National Theatre Connections 2023 draws together ten new plays for young people to perform, from some of the UK's most exciting and popular playwrights. These are plays for a generation of theatre-makers who want to ask questions, challenge assertions and test the boundaries, and for those who love to invent and imagine a world of possibilities.
The plays offer young performers an engaging and diverse range of material to perform, read or study. Touching on themes like climate change, politics, toxic masculinity and gang culture, the collection provides topical, pressing subject matter for students to explore in their performance.
This 2023 anthology represents the full set of ten plays offered by the National Theatre 2023 Festival, as well as comprehensive workshop notes that give insights and inspiration for building characters, running rehearsals and staging a production.
Connections Producer Introduction Introduction by Ola Animashawun Connections 2023 Synopses (Circle Dreams Around) The Terrible, Terrible Past by Simon Longman Cast size: flexible, with a suggested minimum cast size of eight; Recommended for ages 14+ Innocent Creatures by Leo Butler Cast size: minimum of eight; Recommended for ages 15+ Is My Microphone On? by Jordan Tannahill Cast size: minimum of seven, no maximum; Recommended for ages 13+ Is This Good Enough? by Avaes Mohammad Cast size: Flexible cast size, with 30 named characters; Recommended for ages 13+ Model Behaviour by Jon Brittain Cast size: nine; Suitable for all ages Old Times by Molly Taylor Cast size: 14; Recommended for ages 14+ Samphire by Shamser Sinha Cast size: twenty-one characters, recommended minimum cast size of twelve; Recommended for ages 16+ Strangers Like Me by Ed Harris Cast size: minimum of 15; Recommended for ages 14+ The Heights by Lisa McGee Cast size: 14 named characters, minimum cast size of eight; Recommended for ages 13+ Tuesday by Alison Carr Cast size: 9 – 50, any gender; Suitable for all ages.
Simon Longman is a playwright from the West Midlands. Lisa McGee, an award-winning screenwriter and playwright from Derry, is the creator, writer and executive producer of the acclaimed Derry Girls. Leo Butler is an award-winning playwright. Jordan Tannahill is a novelist, playwright, and director of film and theatre. Avaes Mohammad's scripts have chronicled post 9/11 multicultural Britain and represented the challenges of young people in the UK. Jon Brittain is a playwright, television writer and director. Molly Taylor is a writer & theatre-maker from Liverpool. Shamser Sinha writes about people at the wrong end of money, fortune and the wars we fight. Ed Harris is an award-winning, dyslexic playwright, poet and comedy writer based in Brighton. Alison Carr is a playwright and radio dramatist.
Reviews for National Theatre Connections 2023: 10 Plays for Young Performers
Whether you are looking to stage a full production, explore different styles of text and performance in a lesson or find some starting points for textual analysis and discussion, this folio has a resource that could prove useful. -- Eleanor Pead * Drama and Theatre Magazine *
