So how did it all begin? Will Popplewell shares his first memories of Cambridge theatre: “I auditioned for the first Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society (CUMTS) show of the year because I was a super-keen fresher, so when it came to the Freshers’ Fair I made a beeline for the theatre stalls and got the audition times. I naively turned up to my audition for Funny Girl with a backing track on my iPod – transposed into a nice easy key – only to find out that was not how accompaniment seems to work in Cambridge. I was lucky enough that the Musical Director had the music for my song, but in the original key.”

Lian Wilkinson, self-proclaimed ‘Queen of Props’, was even more on the ball in getting her foot in the stage door: “One day after receiving my A-level results and getting into Cambridge, was the day I signed up to stage manage my first ADC show, When the Rain Stops Falling. That was perhaps the most obvious indicator of just how theatre-driven my Cambridge years would become, along with the suitcase of black clothes I brought with me that resembled the essential starter kit for the avid funeral-goer.”

Lian goes on to explain how she well and truly caught the ‘theatre bug’: “I tried my hands at other ‘techie’ roles such as producing and lighting designing, but it wasn’t until second year that my props came calling. Every theatre person has their own wacky stories to tell, with mine rooted deeply in the props department. These involve casually stowing an airport trolley in the back of a friend’s car and walking along Silver Street with a coffin and some bemused actor-pallbearers. In fact, my post became a guessing game between the Downing porters and myself, working out what my directors had asked for next.”

But preparing for a show is not always plain sailing. As Rose Reade recalls, “the first rehearsal I ever did was for the Freshers’ play, The Penelopiad, and we were choreographing a fight scene. Marco Young had to pretend to hit my head on the floor, but then accidently really hit my head on the floor. I had a bruise there for weeks.”

Likewise, Technical Directors encounter their fair share of mishaps. Zach Bond recounts a particular incident from How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying: “Following the tech rehearsal, I learnt the dangers of 9V batteries when I discovered I had left one in my coat pocket, having changed microphone batteries earlier that day. It had subsequently short-circuited on a coin and, by the time I found it, was starting to smoke. Another 10 minutes and I could have gone up in flames. Not such a good idea in a lecture theatre of 300 undergraduates!”

Despite a few hiccups, everything works out alright on the night – right? Sarah Driver reminisces about her first production as part of the band at the ADC Theatre, Mother Courage and Her Children: “The preset involved the army band relaxing whilst off-duty, and in my lackof-acting-skill-induced panic, I thought pretending to sleep would be the best course of action. Not only is it really hard to ignore the audience members coming in, but by the end of the week I was sufficiently tired that I actually fell asleep on stage. Jolted awake to play, I jumped a mile to the great amusement of the audience.”

Zach equally shares some of his low-tech and makeshift solutions come show time: “of particular note was the use of a disco ball during Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. This required one hapless individual to run as quietly as possible along the roof space to the front of Magdalene Cripps Auditorium to physically spin the ball before running all the way back to lower it down using a, somewhat precarious, pulley system.”

And what will these finalists take away from their theatre experiences? Looking back on her time in Cambridge, Sarah sums up the impact of her 25 shows: “I’m sad to be finishing my PhD and leaving the student theatre scene behind. Not only do you get to play challenging and exciting music with a team of wonderful people, you learn so much from the overall experience. I would never have had the confidence to stand on stage had I not been involved in theatre and I’ve been pushed outside of my comfort zone so often that I now enjoy it.”

Similarly, Will looks back with fondness on his theatre achievements: “Obviously I have so many amazing memories from performing in Cambridge, and CUMTS has been an amazing society for that, but one of the most rewarding things was directing Godspell. Working on the ‘other side’ of the show was eye opening and naturally hard work at times, but the rewards were unique. To place my trust in this cast that I had cobbled together – and even more, to have them put their trust in me – gave the production a life and purpose that I won’t quickly forget.”

As for the future of Cambridge theatre, Rose encourages students to continue experimenting and pushing themselves: “My favourite theatre to perform in is the Corpus Playroom; it is such an interesting and challenging space. What has been so brilliant about performing in Cambridge is getting to experiment with shows and parts that I probably would never get to play in the real world.”

And Lian – any final comments? “College drama is certainly something to look out for, with shows outside the ADC continuing to demonstrate that any space can become a venue for theatre. This year saw Shakespeare in Emmanuel Chapel and devised theatre in King’s Chapel, offering the variety that Cambridge theatre is famous for.

“With May Week shows dotted across Cambridge college gardens, it’ll be exciting to see where we’ll find a production next: perhaps a bit of Molière in the University Library, anyone?”