Stage Whispers 44- Developing National Youth Strategy for Theatre
A collaboration between Government, ACE, Commercial producers, Equity, regional venues, casts and crews
In Stage Whispers 39 we argued that every child should have the opportunity to experience the joy of Theatre and feel that Live Performance is for them through three priorities: The School Curriculum, Community Hubs and Philanthropy. In Stage Whispers 31 we highlighted the Children’s Creative Commission survey which we hope will lead to an ambitious programme of recommendations to widen the provision and opportunities for all young people to participate in Arts and Culture. As with any theatrical production it requires collaboration and communication between the Government (Departments of Education, Culture, Work and Pensions and Treasury), The Local Authorities, Arts Council of England, Equity, UK Theatre, Producers and Venues.
National Youth Strategy
In December 2025 the Government announced the National Youth Strategy with around additional £500 million of new funding to transform youth services. This includes:
1) Build or refurbish up to 250 youth facilities over the next four years, as well as providing equipment for activities to around 2500 youth organisations, through a new £350 million ‘Better Youth Spaces’ programme. It will provide safe and welcoming spaces, offering young people somewhere to go, something meaningful to do, and someone who cares about their wellbeing.
2) Launch a network of 50 Young Futures Hubs by March 2029 as part of a local transformation programme of £70 million, providing access to youth workers and other professionals, supporting their wellbeing and career development and preventing them from harm. The first eight hubs to be operational in 2026 are in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, County Durham, Nottingham, Bristol, Tower Hamlets, and Brighton and Hove.
3) Support organisations in underserved areas to deliver high-quality youth work and activities through a ‘Richer Young Lives Fund’ worth over £60 million.
4) Boost young people’s wellbeing, personal development, and essential life skills through a new £22.5 million programme of support around the school day in up to 400 schools.
5) Recruit and train youth workers, volunteers and other trusted adults with £15 million of investment.
6) Strengthen youth services through £5 million to improve local partnerships, better information sharing, and digital infrastructure, ensuring young people receive high-quality, safe, and effective support in their communities.
The Young Futures Hubs will be targeted in areas with high levels of anti-social behaviour and knife crime with aim to
a) Transform the lives of young people, cut crime and protect communities
b) Divert them away from knife crime and anti-social behaviour
c) Provide them with services and advice to combat social isolation, mental health and unemployment
d) Give access to safe, trusted adults
We believe that the Local Community Theatre Hubs can play a valuable role in this National Strategy and that Theatre as an audience member, workshop participant or young performer can provide those experiences that can change lives, boost young people’s wellbeing, personal development, and provide essential life skills. We have seen this in action.
Romeo and Juliet at Trafalgar Theatre was a bold initiative from the Trafalgar Entertainment Trust staged at the Trafalgar Theatre on 16th November 2025 which partnered with Fighting knife crime in London, Act on it and 2020 levels. It gave eleven young performers with diverse backgrounds a West End debut. The Beginners Please project is an opportunity for people aged sixteen plus who have faced adversity to take part in a creative process and intends each season to draw attention to an issue affecting society today.
Romeo and Juliet at Salisbury Playhouse from 24th May to 7th June puts its Youth Group, Stage 65 , at the heart of the production alongside the professional cast. This highly immersive innovative show that takes place in and around the Playhouse site should appeal to young audiences and their families. It is the 50th anniversary of the opening of the venue soon. The Artwork to promote the show was designed with strong input from the Youth Panel. Meet and Greet and Route Stewarding will be provided by 14–25-year-olds to ensure the promenade and immersive elements are safely and enjoyable delivered. There is an open invite for preshow performers to set the mood in the foyer opening scene and local music makers 16+ were used to create the music soundtrack played in through individual headsets. Eighty young people will act in groups as part of the community cast singing and dancing at key moments. These magical opportunities build confidence, teamwork, collaboration and theatrical skills.
“A place to be you” at Watermill Theatre is a chance to get involved with weekly drama and craft session for young people including those with neurodivergent, deaf or other complications in their lives. These sessions are free.
Young Creatives at Home in Manchester is targeted at 14–25-year-olds who want to get involved in Film, Theatre or visual art with sessions from 6pm to 8pm each week.
Recently we were invited to attend a play reading at Mill at Sonning in which a seventeen-year-old young writer, Darcey Hogan, was invited to stage her new one act play with professional actors under the direction of Tony McHale (Writer/Director on Eastenders. Holby City and Silent Witness). After just a one-day rehearsal and workshop the cast of six performed the play (with books in hand) bringing her piece to life for an invited audience of over 100. It was a remarkable experience for all of us with impressive writing about Alcoholics Anonymous sessions that was moving and engaging. It was possible due to philanthropy of some in the audience and the commitment of the Venue but surely this is part of solution model to engage young people more in performance arts.
The Balletboyz workshop at Richmond Theatre Trust last year saw a sharing with an invited audience of the weeklong workshop with twenty boys aged twelve to sixteen called Connect, Communicate, Create. The project aimed to foster confidence, new skills, and friendships in a supportive environment. It was an extraordinary moving session to watch as these young men were coaxed and encouraged into demonstrating to parents and friends how they had learned to develop some movement routines inspired by pictures and words.
Chichester Festival Theatre “Stage the Future” campaign is to raise funds to support their programmes for young people who dream of lighting, telling stories or working behind the scenes and helping them nurture tomorrows talent. Their Youth Theatre starts with 0–4-year-olds in mini-Makers and shakers and Little Notes sessions and then offers school and education groups access through workshops and classes.
Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans of the RSC at The Stage’s Future of Theatre Conference In April spoke about the goals and the needs of the sector and of course highlighted the work their organisation does to engage young people. They proudly proclaimed that the Creative learning and Engagement work reaches over 500,000 children and young people annually and creates projects with and for communities who have not historically engaged with the work. They work with over one thousand schools each year including working with regional theatres in areas of structural disadvantage across one hundred towns and cities from Cornwall to Middlesbrough. They have a significant role in the promotion of the Arts in schools and connecting new audiences to these plays that are a core part of British Culture and can still speak to modern day issues and challenges.
Live Entertainment & Arts Foundation (LEAF)
In early May, Sir Ian Mckellan launched the Live Entertainment & Arts Foundation (LEAF) at the Duke of York Theatre in London, aiming to ensure that live performances and creative opportunities thrive across the UK. The Charity will be dedicated to nurturing the next generation of audiences and industry professionals.
Against a background of falling local government funding for the arts which has dropped by 55% since 2010, and a downturn in the uptake of arts GCSEs in schools by 42%, LEAF aims to bridge these gaps by providing access to the arts for all ages and backgrounds, with a specific focus on underrepresented and marginalised communities, including disabled individuals and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
LEAF announced several themes for its support the industry:
1) Supporting the Next Generation: Aiding emerging creative professionals and fostering future audiences.
2) Funding Theatre Productions: Originating from Sir Ian’s 80th birthday tour profits, this grant provides one-off funding to emerging producers. Since 2021, it has supported 20 productions across 79 UK theatres. Starting in 2026, LEAF will accept new submissions with the goal of supporting at least 30 more productions by April 2029.
3) Addressing Educational Declines: Supporting initiatives that tackle the reduction of arts subjects in education.
4) Promoting Diversity: Improving the diversity of the talent and audience pipeline across the UK.
5) Regional Access: Supporting regional touring theatre, which McKellen describes as the “lifeblood” of the industry
Get Technical
LEAF were one of the sponsors of the excellent ATG/Playful Productions initiative that ran on 12th May at the Piccadilly Theatre and took a full house to behind the curtain of Moulin Rouge! This two-hour demonstration of how the magic is created on stage cost just £7 to buy a ticket online but explored every aspect of the production, department by department. Starting with the full cast in the show’s opening (on a very early call for the evening performance), the stage manager entered for a show stop that the audience had paid to see! What followed were practical demonstrations of the roles of everyone involved in putting the show on explaining the kabuki drop system, sound mixing, wigs preparation, and quick costumes changes. Designed by Global Creatures as a master class for young people interested in pursuing a career in theatre production, it would appeal to anyone who loves live theatre. The event first ran in Australia in 2022 and has now been staged in London, Manchester and Birmingham in the UK. It is backed up with many online resources accessed via QR codes in the glossy programme and a list of potential next steps for interested young people including ATG Inspire, Theatrecraft, and Stage One. This is a brilliant initiative relying on the goodwill of cast, crew, creatives and the venue to put on but is surely a model other production can follow. It costs to stage it but what a brilliant promotion of the show itself and of the careers that the sector can offer.
As always, we find these efforts inspiring but to bring real scale and opportunity to all we need to see collaboration on a wider scale between Government, ACE, the large NPO’s, Commercial producers, Equity, ABTT, BECTU , regional venues, casts and crews to promote and stage these events and raise the funds to make them accessible to all. That is surely a worthwhile goal of a National Youth Strategy and perhaps then it can attract philanthropy on a more consistent basis.
Nick Wayne