The post exams period in Durham is always choc-a-bloc with performances. The first of these is always the Durham Student Music Cathedral Concert, which never fails to delight. Unfortunately, this year, it clashed with Trevs Summer Ball, but those that missed out on Summer Ball tickets had the chance to see a variety of performances from Choral Society, Northern Lights A Capella, Brass Band and both Symphony Orchestras (among others) playing pieces to the theme ‘Let there be Light’. These include Howard Goodall’s ‘Eternal Light’, Irving Berlin’s ‘Blue Skies’, and the Grand Finale, a suite from Les Miserables.

The theatrical offerings from around the university kick off on Sunday, where there is a choice between Oswald Players’ Spamalot, or Walkabout Production’s Room for Doubt. Both featuring Trevelyanites in the cast, Spamalot is the musical based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and is set to be a joyful romp around the stage of Mount Oswald Hub, and including script alterations to fit the Durham setting for additional humour. This is in excellent contrast to the much more intimate Room for Doubt, which is an immersive play happening in St John’s College, where the small audience are involved in the decision making as the jury in a tense court room drama.

The post exams period in Durham is always choc-a-bloc with performances

There are two productions happening from Trevs’ theatre companies this term. The first of these is the return of Shakespeare in the Quad with Comedy of Errors happening on the 11th June. Shakespeare’s shortest play is also very farcical in nature, which complements the other Trevs’ play, It Runs in the Family, which Trevelyan College Musical Society are putting on after only 48 hours of rehearsal on the 21st June! For more comedy this term, we turn to the Durham Revue, who are putting on their summer show LAUGHTERHOURS in a triple bill with their Bristolian and Mancunian counterparts on the 15th.

Elsewhere on the 15th is the Orchestra North East’s first concert of the year, where they are playing Smetana’s ‘Vlatava’ from ‘Ma Vlast’, Wieniawski’s ‘Violin Concerto’, and Dvorak’s ‘Symphony No. 9’. This follows a pair of concerts from Durham University Orchestral Society on the 13th and 14th, across which a range of repertoire will be performed from symphonies by Prokofiev, Debussy, and Tchaikovsky to a new work by Trevelyan’s own Maxwell Richards-Clarke’s ‘A Hero’s Tale – Dreams Come True’, which is premiering in Durham Cathedral.

To see Trevs’ finest performing outside of college we next turn to the incredible Flo & Co, who featured in our recent article about Trevs’ student bands. They are performing as part of Durham Jazz Fest! on the 21st June alongside bands such as Durham University Big Band, Durham University Jazz Orchestra, Cache Out and Northern Lights Acapella. The last of these are included in the programme for Trevs Day this year, where we will also be treated to performances from The Manglers, Blue Eyed Brass, and The Fellows. This complements the annual Battle of the Bands competition, this year being judged by the legend himself Tim Fowler. One of the bands set to perform at Battle of the Bands is Trevs own Halycons, who are performing in Trevs Bar on Monday 9th June to celebrate the launch of their latest track ‘Curtain’ where you will also see performances from Fire Assembly Point and Unplugged veterans, 6 Foot Grandma supporting them.

Despite being held in the Dining Hall, [Fashion Show] is one of the highlights of summer term

For more Trevs bands performing, definitely come along to Trevstock on 25th June, where I anticipate seeing all the Trevs classics from TCOS and The Manglers through to Hayk, Grassfed Salmon and Jazzberry Jam (hopefully all of these and more given sign-ups have barely begun at the time of writing).

Turning towards a very different kind of performance for a moment, we find Trevelyan College Fashion Show on the calendar on the 16th June. Despite being held in the Dining Hall, this is certainly one of the highlights of the summer term for all who go. For more on this performance, keep your eyes peeled for an interview with the directors coming later this week.

There are many, many more productions, both musical and theatrical this term, it would be a mammoth undertaking to mention all of them. As well as this, many shows are also rehearsing for runs at both the Durham Fringe in July and the Edinburgh Fringe in August. Perhaps the most exciting of these, not that there is any Trevs bias, is a run of our very own Alysia Orbell’s It’s OK, We’ll Be OK, which is heading up to Edinburgh from 18th-23rd August after a massively successful showing in the Dowrick Suite in February. This is the first time in recent memory that a Trevs written production is featuring on the largest stage in the world.

So, whether you’re into classical music, comedy plays or a catwalk, there’s plenty for everyone to enjoy as summer term draws to a close.

Image: Durham University Performing Arts