The Finalists’ Showcase 2025 review
‘a suitably excellent way to crown their achievements as members of DST.’
DST returns to the Assembly Rooms in supreme style with the 2025 rendition of their annual Finalists’ Showcase – an undisputable swansong for the excellent final-year talent in Durham.
With a range of performances across a variety of genres and disciplines (it was great to see some monologues derived from other media, like TV), this showcase has further cemented itself as a staple in the DST Epiphany calendar. Before tackling the talent on stage, plaudits should be extended to those facilitating the actors’ work. Co-Directors Abby Greenhalgh and Felicity Rickard deserve due credit for their astute, inventive and playful direction of the pieces as well as their structuring of the evening; with such a range of pieces on show, transitions could be jarring if not handled appropriately, but the directing duo are able to find a clean throughline that comfortably carries us through the evening.
Sarah Kelly should also be applauded for her efforts on this show, handling all the marketing and logistics in her dual role as Executive Coordinator/Producer. Without her overseeing the project, I highly doubt it would have run so smoothly. The same can be said of the tech team: helmed by the steadfast Rory Collins (assisted by Gemma Parker), the technical elements were consistently good – especially the (surprisingly) large number of lighting cues across the evening that aided the mood of all the pieces effectively. Props to Faith Gorton (Deputy Stage Manager) for calling the show so cleanly. Sound-wise, although only three of the seven cast members were allotted to sing, microphones were handled sufficiently by Sound Designer and Operator Andrew Mullins. Due to the nature of a 1-day hire, tech elements can sometimes be a bit rushed or dodgy, but, overall, it was very smooth.
Moving to the cast, it would be redundant not to mention all of the performers who walked onto that stage: Charlie Holliday, Harry Threapleton, Jo Price, Iqra Khadiza, Maariya Khalid, Horatio Holloway, and Alannah O’Hare. Each individual deserved their rightful standing ovation at the end of the evening for their vigour and vulnerability, performing with little to no props and set on an empty stage in front of an audience – not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination.
Individually, there is no weak link. Horatio Holloway astounded the audience with his range throughout the evening, from humour to painstaking emotional vulnerability – a personal highlight being his monologue ‘Free Churro’ taken from the TV show ‘Bojack Horseman’ which wonderfully exposed Holloway’s storytelling capabilities and comic timing.
Alannah O’Hare was equally humorous across her pieces; she opened the showcase with a duologue from ‘Peep’ with Maariya Khalid, engaging the audience with her supremely expressive face and intelligent comic delivery. O’Hare’s vocal tonality is, likewise, masterful, and had the audience in stitches across her pieces, embodied nowhere better than in her monologue from ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ (complete with a pitch-perfect American accent).
Khalid equally exhibited an impressive comic command of voice and movement – especially in her duologue from ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ with Harry Threapleton, where the audience could genuinely not control their laughter at the duo’s antics. Khalid also thrived in her more personable monologues, capturing the audience’s attention with her smooth and engaging delivery.
Threapleton was one of the three who chose to sing, undertaking an objectively ambitious and tricky song – “Valjean’s Soliloquy” from ‘Les Misérables’. Although perhaps not his usual type cast, Threapleton’s soaring tenor range was beautifully seen here, and he absolutely nailed the emotion required of the song. Pushing himself even further, Threapleton also dabbled in a TV monologue – an excerpt of the ‘Half Measures’ scene from ‘Breaking Bad’. His methodical delivery, paired with the deliberate and well-considered movement, made this another highlight of the evening.
Jo Price also impressed with a solo song, “If I Didn’t Believe in You” from ‘The Last 5 Years’. Emotionally, Price comprehensively delivered, bringing the raw emotional turmoil experienced by Jamie at this moment to fruition beautifully. His buttery vocals back this up, something which he utilised in the final piece of the evening – a duet with Charlie Holliday, “Ready, Seat, Not Yet” from ‘Beetlejuice’. The pair’s dynamic is infectious, and they exhibit some fantastic diction to navigate the song’s tricky, speedy corners.
Holliday’s solo, “Changing My Major” from ‘Fun Home’, was an inspired choice, bringing out the best of Holliday’s performing prowess – spellbinding the audience with her beautiful soprano voice and comic delivery. She also impresses in her subtle and emotional delivery of a monologue from ‘Brontë’, firmly proving her impeccable range as a performer.
Iqra Khadiza, the final solo performer of the evening, was equally captivating. With her tender vocals and personable interactions with the audience, she shone in her range of pieces. Her nuanced emotional range was perhaps best seen in her delivery of ‘The House They Grew Up In’, which elicited both laughs and pathos from the audience. Her duologue with Holloway, ‘Anything is Possible’, was also fantastic, and the two actors used the space effectively.
If I had any constructive criticisms, I would say that the choice of pieces did not always necessarily fit the performer to a tee. Still, saying this, for a showcase that clearly wanted to push performers outside of their comfort zone, it is hard not to applaud the efforts to really display a breadth of performing proficiency.
In summary, then, the finalists involved in this should all be very proud of themselves, not just for this showcase but for their contributions to the wider student theatre bubble. This is a suitably excellent way to crown their achievements as members of DST.
By Ollie Cochran.