The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain is a world-leading youth arts organisation. Established in 1956, the National Youth Theatre was the first youth theatre in the world.  It empowers its young people with creative leadership, inclusive practice and intersectionality training and actively works to address young people who are underrepresented in our community and industry, proactively breaking down barriers that prevent young people from taking part in our work.

The range of professional and dynamic courses available for people aged 11-28 includes five day intensive masterclasses and nine month training programmes, all of them accessible and affordable for young people to learn and thrive.  

Its work benefits each new generation of artists, creative leaders, and social and political game changers in both the private and public sectors. These alumni represent NYT’s four pillars of excellence, opportunity, compassion and community. They often return to NYT to offer free mentorship, leadership, and vital job opportunities across all art platforms.

The National Youth Theatre believes it is a force for good, breaking down social and economic barriers by investing in diversity and community and telling relevant challenging stories for our time. Equality, inclusion, and collaboration define the culture it aims to create.

Our £490,000 grant in 2020 had three strands: £400,000 to plan, implement and evaluate a revised model for young people’s participation; £60,000 towards bursaries over five years; and £30,000, towards the NYT Rep Company National Tour in 2021.

The £400,000 element of the project will aim to engage those young people that the National Youth Theatre has until now been unable to reach.  NYT will develop and test new ways of engaging those young people that have been the hardest to reach, primarily due to financial issues.  NYT’s membership will be reviewed, including how it might be enhanced and current barriers removed.  The grant will be used to pilot a new membership structure, which will include support for free or heavily subsidised engagement of young people who face direct barriers to participation.  NYT will use the findings of the impact assessment commissioned in the first year to inform and roll out successful existing initiatives and trial new ones, and to increase its presence beyond London. 

Photo: Stage production from the National Youth Theatre (2020). Photography by Helen Murray.