************************* York University’s highly acclaimed Drama Society will be showcasing their exciting talents this March when they make their debut in The Studio at York Theatre Royal from the 6-10 March with two rarely performed plays on British stage. 4.48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane and The Madman and the Nun by Stanislaw Witkiewicz will be performed in the York Theatre Royal’s studio space on alternate nights, from 6-10 March. Both plays, chosen by a joint panel of York Theatre Royal and University Drama Society members, consider the implications and realities of madness. 4.48 Psychosis, directed by Lisa Blair, focuses on the very bipolar disorder that Sarah Kane suffered from, and which resulted in her suicide not long after the completion of the play. It is of the In Yer Face theatre genre and contains explicit and contentious content. The play will be performed on 6, 8 and 10th March at 7.45pm. The Madman and the Nun is part of an exciting first-time collaboration between DramaSoc and York Theatre Royal. In it, a nun attempts to nurse a mad poet back to sanity, but as time slips by it becomes less and less clear who is mad and who is not. Locked away for his mind, but free in a way the nun has never known, the poet defies the walls that imprison him. As the treatment fails he sucks us into his story and it's shocking, explosive climax. The play provokes us to think about who we are, what we believe – and what, exactly, sanity is anyway. The Saturday matinee will be followed by a dramaturgical talkback. The play, which is directed by Natasha Long and featuring Edward Duncan Smith, son of former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, will be performed in The Studio on 7 and 9th at 7.45pm and 10th at 2.30pm. The University of York Drama Society is run by a student committee, which consists of thirteen positions elected by the society’s members. Each term, prospective directors and producers pitch their plays to the committee members, hoping to win one of nine 3-days slots in Dramasoc’s unique venue, the Drama Barn. Auditions for the decided plays are open to the whole of the university. Sophie Larsmon, chair of York University Drama Society, said, "I'm really excited about kick-starting a relationship between the York Theatre Royal and the members of DramaSoc. Hopefully the project in the Studio Theatre this March will be the start of great things and the scheme will be mutually beneficial to both parties for years to come. Our members are looking forward to gaining experience in the professional theatre market and hopefully the scheme will get lots more students into the thriving theatre-scene in the city of York." Tickets for 4.48 Psychosis and The Madman and the Nun are both priced at £10.00 (Tickets for Under 25s and Students are £5.00) and can be purchased at the York Theatre Royal Box Office or by calling 01904 623568. Tickets are also available online at www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk **************************