City of Plymouth Festival

2023 Festival of Dance, Speech & Drama, and Music.

Speech & Drama
at City of Plymouth Festival

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City of Plymouth Speech & Drama Festival Performer

The 2023 City of Plymouth Speech and Drama Festival

We are very pleased to announce that the Speech and Drama Festival opens on Monday November 12th and runs for 6 days, closing at lunch time on Friday 17th November.

As usual, it is being held at the Future Inn, PL6 5ZD. Directions to the Future Inn are available on this page.

The 2023 Speech and Drama syllabus can be downloaded from the “Important Documents” section at the top of this page.

Vivienne Redford

We are pleased to announce that our Speech and Drama adjudicator is:

Vivienne Redford

Qualifications: L.L.A.M. F.R.S.A. M.S.T.S.D. (Adj)

Vivienne has studied Speech and Drama since the age of four and has been teaching the subject since 1980. She is Head of Speech and Drama at a large independent girl’s school in Bedford. She is also the Principal of the Redford School of Speech and Drama, established in 1982, training children and adults of all ages in all aspects of the performing arts and communication. Many of her former students perform in TV, film and theatre around the world and in major West End productions, the Globe, the RSC and the National Theatre. Others are pursuing careers as teachers of Speech and Drama, Theatre Directors and Technicians.

Vivienne has produced and directed a diverse range of musical and theatrical productions, and particularly enjoys writing and devising original and creative theatre with her senior students. For the past twenty years, she has organized and directed a widely-acclaimed summer school for students aged 7 to 21, which culminates in a commissioned play written for, and performed by, the students who attend.

Vivienne is an examiner for the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, a Council member of the Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama and an Adjudicator member of the British and International Federation of Festivals travelling extensively throughout the UK, Ireland and the Channel Islands. She is currently a Speech & Drama representative on the Adjudicators Council.

She has recently been awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts in recognition of her extensive work in Speech & Drama, particularly with young people.

She is a former secretary and now a Vice-President of the Bedfordshire Festival of Music, Speech and Drama which has given her a clear understanding and insight into the work, energy and commitment that Festival organizer’s, teachers and pupils put into making their Festivals a success.

When not working (which is a rare occurrence) Vivienne enjoys seeing as much theatre as possible, reading, particularly books for children and young adults, cooking and relishes spending time with her family.

She is looking forward to adjudicating at the Festival and hopes that it will be a memorable and happy occasion for all those taking part.

The Safe Return of all Festival Cups and Trophies

Auditing and preparing returned cups ready for presentation is a mammoth task and requires a lot of time, effort and space.

The cups and trophies needing to be returned by October 1st are those which had been presented in the previous years, that’s the 2022 Music, Speech and Drama festivals.

So, to support and make this task as easy as possible for our Cup Secretary Carolyne, we ask that the Music, Speech and drama cups and trophies awarded in 2022, are returned to her by the 1st of October 2023 at the latest.

Cups and trophies should be engraved with the name of the performer who had won the class and had been presented with the award. Similarly, the names of all performers in duet, trio and quad classes should be engraved on the award.

The cup or trophy should then be returned to Carolyne.

Cups and trophies can be delivered in person to Carolyne’s home address and left in the labelled box in her back garden. Or, they can be boxed, carefully wrapped and posted to the address below:

If you have any queries regarding the return of your cup or trophy, please contact Carolyne. You can also contact her to make a personal arrangement. She is always very helpful.

Supervision of Performers

Please remember that for the duration of a festival all teachers, parents, guardians and carers are responsible for the continuous care and supervision of their own children or pupils. If they are unable to attend personally, they must delegate their responsibilities to an identified adult and ensure that their children or pupils are aware of the identity and name of the person responsible for their care. This includes supervision throughout all Festival venues, performance and practice and changing areas that are be provided.

For your information, please read Plymouth festival’s Safer Festivals Statement which can be downloaded from the Important Documents section at the top of this page.

The Festival Performance

The Festival experience differs from the examination situation in that it offers participants the opportunity to perform on a public stage in front of an audience and receive a mark and feedback from a qualified adjudicator.

The adjudicator will therefore look for a complete performance, including attention to dress, entrances and exits, announcing and acknowledging both applause and, where appropriate, the accompanist.

Please remember to use our website and Facebook and Twitter pages to receive notifications regarding all three of our festivals.