Student Applications

Applications to stage a show in Easter 2025 are now open!
Photo by Paul Ashley Photography

Applications to stage a show in Easter 2025 are now open!

>> APPLY HERE <<

Key Dates:

  • Thursday 23 January 2025: Applications open.
  • Tuesday 11 February 2025: Applications close. You will not be able to make an application if you have not submitted it before midday on this day;
  • Saturday 15 - Sunday 16 February 2025: Most applicants will be invited to deliver a 5-minute pitch to discuss their application in more detail;
  • w/b Monday 17 February 2025: One of the panellists will read the script (where applicable), and questions based on the script, written application and pitch might be sent over to the applicant to respond via email towards the end of the week;
  • Saturday 22 - Sunday 23 February 2025: Most applicants for the ADC Mainshow slot are invited to a further, 20-minute interview. If you have applied for a different slot, you probably won't be invited to an interview, though please don't worry: we should have all the information we need to make a decision;
  • w/b Monday 24 February 2025: You will find out via email whether your application has been successful.

More information about the application process can be viewed below:

Applications Guide

For panto applications, please click here.

For non-student booking enquiries, please click here.

When applying, the application form will ask you for the following:

  • Your name, phone number and email address;
  • The name and author (if applicable) of the show;
  • A synopsis of the show, genre, age suitability (see more information below), and any content notes you want the panel to be aware of;
  • The expected cast size for the show;
  • The expected run time for the show (please bear in mind the durations of each of the slots you can apply for);
  • Whether your show has any intimacy content;
  • Your answers to the following questions:
    • Why are you passionate about your show?
    • What ideas do you have about the process of bringing your show to the stage?
    • How do you want the audience to react to the show?
    • What ideas do you currently have about ways to allow for diversity and inclusion in your production?
    • What are your ideas for marketing this production?
  • Any supplementary material, if necessary;
  • The slot and venue you would like to apply for (see the applications guide for more details);
  • Whether you would like your show to be considered for one of the suggested categories (see further down this page for more information);
  • Whether you would like your show to be considered for funding by one of our resident companies (see applications guide for more details). Please note that you do not need to worry about funding at the point that you apply for a show;
  • Your availability to give a five-minute pitch;
  • Your availability to conduct a twenty-minute interview to discuss your application further;
  • A 100-word "long" marketing blurb, a 20-word "short" marketing blurb, and a publicity image;
  • Details about how the panel can access the script (whether you decide to email it, provide a link to download, or deliver to the Administration Office prior to the application deadline. Please note that if applicable to your application, a script must be provided for your application to be considered);
  • Any adjustments that you require to the applications process;
  • Details about the applicant so that the ADC can publish anonymised data on the ethnicity, sexuality and disability of successful applicants (this part is entirely optional and any specific data provided will be kept confidential by the Theatre Manager).

What to consider before making an application

Rights

The rights-holders of most plays and musicals require you to purchase performing rights before a production can be staged.

Most rights for shows are held by the following three companies:

If you are looking at a show that is not held by one of these rightsholders, then you must check elsewhere whether amateur performance rights are available. If you are unsure whether the rights to your show are available, or if you have any questions, please get in touch here. If you are applying for any of the shows from the shortlists below you do not need to check rights as the Theatre Manager has already checked and secured them.

Please note that many rights agreements do not permit changes to be made to the show's script, period, setting, or characters (including their gender). If you wish to change these aspects within your production you will need to get in touch with the rightsholders in advance to see if this is possible. If you have any questions about this, please contact the Theatre Manager here.

Has the show been staged previously?

We are very unlikely to programme a show which has been on at the ADC Theatre or Corpus Playroom already in the last 5 years. Please check camdram.net for information on when shows have last been put on.

The ADC has an active programme outside of term time and a minority of these shows aren't listed on Camdram. If you are concerned about whether a show has been recently performed, please email us.

Available Slots

These are the slots we will be accepting applications for. More information about these slots can be found in the applications guide.

ADC Mainshows (Tuesday to Saturday at 7.45pm): Weeks 2-4, 7-8

ADC Lateshows (Wednesday to Saturday at 11pm): Weeks 1-4, 7-8

ADC One-Night Stands (Generally a Tuesday one-off show at 11pm): Weeks 1-4, 7-8

Corpus Playroom Mainshows (Tuesday to Saturday at 7pm): Weeks 2-4, 7-8

Corpus Playroom Lateshows (Wednesday to Saturday at 9.30pm): Weeks 2-4, 7-8

Corpus Playroom One-Night Stands (Tuesday one-off show at 9.30pm): Weeks 1-4, 7-8

ADC Bar Show (Sunday or Monday at 8pm): Weeks 1-4, 7-8

ADC Larkum Studio Show (Wednesday to Saturday at 8pm): Weeks 1-4, 7-8

Suggested Categories

Each term, the ADC show selection panel provides suggested categories that we would be keen to see applications for, in order to broader our season. For each of the categories below, a shortlist of shows has been selected which we encourage applications for. Rights for these shows have been checked already and they have been selected because we believe they are good examples of what we are looking for from shows in these categories, and that they would be fruitful and worthwhile projects to undertake. Links to read the scripts for these plays are included below if they are available to read online for free (the University of Cambridge allows students access to Drama Online for free). We will also try to make a copy of each script available in the CUADC Library in the Production Office. Nevertheless, the shortlists are NOT exhaustive and we invite applications for other shows, pre-existing or new writing, that fit these category headings.

We emphasise that you can apply with any show and that the below category headings only serve to act as a guide. If we do not receive any applications for a category, or if all applications in a category are not of sufficient quality the panel will revert to selecting from the open applications field to fill the slots. In all cases the quality of submissions will continue to be the guiding principle in show selection.

The following list are suggested pre-existing plays, but other existing plays can be applied for if the rights are available, or original writing if the rights for the source material are available or out of copyright.

  • A Skull in Connemara by Martin McDonagh
    • Mick and Mairton are gravediggers whose job is to disinter the bones of seven-year-old corpses and smash them to dust to make room for the new arrivals. Gossip has it that Mick murdered his wife, so Mick arranges that Tom, Mairton's policeman brother, should be at her disinterment. But the bones are missing. Mairton gives the game away by mentioning a locket which was buried with his wife — but Tom, desperate for promotion, turns a blind eye.
    • Rights available from Concord Theatricals - already secured
    • Script available to read online here or copy available in the CUADC Library
  • Tipping The Velvet by Laura Wade
    • Giddy with desire and hungry for experience, Nancy follows Kitty to London where unimaginable adventures await. Sarah Waters' debut novel, Tipping the Velvet was highly acclaimed and was chosen by The New York Times and The Library Journal as one of the best books of 1998. Reviewers have offered the most praise for Tipping the Velvet's use of humour, adventure, and sexual explicitness. The novel was adapted into a somewhat controversial three-part series of the same name produced and broadcast by the BBC in 2002.
    • Rights available directly from agent - already secured
    • Copy of script available in the CUADC Library
  • One of Them Ones by Charlie Josephine
    • “Frankie said we should do this, tell our story, cus yeah, it’s a mad one, and maybe someone might like it, and find it useful or whatever? So, that’s why we’re here…”
      An uplifting new play about two siblings living in a rural community trying to get their heads around gender identity. Frankie is desperate to be understood, accepted, loved. But LGBTQ alphabet soup has got Michael’s head spinning. Why’s it gotta be so complicated? Why can’t they understand? Why can’t things go back to the way they always were? Unpicking the complexities of identity and the fierce family love that hopefully holds us together.
    • Rights available from Concord Theatricals - already secured
    • Copy of script available in the CUADC Library
  • Hindle Wakes by Stanley Houghton
    • It’s holiday week in the Lancashire town of Hindle, just before the First World War. Fanny Hawthorn, a spirited, determined mill girl, has just returned from a weekend in Blackpool with her friend Mary Hollins. At least that’s what she tells her parents. In fact, she’s been spending the weekend with Alan Jeffcote, a wealthy mill owner’s son who is engaged to someone else. When Fanny’s parents discover the truth, they set out to ensure that Alan will do the decent thing and marry her – only to discover that Fanny has her own ideas on the matter…
      • Synopsis taken from here
    • This play is out of copyright and does not require performance rights
    • Script available to read online here
  • Other suggested authors:
    • Tom Wells
    • Shelagh Delaney
    • John Osbourne

The following list are suggested pre-existing plays, but other existing plays can be applied for if the rights are available, or original writing if the rights for the source material are available or out of copyright.

In this category we would be keen to see productions adapted from the works of, or inspired by female or non-binary authors from history, in particular the works of Jane Austen as 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of her birth. We have included in this list licensable adaptations of her works, but her novels are public domain so original adaptations are welcome.

  • The Complete Works of Jane Austen, Abridged by Jessica Bedford, Kathryn MacMillan, Charlotte Northeast and Meghan Winch
    • Three actors take on all of Austen’s beloved heroines, friends, and love interests – and her incisive social satire – in just 80 minutes. But when they lose a cast member, the two remaining Janeites must teach an understudy about her work. It is a truth universally acknowledged that an audience in possession of high spirits must be in want of a ticket to this big-hearted comedy that will delight Austen fans and newcomers alike.
    • Rights available from Concord Theatricals - already secured
  • Pride and Prejudice (Davies) by Andrew Davies, based on the novel by Jane Austen
    • Adapted from Andrew Davies’ hit 1995 BBC TV series, this delightful comedy of manners revolves around the tumultuous relationship between Elizabeth Bennet, the lively and mischievous daughter of a gentleman from the country, and Darcy, a wealthy and proud lord.
      Pride and Prejudice was first performed at The Talisman Theatre & Arts Centre, Kenilworth, Warwickshire on Monday 26 June 2023. Directed by Corrina Jacob, the production featured Gwen Davis and Chris Bird.
    • Rights available from Concord Theatricals - already secured
  • Emma by Michael Bloom, Jane Austen
    • A highly theatrical adaptation of one of Jane Austen's greatest novels. Pledging never to marry, the mischievous Emma Woodhouse is nevertheless the "matchmaker of Highbury." Her newest project, Harriet Smith, has already received a proposal, but Emma insists she marry the eligible vicar Mr. Elton, while, an older family friend, Mr. Knightly, warns her to give up matchmaking. When Emma discovers Mr. Elton is more interested in her, she is forced to fend him off and find another suitor for Harriet. Highbury welcomes two new guests, a mysterious Jane Fairfax and the charming Frank Churchill, and Emma finds herself falling just a little in love with him. Ultimately, she decides that Frank is better suited to Harriet, but when she suggests the match, Emma is astonished to discover that Harriet has fallen for Mr. Knightly. A horrified Emma suddenly realizes she has always been in love with Mr. Knightley. In the end, all is set right as Frank reveals his secret engagement to Jane, Harriet receives a second offer from her first beau, and Mr. Knightley proposes to the deliriously happy Emma.
    • Rights available from Concord Theatricals - already secured
  • Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility by Jen Taylor, Jane Austen
    • In this vivid new adaptation of Jane Austen’s first published novel, we meet the Dashwood sisters, whose happy lives are dramatically changed in the wake of their father’s death. Their home is taken by their half-brother and his overbearing wife and they must learn to live on much less far away from all they’re accustomed to. Amid their misfortune, love alights: the very sensible Elinor falls for the equally cautious Edward Ferrars, while the flighty sensibilities of Marianne flutter ill-advisedly to their handsome, reckless neighbour John Willoughby. Both hard lessons and gentle guidance help them learn that happiness in love is an unpredictable struggle against the most important social values: family, honour, and wealth. Luckily, with Jane Austen love wins.
    • Rights available from Concord Theatricals - already secured
  • Emilia by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm
    • A riotous, witty reclaiming of the life of an exceptional woman. Four hundred years ago, Emilia Bassano wanted her voice to be heard. It wasn't. Could she have been the 'Dark Lady' of Shakespeare's sonnets? What of her own poetry? Why was her story erased from history? In Morgan Lloyd Malcolm's electrifying play, Emilia and her sisters reach out across the centuries with passion, fury, laughter and song.
      The performing rights stipulate that all characters in Emilia - male and female - must be played by female-identifying actors. The role of Emilia was written for non-white actors. Please read and consider the casting guidelines before preparing a pitch for this production.
    • Rights available from Nick Hern Books - already secured
    • Copy of script available in CUADC Library and online here
  • Underdog: The Other Other Brontë by Sarah Gordon
    • Charlotte Brontë has a confession about how one sister became an idol, and the other became known as the third sister. You know the one. No, not that one. The other, other one… Anne. This is not a story about well-behaved women. This is a story about the power of words. It’s about sisters and sisterhood, love and jealousy, support and competition.
      Sarah Gordon’s new play is an irreverent retelling of the life and legend of the Brontë sisters, and the story of the sibling power dynamics that shaped their uneven rise to fame.
    • Rights available from Concord Theatricals - already secured

Unavailable Shows

The following shows are already programmed but not yet on sale and so would not be able to be pitched for:

  • Gypsy: A Musical Fable by Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents
  • Constellations by Nick Payne
  • Cold Comfort Farm by Paul Doust, Stella Gibbons
  • Star Quality by Noel Coward

Pitching your show

Once you apply with your show, you will be invited to deliver a five-minute pitch.

You can discuss whatever you'd like in your pitch, but if you're not sure what to talk about, we recommend that you provide answers to these questions:

  • Why are you passionate about this show?
  • What ideas do you have about the process of bringing your show to the stage, including any initial ideas for design/direction.
  • How do you want the audience to react to the show?

You may be asked to attend a further interview the following weekend, especially if you have applied for an ADC Mainshow, to talk about your application in more detail. We will give you a small number of questions to prepare in advance.

We usually only invite the applicants for further interview when they apply for the ADC Mainshow slot, so do not worry if you are not invited to a longer interview. Please note that not all ADC Mainshow applications will be asked to attend a further interview. It may be that we are still considering your show for an alternative slot and/or venue.

Marketing

During the application process you will be asked to answer a number of questions pertaining to the marketing and web listing of your show were it to be programmed, including a marketing blurb, image, content notices and age suitability. This is because due to the tight turn around for season programming, at the point the season has been confirmed, all of the season marketing materials (including the brochure) are compiled and we start to upload key information to our website.

If your show is programmed, you will have a short window to suggest changes to any of these prior to publication by the Theatre.

When determining an age recommendation for your show, you should consider the following matrix:

Does your show contain?

All Ages
  • Infrequent mild, bad language;
  • Mild sexual behaviour (e.g. kissing);
  • Brief unsettling sequences;
  • Mild violence (depending on context).
8+
  • Potentially dangerous behaviour;
  • Mild discriminatory language or behaviour (provided such language or behaviour is disapproved of);
  • Mild references to drug use/misuse;
  • Mild, bad language;
  • Non-sexual, partial nudity;
  • Mild sexual references or innuendo;
  • Infrequent and discreet implications of sexual activity;
  • Brief moments of threat or horror;
  • Non-detailed moderate violence justified by historical/comedic context.
12+
  • Infrequent drug misuse;
  • Moderate bad language;
  • Brief nudity;
  • Moderate sexual references;
  • Moderate threat and/or horror;
  • Moderate violence.
16+
  • Depiction of dangerous behaviour;
  • Discriminatory language or behaviour;
  • Drug or dangerous substance misuse;
  • Very strong language;
  • Non-sexual nudity;
  • References to sexual activity;
  • Masked depictions of moderate sexual activity;
  • Non-graphic or veiled depiction of sexual violence or threat;
  • Threat and/or horror;
  • Strong violence.
18+
  • Frequent/extensive very strong language;
  • Detailed portrayal of violence, dangerous behaviour or illegal/immoral activity, especially when such behaviour is portrayed as pleasurable/sadistic;
  • Endorsement of discrimination;
  • Graphic depicted sexual activity or sexual nudity;
  • Graphic depiction of sexual violence or threat;
  • A performance which may encourage or motivate the consumption of alcohol by audience members (e.g. late-night comedy).

For clarification on any of the above, please speak to the Production Manager.

Other Information

You can apply with more than one production, or for more than one venue or slot. You should be aware, however, that spreading yourself too thinly can weaken all your applications: we are interested in a passion for a specific production rather than a general desire to stage something.

We are committed to open auditions and applications for cast and crew positions. If you are applying with a show that has been pre-cast, or has filled all of its major crew positions, please consider that this could be detrimental to your application.

We are only accepting electronic applications via the Google Form found above. Please get in touch here if you experience any technical issues.

There is a space on the application form to mention any adjustments that you require for the pitching process. Please note down if you would prefer to have more time in an interview, or any other adjustments.

Access information for our venues can be found here. Of note is the fact that the ADC Theatre is a fully accessible space, and that the Corpus Playroom is regrettably not wheelchair accessible.

We are only able to programme student productions during University term time. If you would like to enquire about other hire opportunities, please visit our website here.

Protected Characteristics

The ADC Management team publishes anonymised data on how many show applicants fall under certain protected characteristics including ethnicity, sexuality and disability, and how many of these applicants successfully had a show programmed. This data is collected as part of the show application process and is entirely optional for candidates to complete.

For the Michaelmas 2024, Easter 2024 and Lent 2024 application rounds, we received a total of 195 applications, with an average acceptance rate of 56%. This varies depending on the season, venue and type of show applied for (e.g. ADC Mainshows and Musicals tend to be our most competitive slots). The below does not include applications for the CUADC/Footlights Pantomime 2024, for which demographic data was not collected.

The University of Cambridge publishes anonymised equality and diversity data every year, with the latest report being published for the 2022-23 cohort. Students with a disclosed disability comprised 17.8% of all undergraduates. Students from a BAME background who disclosed their ethnicity made up 37.3% of all undergraduates. In 2022-23 report, published in March 2024, the University of Cambridge did not report on student numbers by sexual orientation.