Recommended plays for a high school cultural festival: popular, crowd-pleasing ideas
When it comes time to put on a play for your high school cultural festival, the choice of work can dramatically change the feel of the stage.
From moving fantasies to relatable comedies and heartfelt musicals, each has its own unique appeal and key directing points.
Because it’s a production everyone in the class creates together, you’ll want to pick something that’s fun for the cast to make and a joy for the audience to watch.
Here, we introduce a wide range of plays that are perfect for high school cultural festivals.
Find the one that fits your class!
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- Classic plays performed by elementary school students: recommended works roundup
- [For High School Students] A roundup of recommended attractions for the school festival
- Ideas for stage events and attractions that will liven up a school festival
- Ideas for Performances That Inspire Laughter and Tears: Perfect for Upper Grades at School Arts and Learning Showcases
- Stage performance ideas to excite a cultural or school festival
- [Middle School] Cultural Festival Attractions: A roundup of popular exhibits, games, and stage performances
- [Short Movie] A collection of video project ideas you can use for cultural and school festivals
- [Cultural Festival / School Festival Theme] Carefully Selected High-Impact Recommended Phrases!
- I want to adapt these for the school festival! A roundup of comedians’ manzai, sketch comedy, and one-liner gags
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- Ideas for exhibits recommended for school culture festivals. Film screenings, too.
Musicals • Large cast • Recommended for moving/tear-jerking stories (11–20)
Poupelle of Chimney Town
The play we definitely want high school students full of dreams and hope to try is Poupelle of Chimney Town.
Based on a picture book created by comedian Akihiro Nishino, it was also adapted into an animated film.
It’s a heartwarming story of friendship, making it perfect for a school festival production that the whole class creates together.
We also recommend putting care into fantastical costumes and sound.
If you’re worried that “creating the town backdrop seems difficult…,” try projecting visuals from the original work onto a screen.
It’s a play that will deepen bonds among classmates by bringing a moving story to life.
In This Corner of the World
In This Corner of the World, which drew attention when it was adapted into a musical in 2024.
It originally began as a manga and was later made into a TV drama and an animated film.
Set in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, and centered on the theme of war, it’s a recommended piece when you want to stage a powerful production that can move audiences.
Footage of the musical’s stage production has been uploaded to video sites, so why not use those as references and craft your performance with care?
The Phantom of the Opera
If you want to take on a romantic and truly classic play, I recommend The Phantom of the Opera.
It’s a stage adaptation of a novel published in 1909 by French author Gaston Leroux.
Centered on the Phantom, the story is richly layered, making it perfect for a high school production.
Paying special attention to elegant costumes and hairstyles would be a great touch.
Build excitement with the famous background music everyone knows when the Phantom makes his appearance! Although the piece features classical singing and dance, it could also be fun to switch to popular songs at your school for the performance.
Hamlet
Hamlet, one of Shakespeare’s four great tragedies.
Because the work is long, creating scripts and the like can be time-consuming, but it’s also the kind of piece that makes you feel the effort is worthwhile.
There was also a stage production starring Tatsuya Fujiwara and Hikari Mitsushima, so using that as a reference is recommended!
Your name is.
How about recreating the 2016 film “Your Name.” with your whole class? Since the story involves a boy and a girl swapping bodies, it’s sure to be a hit with performances where the boys act in a girlish way and the girls act in a boyish way.
Depending on how you write the script, you could make it either comedic or touching.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
It’s an immortal masterpiece that has inspired numerous remakes.
If you can capture a page of youthful days and portray unreality that feels real, thunderous applause is guaranteed! It’s hard to immerse yourself in the story, but that’s precisely what makes it such a rewarding theme.
From zero meters below sea level
“From Zero Meters Below Sea Level” is a work that won the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award at the 44th Shikoku District High School Theater Research Competition in 2019.
The script was written by Yumeka Nakata, who at the time belonged to the drama club at Tokushima Municipal High School.
It was staged in theaters in 2021 and adapted into a film in May 2024.
The piece portrays conversations between female students and a PE teacher during pool cleaning.
Because it candidly depicts life-sized worries of students, I believe current high schoolers will find it relatable.
