Oxford University Dramatic Society
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| Founded | 1885 |
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| Home Page | OUDS |
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Officers 2016-2017 | |
| President | Christopher White, Magdalen College |
| Treasurer | Charles Pidgeon, Lady Margaret Hall |
| Secretary | James Tibbles, St Edmund Hall |
The Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England. Not all student productions at Oxford University are awarded funding from the society; however it is rare, for example, for any student production at the Oxford Playhouse not to receive substantial funding from the society. The society funds many types of shows, mostly at the Oxford Playhouse, Burton Taylor Theatre, and the individual college theatres such as the Moser Theatre at Wadham and the O'Reilly Theatre at Keble. All productions put on by Oxford University students can use the society's services, such as the website, the wardrobe, and advice from the committee.
The Society supports a competition for Freshers (Cuppers), held in Michaelmas Term and a New Writing Festival in Hilary Term. OUDS also supports an annual National UK Tour, which culminates in a long run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe[1] and, jointly with Thelma Holt, a Shakespeare production which tours Japan, with preview performances in the UK.[2]
The society was founded in 1885 by Alec MacKinnon.
During World War i, when some 200 Belgian refugees came to Oxford, the society lent its room to a 'Belgian Club'.[3]
Alumni
Many famous actors have participated in OUDS productions. For example, in 1907 professional actresses Lily Brayton and her sister Agnes appeared as Katherine and Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew;[4] John Gielgud made his directing debut at OUDS in 1932 with a production of Romeo and Juliet in which he enlisted professional actresses Peggy Ashcroft to play Juliet and Edith Evans to play the Nurse.[5] Another notable production was when Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor appeared in a production of Dr. Faustus in 1966 with undergraduates in the supporting cast.
Past members and people associated with OUDS productions include:
- Paul Almond
- Gethin Anthony
- Pierre Audi
- Rowan Atkinson
- Helen Atkinson-Wood
- Peter Bayley
- John Betjeman
- Will Bowen[6]
- Gyles Brandreth
- Richard Burton
- Kate Beckinsale
- Shirley Catlin
- Caryl Churchill
- Michael Codron
- Alan Cooke
- Alex Cox
- Jonathan Cullen
- Richard Curtis
- Thomas de Mallet Burgess
- George Devine
- Edith Evans
- Felix Felton
- Philip Franks
- Patrick Garland
- William Gaskill
- John Gielgud
- Peter Glenville
- Hugh Grant
- Tom Hooper
- David Jessel
- Felicity Jones
- Peter Kosminsky
- Nigel Lawson
- Harry Lloyd
- John Maud
- David Melamed
- Dudley Moore
- Stanley Myers
- Terence O'Brien
- Katherine Parkinson
- Roger Parry
- Esther Rantzen
- Diana Quick*
- Gervais Rentoul
- Gillian Reynolds*
- Tony Richardson
- John Schlesinger
- Thea Sharrock
- Maggie Smith
- Mel Smith
- Imogen Stubbs
- Mabel Terry-Lewis
- Kenneth Tynan
- Evelyn Waugh
- David William
- Emlyn Williams
- Dornford Yates
- Owain Yeoman
- Michael York
* Note that women could not formally join OUDS until the 1960s. Diana Quick was the first female OUDS President.
See also
References
- ↑ OUDS UK Summer Tour 2010, OUDS UK Summer Tour 2010, The Master and Margarita.
- ↑ About OUDS, Oxford University Dramatic Society.
- ↑ History of the University of Oxford: Volume VIII: The Twentieth Century - Oxford Scholarship. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198229742.001.0001.
- ↑ Review: The Taming of the Shrew. The Times, 7 February 1907.
- ↑ Gyles Brandreth, John Gielgud. Little, Brown & Co., 1984.
- ↑ Will Bowen, Noel Gay.
Further reading
- Carpenter, Humphrey, O.U.D.S.: A Centenary History of the Oxford University Dramatic Society 1885–1985, Oxford University Press, 1985 (ISBN 0-19-212241-X).
- OUDS 125th Anniversary Gala programme, Oxford Playhouse, 13 June 2010.