This summer, four members of Selwyn's MCR community will take an original musical, One Night at Ford's Theatre, to the Edinburgh Fringe.

The show explores the relationship between John Wilkes Booth, President Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, and his brother Edwin Booth, one of nineteenth-century America's most celebrated actors.

Among the team are MPhil in AI graduate Sydney Nguyen (SE 2025), the show's musical director; MPhil in Latin American Studies graduate Sabrina Steur (SE 2025), producer and lyricist; MSt in Creative Writing graduate Mimi Thompson (SE 2025), also a producer; and Engineering PhD student Will Rowse (SE 2024), who plays John Wilkes Booth.

With careers and research spanning fields far beyond the performing arts, we asked how they found their way into theatre. For Will, theatre offers a creative outlet alongside research. His route into Cambridge theatre began with the Selwyn College choir.

"Theatre and music provide a completely different space from the scientific world that occupies most of my time. It's an outlet for creativity and self-expression, and a way to switch off from research. Sydney encouraged me to audition for Wind in the Willows, which became my first Cambridge production."

For Sydney, too, music and theatre quickly became a defining part of Cambridge life.

"One thing I really appreciate about Cambridge is that alongside the academics, you can pursue extracurricular activities at a very high level. Singing with the Selwyn Chapel Choir and working on musicals has allowed me to meet and collaborate with incredibly talented people. Through choir tours, recording projects, conducting pit bands and leading rehearsals, I've built the relationships that helped bring together much of this team."

Sabrina joined the project through her involvement with the MCR Committee. The production brought together skills developed through both her professional and college life.

"I've always loved organising events, but I hadn't necessarily considered production as a future pathway until this project showed me how transferable those skills are. Before coming to Cambridge, I worked in human resources at the Civil Service, most recently at the Foreign Office. Producing the musical, surprisingly, has drawn on many of those same skills but also opened up new creative possibilities. Lyric writing was an unexpected joy. It relies on communication skills, but also on close collaboration with the director to understand what needs to be expressed emotionally and dramatically."

Mimi's involvement also grew out of friendships formed through the MCR.

"I wouldn't have become involved in this musical if I hadn't met and worked with Sabrina through the MCR. Our skills planning MCR events translated remarkably well to producing a musical! As a part-time Creative Writing student, it's not always easy to become involved in student life when you're not based in Cambridge full-time. Cambridge theatre can sometimes feel difficult to break into, but the Selwyn community has been incredibly welcoming and made me feel that I could contribute in a meaningful way."

It is clear that it is hard to separate the production from the community that helped create it. Sabrina believes that is what makes the project especially significant:

"So much of this production emerged from the Selwyn community. It's a wonderful example of how a college can bring together people with different talents and backgrounds to create something ambitious and exciting. The extra-curricular activities give people the chance to discover abilities that may never emerge through their academic work alone."

One Night at Ford's Theatre premieres at the Edinburgh Fringe on 7 August and runs until 23 August at the Rotunda Theatre. Tickets are available here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/1-night-at-ford-s-theatre.