Students bring Victorian Christmas to life
Acting students brought the spirit of a Victorian Christmas to Hughenden Manor when they took on the roles of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Dressed in period costume – designed by BNU’s fabulous costume students - Victoria (Lucy Marshall) and Albert (James Wade) - walked around the historic National Trust house, chatting with guests in character and sharing stories of Victorian festive traditions. Their performances helped visitors step back in time to experience how Christmas would have been celebrated during the Victorian era.
“There’s something about performing in character with these costumes in this setting,” said James. “It’s almost surreal.”
The third year Acting for Screen and Stage students were there as part of a placement module in collaboration with Costume Design and Making students and Film and Television Production students, who filmed and edited the day. The experience brought everyone involved invaluable real-world experience in areas they are studying.
“The benefit of doing this is getting experience in more professional areas of the field – and getting more experience of different way to approach people,” said James. “There is a big difference in acting on stage to acting more interpersonally – it’s a lot more improvised.”
“We’re gaining experience of being out there before finishing our final year,” said Lucy. “A lot of people recognise who we are, which is nice. We’re adding to the Christmas feel.”
The Victorians played a huge part in shaping the modern Christmas, where, influenced by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, traditions such as the Christmas tree, gift giving and cards became fashionable.
Hughenden Manor is the historic country home of Victorian statesman Benjamin Disraeli. It is holding a series of Christmas themed events until January 4, 2026.
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