News

Last year was a rollercoaster for all of us. It’s hard to believe that 2022 has come to an end and that we’re already well into the new year. As we reflect on the past twelve months, we’re filled with gratitude for our Acting and Performance community here at Sheffield Hallam University and all that we’ve accomplished together: staff, students, collaborators, and our recent graduates 🎓👏👏.

From those early days in January last year when our then level 6 students eagerly set to work on their final projects for the Change Makers festival, to our powerful production of Chris Bush’s Pericles, directed by Dr. Fraser Stevens and presented at Sheffield Theatres in October for Off the Shelf Festival of Words, we’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with so many amazing people and we’ve performed for incredibly diverse audiences.

We rounded the year off in December with a brilliant whole degree showcase featuring comedy, drama, and our spectacular collaboration with Stand and Be Counted Theatre company, which saw our Level 5 students occupy the bus interchange with the radical protest performance Enough! Check out this powerful video from the production! 

As we look to the year ahead, we’re excited to continue growing our student community and hope to build on the successes that have made us one of the top-ten universities in the UK for our subject.* That’s an achievement we should all feel proud of and it should give confidence to our final-year students as they prepare to take their next steps after university. We can’t wait to see what their future holds – but for now, we’re excited about the next part of our journey together.

What we've accomplished

From taking over the stage at the Crucible to dazzling audiences with brilliant onscreen performances for Screen Yorkshire, we’ve achieved so much together in the past twelve months. We watched proudly as our recent graduates collected their degrees in November, and we’ve worked with theatre companies from around the world to create unique multimedia experiences, whilst others of us have stepped outdoors and created spectacular performances in public spaces. 

We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve said goodbye to old friends and we've also welcomed some new faces, including new members of our teaching team, including Dr. Fraser Stevens, Dr. Sophie Swoffer, and Terry O’Connor from Forced Entertainment. Together, with myself, Dr. Sophie Bush, Dr. Kate Johnson, Neil Sissons, and Ashley Barnes, we’re continuing to develop our undergraduate training program so that we can provide more pathways for emerging talent to learn and grow.

Above all else, it’s been thrilling to see so many budding performers take to the stage and discover their own stories while the team has worked with them behind the scenes to help shape their personal narratives as future makers. 

Pericles show photography by Becky Payne. 

What's next?

As we move into the new year, we’re looking forward to capitalizing on the creative spirit that we’ve seen in 2022. We’re passionate about expanding our audiences and empowering our students to use acting and performance as a tool for social change.

We’ll be discovering new ways to create immersive experiences, from unusual bus journeys and creative conversations to virtual exhibits and interactive performances. We believe that the most powerful stories have yet to be written, and we’re committed to creating an environment that helps our students to bring those stories to life.

We’re also excited to launch a series of workshops and learning opportunities for our teaching team so that we can share knowledge with one another and the public, and work together to improve our craft. 

Keep your eyes and ears open – because amazing things are coming very soon, including news of Change Makers festival 2023!

* The Best UK Universities for Drama and Dance - the Guardian League Table.

Level 6 Acting and Performance group photo by the author (see top image).