The creativity, talent, and energy of College students took centre stage at the 56th REACTION House Plays Festival, with all 10 Houses presenting their productions across two nights.

Condell’s House emerged as the festival’s big winner, taking out Best House Play for Horror at Hellfire Hall. The House enjoyed further success with Bill Cross and Felipe Felitti-Duter named Best Directors, while Bill Cross also received the Best Actor award. Condell’s rounded out an exceptional festival with a Magic Moment Award for its memorable wheelbarrow moments.

Julius House’s Operation Midnight was named runner-up for Best House Play, with Somes House’s Star Wars: Episode III taking third place. Julius House was also the People’s Choice on Night One, while School House won the People’s Choice award on Night Two.

A special thank you to this year’s adjudicators, Anna Turner and Megan Heard, for giving their time and expertise to the festival and taking on the challenging task of selecting this year’s award recipients.

“The Drama Department was delighted by what the boys brought to the stage after a very short rehearsal period,” Head of Drama Hannah Clarkson says.

“The audience got to see an impressive demonstration of brotherhood and creativity up on the stage. The two judges were astounded by the skills of the boys, their willingness to embrace challenging characters, and the mature way in which they handled the content of the plays.”

The festival was made possible by an enormous collective effort. Thank you to drama staff Nikki Bleyendaal and Philippa Dye, along with Housemasters, mentors, House staff, and the student technical crew – Alex Wang, Alfie McLean, Jack Morkane, Gabe Botherway, and Eli Clarkson – for supporting the students in bringing 10 unique productions to the stage.

Congratulations to everyone involved in another memorable House Plays Festival, and especially to Condell’s House on an outstanding result across performance, direction, and production.

2026 REACTION House Plays Festival Awards

Best House Play
Condell’s House – Horror at Hellfire Hall

Runner-up Best House Play
Julius House – Operation Midnight

Third Place
Somes House – Star Wars: Episode III

Best Director
Bill Cross and Felipe Felitti-Duter – Condell’s House

Director’s Awards
George Simonsohn – Richards House
Manoj Solai – Somes House
Charlie Wood – Julius House

Best Actor
Bill Cross – Condell’s House

Runner-up Best Actor
James Melhuish – Harper House

Actor’s Awards
Oscar Stove
Harrison Tapper
Michael Rankin
Gus Elworthy
Seb Wynn-Thomas
Cole Moffatt
Harry Mackenzie-Rickards
James Anderson
Gabriel Onions
Oliver Fisher-Starzynski
Willi Stanley
Bailey Kingan
Basil Clarkson
Gus McKenzie
Arthur Brown

Production Awards – effective use of technologies
Corfe House
Somes House
Richards House

Ensemble Awards
Corfe House
Julius House
Richards House

Magic Moment Awards
Condell’s House – the wheelbarrow moments
Flower’s House – Katnip’s archery moment
Jacobs House – the cow resuscitation moment
Rolleston House – the runner moment
School House – Cinderella’s transformation

People’s Choice Award
Night One – Julius House
Night Two – School House