The UK based National Student Drama Festival (NSDF) was founded in 1956 with the purpose of creating new art, new artists and new communities. It also runs a charity aimed at empowering young artists. The NSDF is targeted towards people aged 16–25 years old (in 2021–22 they extended the age bracket to include 26-year olds). NSDF is a year-round organization whose work peaks at its annual festival: for one week, in one chosen city. There is a daily magazine, Noises Off, written by a team of writers and participants at the festival. History The NSDF was founded in 1956 by the Sunday Times arts columnist Kenneth Pearson, Sunday Times theatre critic Harold Hobson, and National Union of Students (United Kingdom) president Frank Copplestone. Pearson went on to become the organization's first artistic director. Early supporters also included Sunday Times Editor Harry Hodson and Professor Glynne Wickham, a pioneer of the academic discipline of drama based at the University of Bristol. Even before 1956, The National Union of Students had organised dramatic festivals, like in 1947 at Birmingham, but this was the first year that it had been backed by the Sunday Times. Scottish universities that were a part of the Scottish Union of Students were not allowed to participate till 1962, as universities not affiliated with the National Union of Students were not allowed to participate before that year. On it's 50'th anniversary in 2006, a book was published called "Fifty years of the National Student Drama Festival: Oberon Books 2005". This book included a full list of shows for those 50 years. Past NSDF participants include Harold Pinter, Caryl Churchill, Meera Syal, Simon Russell Beale, Ruth Wilson, Marianne Elliott, and Lucy Prebble. Companies with past affiliation with NSDF include Slung Low, Jamie Lloyd Productions, RashDash, Barrel Organ and LUNG Theatre. NSDF 22 took place from 9–15 April 2022 in Leicester. Key Figures Festival Directors 1971 to 2000 – Clive Wolfe 2001 to 2003 – Nick Stimson 2004 to 2006 – Andrew Loretto 2007 to 2012 – Holly Kendrick 2013 to 2018 – Michael Brazier 2019 – James Phillips Noises Off Editors 1980 to 1990 – Stephen Jeffreys (latterly in tandem with Nick Phillips) 1991 to 2002 – Ian Shuttleworth 2003 to 2004 – Andrew Haydon and Rachel Smyth 2005 to 2009 – Andrew Haydon 2010 – Phil Mann and Claire Trévien 2011 – Andrew Haydon, Phil Mann and Claire