IN ASSOCIATION WITH THEATRE

TREADING THE BOARDS Rowena McIntosh nds the best places for students to express their theatrical side

I n a country that hosts the biggest arts festival in the world, (the Fringe), it's logical that there would be a thriving tradition of student theatre. These societies are all student run and aren't just for those who love the limelight, with opportunities in playwriting, stage management, directing, lighting and sound production.

Student Theatre at Glasgow, neatly abbreviated to STaG, is the University of Glasgow's theatre society. STaG runs two annual festivals, STaG Nights and New Works, with the winning production at New Works taken to the Edinburgh Fringe. This year it was gangster comedy, A Dog's Tale. New Talent Nights is designed for new members, with auditions held

in freshers' week.

The Cecilian Society specialise in musical theatre. They open the 2016 semester with the ambitious The Brain From Planet X, with plans to perform Elvis musical All Shook Up in 2017. Over at Strathclyde University, Re-act Theatre Group aims to give students from all departments a chance to l ex their theatrical muscles. They host workshops to hone your skills before rehearsals begin. Last year's productions included A Christmas Carol and Alice in Wonderland.

On the east coast, the Edinburgh University Theatre Company are based at the entirely student-run Bedlam Theatre. The company puts on a staggering 40-plus shows a year and hosts

regular creative workshops covering everything from playwriting to lighting.

As

their name hopefully suggests, the Edinburgh University Shakespeare Company are geared specii cally towards performing Shakespeare's work. They host a yearly production of one of the Bard's texts as well as workshops in adapting Shakespeare.

Theatre Paddock are based at the University of Edinburgh but welcome members from various universities and colleges. They put on experimental productions, one each semester, as well as an annual run at the Fringe, where this year they staged the i rst amateur version of Bush Moukarzel's absurd tragedy Lippy. 1 Sep–3 Nov 2016 THE LIST 123