Aiming to advocate for the arts and showcase the creative talent at our university, Let Them Play, a campaign event organised by Activities & Development Officer Anna Campbell, is a mixed bag of helping hand and heartful of hope, in a continued effort to make the wider community care about the creative and performing arts, with a middling level of tangible effect.
The second such event of its type, the first playing earlier this year in Western Bank Library, the latest iteration of Let Them Play was staged in the Drama Studio, bringing together seven societies to perform to a small audience of students and staff. With such groups including various subsets of Music Players’ Society, Brass Band and Samba Band, the collection, whilst music-heavy, was a fun way to enjoy each of these societies’ specialities, which for some was my first exposure to their work.
Particularly enjoyable performances came from The University of Sheffield Folk Group, a potential future society which entertained audiences with catchy tunes and a community feel to their set, with many of their members clearly enjoying the opportunity to perform. With a range of tunes, including one with a notable Pirates of the Caribbean motif, the entire set felt like a classic campfire circle with fantastic instruments and vocals alike.
Similarly, the collaboration between Big Band and the Swing Dance Society was particularly exciting to watch. Despite their being little space for Swing Dance to fully expand, the dancers did a fantastic job, with the high-energy moves complemented by the 1920s feel of Big Band behind them. Playing a variety of musical classics, both societies gave a phenomenal performance, and showcasing some of the finest talent in our groups.
But Let Them Play was designed as more than just a showcase, with alumni testimonials and the results of the Students’ Union Performance Societies’ Survey on display in the Drama Studio foyer. This was accompanied by the ability to tour the Drama Studio rehearsal rooms, and the lesser-used Theatre Workshop, a small vacant space which organisers hope will one day be able to be transformed into a new student space for rehearsal and performance, a ‘performance societies hub’ as it was pitched.
However, whilst these were set up, assumedly, with the intention of persuading investors and stakeholders to consider better advocacy or potentially investment in the space (I cannot say I was sure what the intention was), the lack of aforementioned investors and stakeholders is, in my view, a fundamental issue with the campaign, one which I would hope will be improved on further by its next iteration.
Returning to the performances themselves, I would also like to see more variety in the groups represented. Whilst a fantastic opportunity for music societies, the performing arts, visual arts and dance groups, with the exception of Swing Dance, were not represented in this edition of Let Them Play, which risks missing out a significant section of the arts communities at our university.
I am very excited that Let Them Play has returned for a second time, with the promise of additional events in the future. Building successfully on the first event, the Drama Studio iteration has done a great job at pitching the talent and creativity of our performance societies, but largely to those who already understand and support the arts. If Let Them Play is to reach the top heights I am certain it can reach, it must consider a significant expansion of both the groups involved and the types of people in the room, which is so vital for keeping arts thriving on campus.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Let Them Play played at the University of Sheffield Drama Studio on December 17th. Future editions of the event have yet to be announced
