ever.
‘If you're a kid from wherever the hell you're from, but you want to try and do this – to make stuff for a living, then we want to help you to do that. We want to allow you to access the people who are going to help you, and to meet people who genuinely do it.’
Wherever you're from, if you want to make theatre for a living, then we want to help you
This has been the mission statement of NSDF since it was established in 1956, conceived as a practical way for young people to share their work and find a route into the industry.
‘It's the best bridge yet invented between being a young person who wants to work in this industry, to being a young person who finds their home in the industry.’
Groups of young people, who have a show that they would like to be considered for the festival – whether they are in education or not – are encouraged to apply. For a fee of £98, a member of the selection team will come and watch your performance and give an hour's feedback and comment on your piece.
A rich offering
Around twelve shows will be selected to perform at the festival alongside 100+ workshops, Q&A sessions, and various other events that allow young people to engage with professional theatre.
The festival is set up to facilitate conversations between emerging and established talent
Students engage in daily discussion
RashDash, Chris Thorpe, Simon Stephens, Timberlake Wertenbaker and April de Angelis are just a few of the names that were in attendance last year, and as the programme states, this is a festival with no VIP area. The festival is set up to facilitate conversations between emerging and established talent, and with all of the venues within walking distance around Leicester city centre, there's no reason why anyone couldn't access some top-level advice.
There is also the chance that applicants may be selected as an individual to take part in the Festival Company. This is a group made up of young people who NSDF think would benefit from being part of a working theatre company.
This year especially, Phillips is keen to honour the ‘national’ in NSDF, so he has appointed regional ambassadors, and is keen to hear from groups all over the country.
Phillips's work as a playwright frequently taps into deeply political and often mythic stories and presents them on a vast canvas, so it's no surprise that he feels so passionately about another big project that has the power to change lives.
‘I think that the root of why our job is useful to people is because it takes you out of yo urself. And that act enlarges you and can enlarge the world. Imagination is the vital part of this, and its why NSDF is vital, because that act of imagination will open up entire worlds for people. That's why I think its worth doing. And certainly with this particular festival that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to open up worlds for people.’
To find out more, enter a show or download an info pack for school groups, visit: www.nsdf.org.uk. The 2020 NSDF will run from April 4 to 14 April.