Play! is the annual festival of culture showcasing music, theatre, poetry, creative writing, art and more, created and performed by Royal Holloway students and staff.

Play! 2015 promises an intense programme, with over 20 free performances, events and exhibitions packed into 3 days. With drama performances, contemporary and classical music, new writing, open air theatre, talks, tours and exhibitions there is something for everyone.

Music
Music in the Boilerhouse Auditorium will include performances by the Royal Holloway Chamber Orchestra and Sinfonietta and a lunchtime concert from the exuberant young brass quintet ‘Can’t Be Brassed’. Enjoy original compositions including a recital and performance Seule dans L’Obscurite and a Modular Synthesizer Concert with Future Sound Systems.

The festival will culminate with an unmissable chance to enjoy a free concert by the superb Royal Holloway Symphony Orchestra performing the festival’s unmissable finale conducted by Rebecca Miller in the Windsor Building Auditorium.

Drama
Performances will include Before They Told You What You Are, an adaptation of Euripides’ Bacchae by ‘By Jove’ a Royal Holloway alumni theatre company; Heart of Darkness Revisited, three conceptual poems looking at translation and the internet; and a Shakespeare Society production of The Tempest, by first year students.

New drama works will include Bench, an outdoor performance exploring contemporary issues and The Spider, a one-act play examining controversial relationships.

‘Fringe events’ on campus include ‘Burning Bulb Theatre’ presenting The Beachcomber, a collection of extracts from the work of Cornish playwright Nick Darke, in Jane Holloway Hall and open-air theatre performed by ‘The Student Workshop’, the Drama Department Student Society.

Don’t miss the full programme of Play! events around campus:

Immerse yourself in the world of science fiction with a talk from award-winning author, and Royal Holloway academic, Professor Adam Roberts.

Discover Royal Holloway’s dramatic past through a display featuring the College Archives’ drama collections in the Boilerhouse Foyer, plus visit the Archives Reading Room to view original archive material.

Visit the Magna Carta and the loss of liberties in Victorian art exhibition in the Picture Gallery and join an exhibition highlights tour.

View students’ work at the Royal Holloway Art Society exhibition in the Windsor Building Foyer.

Enjoy food and music from around the world at our lively annual International Music Feast (Royal Holloway students only).