The Peterborough Drama Festival returned on March 6 and 7 to showcase an exceptional range of talent, with performers taking part in choral speaking, acting, prose reading, verse speaking, duo acting, group acting and Shakespeare at the annual event.
The positive two-day festival saw more than 90 performers competing in individual syllabus classes, covering a full range of dramatic arts and disciplines.
School groups also took part in a prose reading and choral speaking showcase on the Friday afternoon, adding to the vibrant community atmosphere.
The festival committee was delighted to welcome Beryl Whyatt, Eastern Region Representative from the British and International Federation of Festivals.
She enjoyed observing both the smooth running of the event and the high standard of entries, commenting that Peterborough hosts a “well-managed, well-run festival.”
This year’s professional adjudicator, Priscilla Morris, who is affiliated with the British and International Federation of Festivals, spoke highly of the entrants and praised their excellent expression throughout the competition.
She was particularly impressed by Ayden Taylor, a pupil from The Peterborough School, who portrayed Christopher from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time during his solo acting performance. Ayden delivered an outstanding performance, earning a score of 93.
He won his class and was awarded The Kathleen Munford Cup.
It was also another successful year for Betty Brown, a pupil from Abbots Ripton CofE Primary School. Betty won two trophies for her prose reading and verse speaking entries, receiving honours scores in both categories and being praised for her exceptional expression.
Festival Secretary Ben Newstead said: “We are very pleased with the success of this year’s festival. We would like to thank all parents, teachers and theatre schools who have trained and supported all entrants.
The number of entries has been reassuring that the festival remains a feature of the annual city calendar, and we hope to continue to grow when we return next year.”
He added that the festival syllabus will be released in the summer, with organisers looking forward to welcoming individual, school and theatre school entries to the 2027 festival.
Trophy-winners at the Prose Reading and Choral Speaking showcase were:
Lev Rubio Retchitski (Brewster Avenue School) – The Queen’s Birthday Cup for prose reading.
The Peterborough School (Year 2) – The Winfrey Cup for choral speaking.
Laxton Junior School (Year 6) – The King Charles Cup for choral speaking.
Trophy-winners at the Drama Festival syllabus classes were:
Betty Brown – The Alan Edgley Memorial Trophy for prose reading.
Yusra Laliwala – The Brendan H Cave Memorial Cup for prose reading.
Betty Brown – The Joyce Baker Cup for verse speaking.
Ayden Taylor – The Kathleen Munford Cup for solo acting.
Clara Gilbert & Haneefah Rafiq – The Millenium Cup for duo acting.
Maya Wakeling – The Theatre Promotions Cup for Shakespeare.
Harrison Whitty – The Sheila Anstee Trophy for prose reading.
Ayden Taylor – The June Horner Trophy for prose reading.
Sakeena Damani & Ella Rose – The President’s Cup for duo acting.
Vault Theatre Academy – The Tina Doyle Award for group acting.
Scripted Youth Theatre – The Joan Sutton Memorial Trophy for group acting.
Vault Theatre Academy – The Mark Wright Trophy for group acting.
Esa Hussein Damani – The Queen’s Jubilee Cup for verse speaking.
Georgia Taylor (Vault Theatre Academy) – The Dave Cupit Award for solo acting.
Miles Francis (Scripted Youth Theatre) – The Stamford Studio of Speech of Drama Trophy for solo acting.
Tovi Serino Jordan & Hattie Motton (Scripted Youth Theatre) – The Steve Cutts Trophy for duo acting.
The Peterborough Drama Festival, which has a legacy spanning decades in Peterborough, has set several local youngsters on the road to stardom, some appearing on the London stage, working on television productions and others pursuing drama and the performing arts as a career.
Further information about the Peterborough Drama Festival can be found online at www.peterboroughdramafestival.org.uk
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Facebook: pboroughdramafestival
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For other queries email the honorary secretary, Ben Newstead at pdfsecretary@hotmail.com
