Four regional theatres have got together to commission a new play for their youth theatres and young companies.
Northampton’s Royal and Derngate, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Derby Theatre and Dundee Rep Theatre are involving young people in a project rooted in the experience of what it means to be young in Britain today. The aim is to create a “relevant new play bursting with powerful ideas and provocative themes”.
At the start of a two-year process, the young people selected a writer from a shortlist, choosing Derby-born Laura Lomas. She is currently the Channel 4 playwright in residence at Clean Break Theatre Company. She is also working with the Royal Court Theatre.
In 2009, New Perspectives toured her play Wasteland around the country and included a date at Derby Assembly Rooms’ Darwin Suite.
Lomas will visit each venue for workshops with young people who can feed ideas into the creation of the script's first draft. In October, four young people from each venue will go on a residential weekend to work on the draft with Laura.
At each theatre, a cast of up to 25 young people aged from 14 to 21 will stage a production of the new play in summer 2017.
Sarah Brigham, Derby Theatre’s artistic director, said, “we’re delighted to be part of this exciting partnership. This is flagship project for us all and I believe it’s testament to the fact that all these theatres take young people's voices seriously.
“Laura Lomas is a writer of exceptional talent and I'm excited to see how she shapes those young people's voices into a script. As someone who attended youth theatre, I believe it’s the lifeblood of our industry where we nurture talent, develop artists and of course create rounded, engaged young people.”