The Grow Up Project
Grow Up is a project created and co-led by Beyond Face, Company Three, Mortal Fools and Prime Theatre. Headed up by Company Three, Grow Up is underpinned by the belief that the youth theatre sector has so much potential to create radical, transformative change for young people across the country. All we need is to build better links and share our practice more……
Grow Up is doing just that!
Grow Up is doing just that!
Since July 2023, we’ve been working together with Company Three, Beyond Face & Prime Theatre as creative organisations to develop the foundations for Grow Up project and learning from each other. September 2023, saw the beginnings of four groups of young people and their practitioners, from Northumberland, Swindon, Plymouth, and London to work together collaboratively, whilst devising new work. Across Autumn 2023 and across 2024, we are meeting regularly as leaders and facilitators to share practice, knowledge, and material. We are watching each other’s work - cheerleading and supporting each other.
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“The Grow Up project is an exciting opportunity for our artists and young artists to directly co-create and collaborate with those at Company 3, Prime Theatre, and Beyond Face. This project enables us to broaden young people’s experiences; like meeting and working with other young people and artists, participating in more arts experiences, and taking them to new places.”
- Mortal Fools Creative Producer
Each company has used the same starting point during their devising process, with the intention to create full-length plays. Each show could be wildly different or have moments of real connection – we don’t know yet.
Our springboard is the words ‘Grow Up’.
Teenagers are told to do this all the time, but are rarely given any space to do so.
What do they think of this, and how do they feel about growing up in the world today?
Our springboard is the words ‘Grow Up’.
Teenagers are told to do this all the time, but are rarely given any space to do so.
What do they think of this, and how do they feel about growing up in the world today?
The output of Grow Up will be the co-creation and Northern tour of a new piece of theatre, with young people from Northumberland (Tyne Valley and Ashington). Our Grow Up tour will be late March into early April 2024, and we will be heading to Ensemble Young Company touring partners including Gosforth Civic Theatre, alongside performances on home turf in Northumberland.
We also hope to film a performance of Grow Up which will be released in Autumn 2024 with a screening and resource pack.
To keep up to date with all things Grow Up and Ensemble Young Company, sign up to our mailing list and keep an eye on our social media channels – news likely to drop January 2024.
We also hope to film a performance of Grow Up which will be released in Autumn 2024 with a screening and resource pack.
To keep up to date with all things Grow Up and Ensemble Young Company, sign up to our mailing list and keep an eye on our social media channels – news likely to drop January 2024.
Meet the Grow Up Youth Theatres
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BEYOND FACEBeyond Face provides opportunities for artists of the Global Majority to live, work and thrive in the South West theatre sector. Founded in 2015 by Alix Harris, alongside creating their own productions, Beyond Face works with local global majority artists and young people to help them to build their own creative work and sense of community. Throughout their Regional Voices programme, Beyond Face connects with local people who currently have little to no engagement or experience with the theatre industry, investigating how people who don't work in the arts sector can engage with arts as a creative outlet.
“We are super excited about meeting and making new connections with the other groups, especially the residential. We are excited to see how each group will interpret Grow Up, and how our different locations will influence this.” |
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COMPANY THREECompany Three is a leading force for change for teenagers in our local community and around the world. They are a theatre company led by the ideas of 75 members aged 11-19. They recruit members through deep-rooted relationships locally and share practice globally to impact teenagers everywhere.
Working in Islington, North London, they make transformative theatre through long-term collaboration between young people and professional theatre-makers. Their plays have been performed at the National Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre, the Royal Exchange Theatre, the Yard Theatre and on the BBC. |
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PRIME THEATREPrime Theatre has been creating theatre for young people, by young people, since 1986. Prime has a large education and outreach programme which includes Prime Youth Theatre and is resident in 7 schools across Swindon. We develop young actors, writers, and technicians aged 5+ through regular workshops, projects, and performances. Recent productions include, This is Our Town (a Lottery Funded production performed at STEAM museum), Punk Rock (with a live band and fully integrated British Sign Language), 2046 (a commission which featured Sherlock and Dr Who star Mark Gatiss) and The Odyssey in a new adaptation by young writers.
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