National Theatre’s adapted programme brings theatre to schools this Autumn
Harriet Clifford
Monday, September 14, 2020
The National Theatre has announced that its UK-wide programmes for schools and young people will recommence in Autumn, having been adapted to be Covid-secure. Opportunities include online festivals, playwriting programmes and free access to online resources, all of which will be delivered digitally and flexibly to ensure maximum participation.
Richard Hubert Smith
Some of the programme highlights include:
- Young people will have the opportunity to produce and stage ten new plays alongside some of the UK’s most exciting contemporary writers. The workshops, which are presented in collaboration with annual youth theatre festival Connections, will take place digitally and will lead to performances at 30 partner theatres in Spring 2021. Applications are open now and will close on 3 October.
- For budding playwrights aged 14-19, the New Views playwriting programme and competition provides the opportunity to receive support from professionals. Shortlisted plays in the NT’s annual playwriting programme will be performed at the National Theatre in July 2021. Applications are open until early October.
- Cross-curriculum creativity is encouraged by Let’s Play, a flexible programme to support teachers to incorporate drama into primary school learning. The toolkit provided will enable pupils to create short performances which can be shared digitally. Participation costs have been reduced and schools can sign up here.
- Free at-home access to the National Theatre Collection has been extended for the next academic year in partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing, providing access to 30 high-quality productions with supporting resources. Sign up at the NT website.
Director of Learning at the National Theatre, Alice King-Farlow, said: ‘As we begin to resume activity at the National Theatre, our commitment to creating opportunities for young people to make and participate in theatre remains at the forefront of our mission. We want to support schools and young people to return to active theatre making in a way that’s safe and manageable in a constantly changing context, and we will continue to consult closely with schools and with the theatres we partner with across the country.’