Youth Theatre

Writer: Evan Placey, based on the novella by Robert Louis Stevenson Director: Tessa Walker Reviewer: Selwyn Knight We all feel we already know the story of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde after countless adaptations of its central story – had the word been coined in 1886, one might even have described it as an early meme. But one feature of ...

Writer and Director: Roisin Feeny Directors:  Gemma Rowan and Roisin Feeny Reviewer:  Richard Maguire Taking place in the not-too-distant future, Wow Everything Is Amazingsees the internet worshipped as a religion. To prove their faith, new worshippers are persuaded to hand over all their data, and to share all their ideas. This new show by the young company Sounds Like Chaos ...

Devisers: The Young Everyman Team and their mentors Directors: Nicole Behan, Matt Rutter and Chris Tomlinson Reviewer: Jamie Gaskin The Young Everyman Playhouse (YEP) team is well-known for its large-scale productions, so,devising a piece which, by its very title Crowd, requires plenty of people is a good choice. The show was devised by the team and developed with the actors ...

Writer: Josh Azouz Director: Ned Bennett Reviewer: Maryam Philpott The twentieth century marked the end of the dynastic marriage market for the Royal Family paving the way for weddings to, largely aristocratic, commoners – photographers, the daughters of businessmen and even an American actress. Henry VIII may have created a new church to marry Anne Boleyn, but other monarchs only ...

Composer and lyricist: Howard Goodall Writer: Nick Stimson Director: Bronagh Lagan Reviewer: Stephen Bates Some shows have no luck at all. In the same week that the arts pages of the national press have, along with The Reviews Hub, been heaping extravagant praise on the National Theatre for its groundbreaking pro/am musical version of Shakespeare’s Pericles, along comes a youth ...

Book and Lyrics: Stephen Sater  Music: Duncan Sheik  Director: Dean Johnson  Reviewer: Scott Matthewman It is not difficult to understand why Frank Wedekind’s play Spring Awakening was deemed so shocking when it was written in 1891. The tale of teenagers embarking on multiple paths of sexual discovery in defiance of the triple authoritarian regimes of parents, teachers and the church was ...

Book and Lyrics: Ben Elton Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Director: Hannah Chissick Reviewer:  Richard Maguire The second show in The National Youth Musical Theatre’s takeover of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new venue, The Other Palace, is none other than his 2000 musical The Beautiful Game, and these young actors do him proud. Their production is only on for four days, but ...

Writer: Frances Hodgson Burnett Adapted Book and lyrics: Carl Miller Music and lyrics: Marc Folan Additional lyrics: Adey Grummet Director: Emily Gray Reviewer: David Guest There is something of a welcome and exciting renaissance in the world of youth theatre, with young people not only being given a chance to perform but also to appear in productions at well-regarded London ...