Page 253 - Guildhall Coverage Book 2020-21

Livesey worries about the toll on mental health and the effect on ambition. “University offers
training for the next generation of theatre-makers, and if student drama goes bust then we have a
big problem ahead in the next 10 years.”

He points me in the direction of Henry Berry, 21, in his final year studying classics at Balliol. Berry
was planning to stage a production of Brian Friel’s Molly Sweeney in the summer – it got pushed
to the autumn and now hangs in the balance next year. He believes the choices available to tyro
directors have shrunk owing to Covid – “It’s hard for students to get the performance rights to
published plays because streaming won’t be allowed. We’re more or less limited to Shakespeare
and new writing.” The government's mood-music ("Fatima's next job could be in cyber") hasn’t
helped: “There’s a sense that theatre is expendable.”

Set against that sobering assessment, there’s still resilience and idealism to be found. Despite
being a resident of the Murano student village at Glasgow University – which hit the headlines in
September after hundreds of students were forced to quarantine – Leah Francis, 20, from
Northern Ireland, exudes good cheer as she reflects on her first term studying English literature
and theatre studies.

Not even getting Covid dashed her spirits: “I have four years here, so there’s no rush. You have to
make the most of the situation you’re in. Zoom has opened up opportunities we didn’t see coming.
It’s good to have to think outside the box.”

Restricted to online projects since March, the university’s oldest drama society Student Theatre at
Glasgow (STAG) has mounted a digital new writing festival this week. In her contribution, Francis
plays a young woman who finds her soulmate while on Zoom – “We recorded our romantic scene
outside in the rain! I loved it.”