Through this year’s National Theatre Connections Festival, Worcester Theatres celebrates the talent of local young people aged 13-19 as 10 groups from the Midlands are welcomed to perform on the Swan Theatre stage.

From Fri 11 - Sun 13 April, the Swan Theatre will host performances from SHS Acting Company, TDMS Collective, Stagedoor Learning, Halesowen College, Bournside Ensemble, Central Youth Theatre, Perfect Circle Youth Theatre, The Courtyard Youth Theatre, Evolve Performance Hub and Worcester Theatres’ very own Young Rep company.

The Swan Theatre is one of 33 theatres across the UK joining this year’s celebrations with over 5,500 young people from 275 companies and schools having the chance to perform on professional stages. As headline partner for the Connections programme, BNP Paribas aims to make art accessible to all young people across the UK through their BNP Paribas AccessArt25 programme. Regional festivals will take place at partner theatres nationwide from 12 March - 12 May, culminating in a festival at the National Theatre in June. 

To celebrate the vast range of talent on display nationwide this spring, ten youth theatre groups will be invited to perform their version of one of this year’s plays at the National Theatre from 24-28 June, reopening its Dorfman stage. The Connections Festival will spotlight the power of youth theatre nationwide by bringing groups together for a final celebratory moment of the anniversary year. 

Over 125,000 young people nationwide have taken part in Connections over the past three decades, giving young people firsthand experience in all aspects of staging and performing a new play. Esteemed alumni include David Oyelowo, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Callum Scott Howells and Keira Knightley. Each year ten new plays are commissioned that explore contemporary themes relevant to young people, creating a cannon of over 235 scripts specifically for young people to perform. Previous playwrights include Alice Birch, Chris Bush, James Graham and Lenny Henry. Connections also takes place internationally, with festivals being hosted in seven countries spanning three continents. 

Sarah-Jane Morgan, Chief Executive Officer & Artistic Director at Worcester Theatres, said “Worcester Theatres and the Swan Theatre are really proud to be a partner venue for the NT Connections Festival again this year, especially as the Festival celebrates its 30th Anniversary. At Worcester Theatres we are really passionate about providing a professional performance space such as the Swan Theatre to enable this opportunity in Worcestershire for youth theatres and schools to perform on our stage with full technical, sound and stage lighting supported by our fully professional team."

With so much to see, make sure to come along and show your support for these brilliant theatre makers of the future. Tickets are available for each performance, or you can get an ‘All Day Pass’ to see all the performances happening that day. For more information head to the website or call the Box Office on 01905 611 427.