Queen’s College has a long-standing reputation as a centre of excellence for the Performing Arts. Led by a team of highly experienced and dedicated practitioners, Queen’s College presents an annual season of ambition and great diversity.

Each academic year’s theatre season includes plays and musicals, from Shakespeare to Broadway musicals, from dance dramas to virtuoso concerts, with all age ranges fully involved. Recent seasons have included such titles as Les Miserables, Mother Courage, Into the Woods, The Crucible, Inside Out, Animal Farm and Shrek!

The Performing Arts Festival each Autumn brings together House Dance, Drama and Singing competitions, plus poetry recitals, a battle of the bands and new playwriting platforms.
Each year we invite top theatre professionals to lead workshops, over career guidance and bring the secrets of the West End to Queen’s. Stars of the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, film and TV have all brought their talent and insight to further inspire our students.

Over 75% of senior pupils are actively involved in extracurricular performing arts activities each year. For those who prefer not to appear centre stage, there are a huge range of backstage opportunities, with students fully involved in stage management, sound and lighting operation and even the design of school productions.

We are tremendously fortunate to have some of the best Performing Arts facilities in the country with a fully equipped 540-seat auditorium, complete with lighting and sound systems that rival any professional venue in the South West. Additionally, we have a dance studio with mirrors and retractable seating for more intimate shows, plus purpose-built flexible black-box performing arts studios, which are ideal for academic assessments and experimental dramas.

Our young performers also enjoy opportunities to perform further afield, at music, dance and drama festivals across the South West. Each year, our students also take a production to the world’s largest art event, the Edinburgh Fringe.