National Theatre Connections 2021: Two New Plays for Young People

This 2021 collection features two plays; Find a Partner! by Miriam Battye and Like There's No Tomorrow by the Belgrade Young Company. Alongside the scripts this anthology also contains detailed workshop notes offering excellent ideas for running rehearsals, creating characters and staging productions.

In Find a Partner! we meet Hayley who is looking for love on a strange gameshow, where Love Island meets The Hunger Games. The play has a minimum cast size of 13, 6M/7F but can be performed by a much larger cast. The characters are all archetypes and as such are extremely relatable. The text is best suited to Year 9 and above; the issues it raises and the depth in which you can explore these themes could be quite mature. The text includes lots of information on the context and background of the play as well as rehearsal ideas and suggestions for developing characters and staging, including how to rehearse or perform the play virtually.

Like There's No Tomorrow is quite a contrast in its topic but no less relevant to a modern audience. The play explores the links between the world, the environment, how we all choose to use the earth's resources and the impact that this can have, especially the links between consumption in the West and the impact this has on the developing world. The play links the story of Maru; a teenager trying to create less of an impact on the planet despite opposition from her parents, peers, members of her community; and Asha, who represents a more ancient time when the rituals to protect nature and its resources were more important.

The play involves a large cast; all the named characters have gender-neutral names allowing the play to suit any group of students. In addition, other characters are archetypes such as the ‘new parent’ or the ‘youtuber’ allowing freedom with the text.

Students will engage with this play as its eco message is so pertinent, but it doesn't feel like it's preaching. The crack that ultimately runs through everywhere will give students many opportunities to explore an exciting staging opportunity.