Another International Win for Academy Staff and Students

Once again, students from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama have come out on top of the world.

Second year students from the Academy’s prestigious acting programme have come out top at the recent XXIX International VGIK Theatre Festival in Moscow.

The 12 strong company from the Academy, lead by Associate Head of Performance, Joyce Deans, tutor Katya Kamotskaia and director Mark Stevenson, travelled to Russia for the week long residency during which they performed Katya Kamotskaia's stage adaptation of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment in front of a Russian audience and theatre professionals.

And at the Festival Final Ceremony, student Lynsey-Anne Moffat won the Festival’s Best Actress Award for her portrayal of Pulk’heria Alexandrovna.

On presenting the coveted prize, Eugenie Gerasimov, The Chairman of the Theatre Competition Jury, said: “This Award is presented by the Jury to Linsey-Anne Moffat for her exceptional performance as Pulk’heria Alexandrovna in ‘Crime and Punishment. If we could, we would like to give an Award to every member of this company. It amazed us all that such a well-known and dense piece of Russian fiction, presented by English speakers to a Russian audience could move us to tears.

Well done!”

Principal of the Academy, Professor John Wallace, OBE, said: “Joyce Deans and her Academy acting staff and students are to be applauded on this wonderful triumph. Performing one of Russias great pieces of literature before a Russian audience and jury and then taking the top prize is an outstanding achievement. My congratulations to all of those involved, particularly to Lynsey-Anne Moffat on her magnificent win.”

The world renowned XXIX International VGIK Theatre Festival is an annual event attended the theatre professionals and students. The aim of the Festival is to present major productions by international and Russian theatre schools, to highlight the creativity of the next generation of theatre professionals and to support international professional links and exchanges between theatre companies and schools throughout the world. .

This year, the XXIX International VGIK Theatre Festival was attended by industry professionals and students from Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, great Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia and Spain.

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