About Us
Inspiring young people and audiences alike in the importance of live theatre.
National Youth Theatre is a pioneering youth arts charity that nurtures creative expression, personal well-being and skills development, engaging thousands of young people aged 11- 30 around the UK every year.
Established in 1956 as the world’s first youth theatre, NYT seeks out, supports and champions performers, theatre technicians and young creative leaders. NYT produces ambitious theatrical productions in local communities, on leading global stages and in unusual spaces across the UK and beyond, commissioning brave and relevant new writing and reinterpreting classic stories for our time.
Recent work has ranged from London Fashion Week and Glasgow’s COP26 to libraries in Liverpool, an earth amphitheatre in Shropshire and theatres in cities around the UK and in the heart of London’s West End.
In 2023, the redevelopment of NYT’s Creative Production House led by DSDHA won a RIBA London award in recognition of its environmentally conscious & inclusive design.
NYT's 2023 programme includes IGNITE Your Creativity in partnership with Netflix - a free national programme to discover production talent for screen and stage, Assemble - addressing the issue of isolation amongst young disabled people in non-mainstream schools through Local Inclusivity Networks, shows at leading venues, courses in seven towns and cities and NEST a major epic outdoor theatre piece in response to the climate crisis as part of LEEDS 2023.
NYT’s alumni include some of Britain’s most successful performers, technical theatre experts working on the world’s biggest events and stages and creative leaders at venues around the UK and beyond.