Youth

Takeover

Four young people wearing multicoloured costumes and strange hats. Three of them stand very close together, and one of them holds a finger to their lips. One person lies on a beanbag and has a fearful face of what is behind her.

Our Youth Takeover project ran from 2015 - 2019 with groups in Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, and offered young people an opportunity to take charge of every aspect of their own production.

The project provided young theatre makers with the platform to not only present their own work, but to also gain practical experience in the multitude of roles that go into creating a production and develop skills they could carry through to the rest of their careers.

Three young women stare off into the distance. They are very serious. One in the middle wears a headset with lots of wires coming out of it. The one on the right points with a pen and holds a clipboard. She has a cunning look on her face.
A man in the foreground sits at a kitchen table and is smiling in a sinister way. A woman with a bandage on her cheek stands in the doorway behind him and looks worried.
“I just wanted to thank you so so much for what has been THE most incredible experience. When signing up for this project never in a million years did I think I would learn half as much as what I have done!”
— Youth Takeover participant

Between 2015-2019, 61% of Youth Takeover participants successfully secured places at Universities and Drama Schools to undertake courses including professional acting training, theatre design, sound design and playwriting.

An additional 10% have gained employment in the arts industry after completing the project.

“Standing on the set that we built and painted, listening to sounds that we recorded/composed and performing the scenes that we worked so hard to give life to, we don’t feel like ‘young artists’, but artists in our own right.”
— Youth Takeover participant