Students from the BA (Hons) Acting for Stage & Screen present InterACT Festival 2024! Two evenings of new, diverse and exciting work. InterACT Festival is an annual theatre showcase created by students across our Acting & Film, TV & Theatre departments and features different works created by final year students on each evening spanning the genres.

Audience members can expect themes that touch upon social media, sex, relationships and more; Writer and director of ‘Truth/Lie’ Shauna Coleman who will be presenting her work Tuesday 19th March (see the trailer below), explained that her work is: “is a multimedia piece about dishonesty and communication in relationships and the effect that social media has on people’s perceptions of each other.” Speaking of working on the piece she commented “Rehearsals are going well. We are preparing to film the scenes that will be projected onto a screen, to be shown alongside the actors onstage. The cast are all brilliant to work with. It’s fun!”

Darcey Dawson-Taylor, creative lead for ‘Sex, Mayonnaise and the Clitosaurus’ an “absurdist comedy which aims to make people laugh and cringe” about “sex and the preconceptions and behaviour we have towards it both culturally and socially,” mentioned the importance of enjoying the rehearsal process. She commented: “We have a boogie and laugh because otherwise doing a play about sex would be really jarring. We keep it light but we also want to make the best play possible so we work hard, and it’s all about balancing the two.”

InterACT has been an important learning curve for students and offering them the opportunity to work in a professional environment for a live audience. Speaking of the festival  Senior Lecturer Jonny Bussell said: “This is the fourth year of ARC hosting our InterACT theatre festival.  It is an opportunity for our third years to showcase their work in a professional venue ahead of graduation. The pieces are really varied in style and theme, the students have worked incredibly hard to develop their work and I’m sure it’ll be two great nights of theatre.”

The performances take place over two evenings Tuesday 19th March & Thursday 21st March. Scroll to find out more about the performances and view InterACT 2024 trailers:

We’ve Been Here Before

Thursday 21st March 2024

Written and Directed by Luke Swainson

Synopsis: 4 clowns. 1 bank. Prepare to have your bloody doors blown off.

TRUTH/LIE

Tuesday 19th March 2024

Directed by Shauna Coleman

Synopsis: One phone call. Two friends. Two tricky situations. And not a lot of honesty. Watch this disrupted narrative unfold whilst you wonder, when will the truth come to light? TRUTH/LIE, a multimedia piece where bonds are broken, but friendships never die.

The Last Hurrah

Tuesday 19th March 2024

Written and Directed by Lucus McNally

Synopsis: What goes on behind the closed doors of one ordinary family? A mother and father both struggling to make ends meet. And a daughter preparing to leave their home and start afresh at Manchester University. For this family – their lives begin to crumble as one week destabilises faster than they could have ever imagined…

The Family

Tuesday 19th March 2024

Written and Directed by Niamh Henry

Synopsis: A revenge drama focussing on a crime family looking at the trials and tribulations that unfold when planning a heist.

Sex, Mayonnaise and The Clitosaurus

Thursday 21st March

Created and performed by Darcey Dawson, Luke Swainson and Abbi Mercer

Synopsis: Let’s talk about sex, baby. An absurdist comedy exploring sex… because let’s be real. Sex is weird.

You. Don’t. Think.

Thursday 21st March 2024

By Alex Jade Wallace

Synopsis: The days are long but the nights are even longer. Thoughts keeping you up at night? Longing for dreams that never come but getting nightmares that never leave. Is it all going to be worth it at the end? The world is always moving, and this physical theatre piece aims to reflect the struggles of sleep.

All performances are 15+ recommended. Book your ticket on ARC website here. This showcase is Pay What You Decide and post show there is an opportunity to give feedback on the pieces which will be really helpful for the students’ progress and development. Interested in studying acting at degree level? Find out about our degree BA (Hons) Acting for Stage & Screen today!