Play for performance: Three

In 2016, the National Youth Theatre commissioned Sophie Ellerby to write a new play for our flagship social inclusion course Playing Up. Playing Up is a Level 3 qualification in Theatre Arts and is aimed at working with young people who are NEET (not in education, employment or training) and for whatever reason have fallen out of formal education earlier on in their life.

The process of creating Three was part of this accredited course. Sophie and I, as the director, worked collaboratively with the twenty students to develop a piece with their voices at the very heart of it. The research and development took place over a six-month period, ten days of R&D with the students and then into full time rehearsals, leading to a production at the Arcola Theatre, London, in June 2017. This collaborative approach of developing the play gave real autonomy to the students, allowing them to work closely with the writer to draw out what they were particularly interested in exploring. The luxury and privilege of working closely with a living writer meant the work felt relevant and truly theirs.