The National Theatre's Connections programme, which commissions new plays every year for young people to perform, is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025.
This year, more than 5,500 young people from more than 270 companies and schools will perform one of the ten specially commissioned plays in theatres around the UK. Ten groups will be selected to perform at the Dorfman in the National Theatre Connections Festival in London in June.
The young performers will present the plays at 33 partner venues: Aberystwyth Arts Centre, artsdepot in London, Beacon Arts Centre, Blackpool Grand, Bristol Old Vic, Cast Doncaster, Chichester Festival Theatre, Crewe Lyceum, Derby Theatre, Exeter Northcott Theatre, The Garage in Norwich, Gulbenkian Theatre in Canterbury, HOME Manchester, Kiln Theatre in Kilburn, Lighthouse in Poole, The Lowry in Salford, Lyric Theatre Belfast, Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, Newcastle Theatre Royal, North Wall Oxford, Nottingham Playhouse, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Royal and Derngate in Northampton, Sherman Theatre in Cardiff, Soho Theatre in London, Southwark Playhouse in London, Theatre Peckham in London, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Tramshed in Woolwich, Trinity Theatre Tunbridge Wells, Worcester Theatres and York Theatre Royal.
This year's plays are Mia and the Fish by Satinder Chohan, The Company of Trees by Jane Bodie, Ravers by Rikki Beadle-Blair, YOU 2.0 by Alys Metcalf, Fresh Air by Vickie Donoghue, No Regrets by Gary McNair, Their Name is Joy by May Sumbwanyambe, Normalised by Amanda Verlaque, Saba’s Swim by Danusia Samal and Brain Play by Chloë Lawrence-Taylor and Paul Sirett.