Acting graduates perform among national names at Falmouth’s International Arts Fest

New writing talent from Cornwall was placed front and centre at this year’s Falmouth International Arts Fest (FIA Fest). 

The Made in Cornwall Half-Baked Showcase which took place earlier this month consisted of five bite-sized performances of five new scripts, performed by both Falmouth’s BA(Hons) Acting graduates and national names alike, with Arthur Darvill (Doctor Who, Broadchurch), Giovanna Fletcher (2:22 A Ghost Story) and Mary Woodvine (Doc Martin, Bait, Enys Men) joining graduates Louis George, Erin Landsdowne and Theo Athinou.  

Senior Lecturer for Falmouth’s BA(Hons) Acting course, Gareth Farr, also penned one of the scripts performed on the night, Campus, a production that was directed by Matthew Dunster, whose credits include direction and writing for numerous productions for the RSC, Young Vic, Royal Exchange and Shakespeare’s Globe, among others.  

Gareth shared how he was asked by imPOSSIBLE Producing to pitch an idea for their Made in Cornwall Ideas Studio. “I was fortunate enough to be selected and offered a small commission to write the start of a new play,” he tells us. “The story, Campus, opens with a university lecturer teaching moral philosophy and the theory of consequentialism.  

“It starts with the lecturer teaching his students about the right and wrong time to tell a lie and how we can never truly know the ripple effects of our actions,” Gareth continued. “Throughout the course of the play, he starts to experience a series of anonymous complaints and accusations resulting in lies and secrets from his past coming to light. In effect, he lives out the lecture that he gives at the start of the play and experiences a real-life example of consequentialism.”  

The Half-Baked Night at FIA Fest gave the group the chance to work on a small section of the play and to put the first scene in front of an audience to gauge reactions and explore where the play might go from there. “It was fantastic that we got to work with Matthew Dunster, Arthur Darvill, Maya Khatri Chhetri and recent graduates from the BA(Hons) Acting course at Falmouth,” Gareth shared.    

Louis, who performed in Campus, described being able to take part in the Half-Baked Showcase as an “incredible opportunity” that offered him the chance to collaborate with fellow graduates, former lecturers and esteemed performers. Louis told us: “Watching the other pieces was equally inspiring; there was something special about celebrating bold, contemporary new writing here in Cornwall and creating art together. I’m deeply grateful to the team at imPOSSIBLE and FIA Fest for building such a vibrant and empowering arts festival in Falmouth. At a time when the arts industry faces very real pressures, coming together to champion new work and emerging voices and artists felt not just powerful, but necessary. I look forward to the future of these shows and FIA Festival.” 

Theo Athinou, another recent BA(Hons) Acting graduate, got the chance to perform opposite Mary Woodvine in the bite-sized performance American Justice. Speaking of the opportunity, he said: “It was a wonderfully intimate evening that offered audiences a taster of the vast, deeply thematic stories being developed at the imPOSSIBLE ideas studio in Penryn, each at different stages of their journey.  

“I was so excited revisiting the character of Fenton in American Justice and his story of education under the ambiguously motivated Senator Jackson. The evening wholly reflected the countless hours of effort by the imPOSSIBLE ideas team in curating the showcase, and it was a real treat to see the dedication of performers in crafting these bite sized excerpts of story, which I’m sure left the audience hungry for more.” 

Explore BA(Hons) Acting at Falmouth 

Photo credit: Steve Tanner. Actors: Theo Athinou and Mary Woodvine. Director (in middle): Lisa Forrell.