The University boasts 30 theatre societies, all led by talented students and supported by a dedicated staff team. These groups put on around 90 productions a year, including musicals, plays, opera, comedy and performance art in our University theatre, the Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms, and beyond, around Durham City.
With 20 all-University and 14 College-based societies, there is a place for all theatre makers at Durham University. Whether you come with plenty of acting experience, or you would like to try going backstage for the first time, discover your community and creativity in the diverse range of musical theatre, drama, comedy and more in the Durham theatre scene.
Durham Student Theatre enjoys access to the University's own Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre. Located right in the heart of historic Durham City, the 175 seat theatre started life as a ballroom, being redeveloped as a theatre in 1869 and acquired by the University in 1930. It has recently had a £2 million renovation and been the recipient of the Durham University environmental grant to bring it up to modern specifications, and a brand new LED lighting rig.
Student theatre and music societies also make good use of the city's main professional theatre, Gala Durham, such as an annual week-long run of a musical, which in recent years has included Anything Goes (2024), Hello Dolly! (2023), and Guys and Dolls (2022).
Groups will also perform in other venues and College spaces around the city, with some students also performing in Durham Castle on the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The performing arts team also make use of Durham Cathedral, with several major concerts each academic year, occasionally featuring student theatre practitioners alongside hundreds of student musicians. Recent examples include performances of extracts of Beauty and the Beast and the Hunchback of Notre Dame as part of the sell-out end-of-year performing arts concert.
Durham Drama Festival (DDF) is a week-long celebration of new student writing. Each year, up to nine brand-new plays are brought to life by companies of actors and crew. 2024 saw six performances, of which five toured other venues and festivals over the summer, including the Edinburgh Fringe.
Alongside a busy programme of performances in Durham City, there is a spectrum of other opportunities to get involved with theatre at Durham.
A full programme of annual workshops run by industry professionals and visiting drama school teachers help develop our students' skills for theatre and future professional practice. Alongside this are plenty of student-led for-fun workshops in everything from dance to improvised comedy to learn a new skill, or enjoy time with friends.
Performance-based opportunities are abundant. Several student groups perform at the National Student Drama Festival, as well as at other universities and competitions around the UK.
Each summer, several productions will also tour. In 2024, six student-led plays were presented at the annual Durham Fringe Festival, and there were 10+ new plays hitting the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival. From a College perspective, Castle Theatre Company completed a month-long tour of the south of England.
There are also opportunities to give back to the wider community through volunteering and outreach. Durham Student Theatre enjoys partnerships with several local schools, where student volunteers run drama workshops, and help the children put together their end of term plays.
Castle Theatre Company's 2023 tour of William Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.
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