Act One is Cardiff’s largest drama society.
Every year we put on several productions, all ranging in a variety of genres, and also host our award-winning annual night of original writing - Staging a Coup! If you enjoy acting, dancing, singing, socialising, or are interested in helping backstage with costumes, make-up, set design, publicity, stage management, sound or lighting, then we are the society for you!
Previously winner of 'Best Large Society' for three years in a row, we have a reputation for our friendly atmosphere, impressive productions, imaginative socials (including our annual abroad/domestic trip), and the Act One Ball! We also run smaller-scale productions, workshops and open mic nights. So if you're a fresher and want to direct - or if you don’t get cast in a main production - there are still plenty of opportunities to get involved.
Last year, we delivered a total of 6 productions; Yellow Brick Road Panto, Variety Night: Women in Theatre, Much Ado About Nothing, Staging a Coup, The 39 Steps, and Twisted the Musical. We're super excited for another year of shows, with old and new talent on stage!
Want to get in touch?
If you are interested in joining Act One or have any questions please contact a member of the Committee through Facebook, or send a message to our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ActOneDramaSociety
You can also keep up to date with our current events on our Facebook group: ACT ONE 2022/23: https://www.facebook.com/groups/427461412567331
N.B. If you are not a Cardiff University student and wish to purchase a ticket for one of our productions you can do so by creating a 'temporary account'.
Get Involved!
There's something for everyone - so come along to our auditions and/or crew sign-ups when they arrive.
WINTER SHOW SEASON...
JUNGLE JUICE
Jungle Juice is the classic Act One Panto, set on a freshers first night out at JUICE. Following the story of the Jungle Book, a fresher named Mowgli, experiences his first night out at Cardiff University, meeting a whole host of different people, from rugby boys, to rah girls, it’s a night that he and you won’t forget. With some interactive theatre and some enthusiastic characters the show, which will be performed in the basement of one of Cardiff’s most popular gay clubs, is one you definitely don’t want to miss this Christmas!
T/W of strong language and sexual acts.
DIRECTORS: Sian Howells and Joe McCartney
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Tim Winterborn
MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Rhiannon Green
DATE: 1st, 2nd and 3rd of December, 2022
LOCATION: Pulse, Cardiff
VARIETY NIGHT: A NIGHT OF NOSTALGIA
Variety Night: A Night of Nostalgia to raise money for Ty Hafan, a Welsh charity for children specialising in palliative care. Our show will consist of a range of songs from musicals, monologues and poems which will all make you feel fuzzy with memories from your own childhood.
DIRECTOR: Miah Herford
PROUDCTION MANAGER: Anesha Hamood
MUSICAL DIRECTORS: Lucie Rhiannon Williams and Oisin O'Maolain
DATE: Sunday 19th February. Matinee: Doors open at 14:00 pm for a 14:30pm start. Evening: Doors open at 18:00pm for a 18:30pm start.
LOCATION: Cardiff University School of Music
A FEW GOOD MEN
A Few Good Men follows the trial of two US Marines charged with the murder of a fellow Marine at Guantanamo Bay. Put on the case is Lt. Daniel Kaffe, known for seeking plea bargains, nevertheless, Lt. Cdr. Jo Galloway convinces him to take the case to court, and with further investigation, all suspicions lead back to one man. Full of suspense, A Few Good men will leave you questioning honesty, integrity, and what it means to live by a code of honour.
DIRECTOR: Alicia Pearson
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Billy Edwards
DATE: 2nd, 3rd and 4th of March, 2023
LOCATION: Temple of Peace, Cardiff
SPRING SHOW SEASON...
IT COULD BE ANY ONE OF US
It Could Be Anyone Of Us takes place in the 1960s English country home of the Chalke familiy of failures; home to a composer, a writer, a painter, a detective and a wayward teenager. Based as a murder mystery, the play has pace, timing, humour and layered characters so that the audience are invested the while way through. By the end of the play, the detetive thinks he knows the culprit, but it is the audience who are in charge of one of three possible endings, and indeed, who the murderer is (and the victim!) are all things you will have to see the play to find out!
DIRECTORS: Caitlin Richards and Libbi Kettle
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Chris Holt
DATE: TBC
LOCATION: TBC
POSH
In an oak-panelled room in Oxford, ten young bloods with cut-glass vowels and deep pockets are meeting, intent on restoring their right to rule. Members of an elite student dining society, the boys are bunkering down for a wild night of debauchery, decadence and bloody good wine. But this isn't the last huzzah: they're planning a takeover. Welcome to the Riot Club. They play is full of high energy, chaotic and hilarious drama, and will ultimately leave the audience wondering, what does it mean to be POSH?!
DIRECTOR: Will Connor
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Miah Herford
DATE: TBC
LOCATION: TBC
THE BOOMERANG EFFECT
The boomerang effect is a comedy consisting of five interelated short plays that peeks into the sex lives of five different couples in various bedroom scenarios. It explores the many universals that occur in every relationship, while examining the trickier issues that can test a couples durability such as scenery, infidelity, power struggles, miscommunication and sexual imcompatibility. While wrestling their individual predicaments, each couple also unknowingly ends up exacerbating the tensions of the other relationships, until their seemingly innocuous interferences come back to smack them in the face. As one the character's puts it: 'every decision we make becomes just another link in this endless chain of well-intentioned disasters we call life'.
DIRECTORS: Rhiannon Austin and Chelsey Hughes
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Tim Winterborn
DATE: TBC
LOCATION: Pulse Nightclub
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