On The Verge
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Welcome to On the Verge 2025!
On the Verge (OTV) has been running as an online festival of digital work for several years now, and it has quickly become a highlight of the calendar for our cohort. It arrives at a point in the year when students have begun to fully engage with the course’s focus on the synthesis of individual agency and collaborative practice — something OTV allows them to explore in a fresh medium.
For 2025, the students have taken this invitation to spread their wings quite literally with more than half the films made beyond the city limits, in the wilds of Scotland. As always, the work is wide-ranging, but a common thread runs through many of the projects — where the epic collides with the intimate and sweeping landscapes frame tender moments of personal connection. There is something deeply collaborative and process-driven about this project: a shared appetite for creative risk, bold exploration, and the joy of diving in together feet first.
As you watch these films, our students are already immersed in rehearsals for their final projects of the MA. These live theatre productions of Orlando, Feelgood and Mr Burns, a Post-Electric Play represent an opportunity for our three directing students to stage contemporary plays featuring the acting students. All the shows will take place in the Chandler Studio Theatre from 3 to 6 September in rep. We would all love to see you there.
I hope you enjoy your journey through On the Verge 2025.
Brian Ferguson
Head of Classical and Contemporary Text
Watch On the Verge 2025
Daybreak
A beautifully thoughtful coming-of-age short, exploring identity, grief, and chosen connection, through the eyes of a teenager navigating loss and identity.
The Frog, The Fox, The Fish, The Finch and The Foal
A five chapter story following the random meeting of five strangers in a remote bothy in Scotland who play a game that goes on forever and ever and ever.
BREAKDOWN
“You learn to cope, or you give up.” But is there another way? When Donn’s car breaks down, he finds meaningful connection that puts his mental health in perspective.
I Found God - A Poetumentary
Hermes seeks reason. Sassandra seeks liberation. Their journeys of difference end in simulacrum.
Afters
The morning after another hard night of partying, two girls contemplate the course of their lives and are forced to confront their past.
Magpie
Moments before Maya and Tessa scatter their father’s ashes on a hill in Loch Lomond, the sisters navigate love, loss and the climate crisis in the claustrophobia of their stationary car.
Necessary Creatures
In a chance encounter with an enigmatic figure in the wild, a solitary woman explores the joys and perils of encountering the unfamiliar.
About On The Verge
On The Verge has been part of the RCS performance calendar for over 10 years, during which time many of the artists have gone on to tour their work nationally and beyond. It is a showcase of new work by our MA/MFA Classical and Contemporary Text Acting and Directing students, celebrating big ideas and big ambition – a step into the unknown.
Our 2025 edition of On The Verge will take place in August 2025 and will be entirely digital, available to view on this page. The work is wide-ranging, exploring stories, ideas and questions from the deeply personal to the socio-political and beyond. The projects are united in a shared desire to explore what might be possible both in front of and behind the camera.
Meet the Students
Upcoming CCT Productions
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland presents
Orlando
By Sarah Ruhl
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland presents
Feelgood
by Alistair Beaton
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland presents
Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play
by Anne Washburn
A Masters for Actors & Directors
Our MA/MFA Acting/Directing Classical and Contemporary Text programme is for actors and directors who use their social, moral, and ethical values to animate their practice.
Our actors and directors look beyond traditional and contemporary artistic approaches as they broaden and deepen their individual practice, and flourish as both learners and creative practitioners.
Graduates include Jeremy Crawford, Ayana Bey, Debbie Hannan and Eklovey Kashyap.