Ten UK school and youth theatre companies will stage ten new plays at the 2018 National Theatre Connections Festival, which takes place in the Dorfman Theatre from 26-30 June.
Connections is the largest youth theatre festival in the UK which celebrates new writing for young people aged 13-19. Ten new plays by both established and emerging contemporary playwrights have been exclusively commissioned for young people to stage and perform at this year’s Festival.
With over 6,500 young people taking part in Connections this year, the plays have been premiered across the UK by 250 youth theatre companies and schools. All the companies had the opportunity to transfer their production to one of 28 leading regional Connections Partner Theatres across the UK, with ten companies selected to perform at the National Theatre between 26-30 June. Young people have the opportunity to get involved in all aspects of creating and staging the play both on and offstage, from set design to costume, lighting and stage management.
Rufus Norris, National Theatre Director said, “I look forward to the Connections Festival every year as it is always such a joy to welcome young people from every corner of the UK to perform at the National Theatre. Programmes like Connections are more vital now than ever as they give young people the opportunity to experience and take part in theatre no matter where they are in the UK, and I can’t wait to see each of the ten companies’ productions in the Dorfman Theatre in June and celebrate another fantastic year of theatre-making.”
The productions invited to appear at the NT in the final week of this year’s Festival are:
Tuesday 26 June the Dorfman Theatre
7pm – [ BLANK ] by Alice Birch performed by See&Eye Theatre, City and Islington College (London)
8.30pm – The Changing Room by Chris Bush performed by Cornwall College (St Austell, Cornwall)
Wednesday 27 June the Dorfman Theatre
7pm – Want by Barney Norris performed by St Brendan’s Sixth Form College (Bristol)
8.30pm – The Sweetness of a Sting by Chinonyerem Odimba performed by Haggerston School (Hackney, London)
Thursday 28 June the Dorfman Theatre
7pm – The Ceasefire Babies by Fiona Doyle performed by Yew Tree Youth Theatre (Wakefield)
8.30pm – These Bridges by Phoebe Eclair-Powell performed by Chichester Festival Youth Theatre (Chichester)
Friday 29 June the Dorfman Theatre
7pm – The Free9 by In-Sook Chappell performed by TRANSMISSION, Jacksons Lane (London)
8.30pm – The Blue Electric Wind by Brad Birch performed by Collision (Central Scotland)
Saturday 30 June the Dorfman Theatre
7pm – When They Go Low by Natalie Mitchell performed by CAPA College (Wakefield)
8.30pm – Dungeness by Chris Thompson performed by PACE Youth Theatre (Paisley, Scotland)
All performances will be captioned.
Tickets are on sale from Friday 25 May 2018.
