New Archive Website supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund

New website, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, invites alumni and the public to help build a living record of the world's first youth theatre

The National Youth Theatre has today launched a new online archive, opening seven decades of productions, photographs and ephemera to the public for the first time.

Built by web agency Maraid and supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the site brings together material from across NYT's history, from its first production of Henry V at Toynbee Hall in 1956 to the companies and productions of today. More photographs, scans and stories will be added over the coming months as the archive grows.

Alongside the launch, NYT is calling on alumni, former staff, and anyone who has worked with or watched the company to contribute. The organisation is asking people to send in photographs, video, and scans of programmes, tickets, letters, posters and other objects, so the archive reflects the full sweep of the company's history and the people who made it.

Since 1956, hundreds of thousands of young people have passed through the National Youth Theatre, with award-winning alumni on and off stage, across the creative industries and beyond. The archive offers a route for those company members to add their own material and memories to the record.

The archive is free to explore at https://archive.nyt.org.uk/. Contributions can be submitted at https://archive.nyt.org.uk/get-involved