Kiss, marry, or push off a cliff? On Friday 26th April, Southside Theatre Academy performed the production of Kiss / Marry / Push off cliff at the Southwark Playhouse in London, as part of National Theatre Connections.

We arrived in the morning and spent the first part of the day doing a dress and tech run of the show, in order to prepare for the performance in the evening. The show was based on a group of teenagers going camping in Eastbourne, and the effects after a member of the group says something extremely controversial. I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this play and have made many core memories and experiences that will last a lifetime.

Being a part of National Theatre Connections means that our youth theatre had an opportunity to perform a play specially written for youth theatres and schools all around the UK with the idea that ten of these groups would be able to eventually perform this at The National Theatre, which would be an unforgettable experience. This year, more than 250 groups have taken part, with 10 plays being assigned to a certain number of groups per play. One performance of each play will make it through to the National.   

On Friday, we were watched by representatives of NT connections and although I was quite nervous myself, I had an amazing time performing and hope that the experience was equally as memorable for the audience. An audience member who had seen the show a month ago also, commented that the show at the Southwark Playhouse “was an absolutely brilliant performance” and “it was amazing to see the development.”

We also had the opportunity to watch a performance of another play for NT connections, which was called “Replica” by the Southwark Playhouse’s own young company, which I very much enjoyed and thought the actors were very talented, especially looking at individual relationships and reactions on screen.

Overall, I have had an excellent experience of NT connections over the past few months, and I am very grateful for being able to be a part of this experience.