The following is taken from the Youth Voice column from this week's SNJ (Oct 16) and is written by Grace Spencer, a student at Stroud High School.

ALL of Stroud’s a stage.

Last month Stroud erupted into raisin-chucking, carrot-brandishing, balloon-popping chaos for the sixth Stroud Theatre Festival.

I was lucky enough to get hold of some reviewing tickets, so spent three days in various pubs and halls, purloining the Curio Lounge’s wifi in between.

It was brilliant.

Stroud offers variety and eclecticism in nearly everything it does, but nowhere is this more powerfully demonstrated than in its theatre offerings.

I went from shows about Tai Chi, to explorations of brain injury, to Chekhov - and everything was individual, quirky, and brilliantly acted.

A personal favourite was Douglas, a gem of a show by Cheese and Pickle Productions detailing the tale of a demonic, Guardian-reading, Tom-Jones-hating cat.

Classic Stroud.

What the festival boasted in theatrical diversity, though, it perhaps lacked in social inclusion.

The majority of shows I attended seemed primarily white, middle-aged and middle-class, in the case of both actors and audience.

To me, unfortunately, this seems to be a bit of a continuous theme in the Stroud arts scene in general.

And while I by no means claim to offer a solution to this complex issue of widening and embracing, I keenly await and hope for future theatre festivals in which every person is genuinely motivated and encouraged to take part.

Overall though, the weekend was a delight.

There was laughter.

There was crying.

There were balloons.

But most of all, there was a joyous celebration of all the artistic talent that Stroud has to offer.