Having been seen by over 10,000 people the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain’s West End Season at the Ambassadors Theatre London, must end on 4 December 2015.
The season marks the latest success for the NYT’s West End REP residency, now in its third year. The season, instilling companys of the NYT’s very best actors into West End theatres, gives members a chance to train by performing in front of paying audiences. The majority of the sixteen company members have already been signed by leading talent agents including Markham Froggatt and Irwin, Independent Talent and United Agents.
The three shows in this year’s West End rep season include: Consensual – a brand new and acclaimed play exploring issues and experiences around sexting, young people and sexual consent written by Evan Placey and directed by Pia Furtado which was documented in development as part of a new collaboration with Sky Arts; Wuthering Heights, in a new adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel by Stephanie Street directed by Emily Lim and The Merchant of Venice – Shakespeare’s play abridged especially for schools by Tom Stoppard, directed by NYT Associate Director Anna Niland.
Written by Writer’s Guild Award winner Evan Placey (Girls Like That, Holloway Jones),Consensual is directed by Pia Furtardo (Dirty Great Love Story at Soho Theatre and L’Elisir D’Amore at Opera Holland Park). Exploring teenage testosterone, teacher pupil relationships and the age of consent in the UK, Consensual examines the relationship between PSHE teacher Diane and her class, specifically fifteen year-old Freddie. “Think of Sexual Relationship Education as a war zone and you’re the journalist. Give the facts, show the photos, but don’t get too close unless you want your head blown off”.
Wuthering Heights is adapted by Stephanie Street (Sisters) from the Gothic novel by Emily Brontë and directed by Emily Lim (Brainstorm, The Kilburn Passion and The Wardrobe). When Heathcliff, a mysterious child is rescued and brought to Wuthering Heights, he develops an inseparable bond to Cathy, a friendship which soon develops into a passionate and iconic love spanning generations and ending with tragedy.
NYT Associate Anna Niland directs Tom Stoppard’s abridged version of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Stoppard’s version, originally abridged especially for the NYT to perform at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing and the subject of a BBC documentary, is a 90 minute whirlwind which has delighted audiences and schools alike for the past decade.
More information at www.nyt.org.uk