Stars Turn Out for NYT 70th
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This evening, the National Youth Theatre hosted a star-studded gala at London’s iconic Royal Festival Hall, in honour of the organisation’s 70th anniversary, supported by Netflix.
A dazzling array of creative talent appeared on stage to read letters to their younger selves, including NYT Patron Adeel Akhtar, BAFTA Breakthrough alumnae Susan Wokoma (Enola Holmes) and Rose Ayling-Ellis (Code of Silence), India Amarteifio (Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story), Fehinti Balogun (Down Cemetery Road), Jessica Henwick (Game of Thrones), Jack Thorne (Adolescence), James Graham (Dear England), Daniel Ings (The Gentlemen), Calam Lynch (Rings of Power), Rob Rinder (Judge Rinder), Fay Ripley (Cold Feet), Rhea Norwood (Pride and Prejudice, Heartstopper), Takunda Muzondiwa (Roundhouse Poetry Slam winner 2026) and Megan Bolton (TikTok Comedian). They appeared alongside a 70-strong cast of the latest generation of National Youth Theatre talent.
Additional stars in attendance at the gala included actors Lolita Chakrabarti, Monica Dolan and Philip Glenister, writer Steven Moffat, presenters Katherine Ryan and Krishnan Guru-Murthy, stage designer Bob Crowley and MP Chris Bryant.
With the theme ‘Letters to My Younger Future Self’, some of the UK’s most exciting talent took to the stage alongside the brightest talent from a new generation of storytellers, to share hilarious stories, dark secrets and sage advice. Leading creatives including Dame Joan Collins, Dame Judi Dench, NYT Patron Chiwetel Ejiofor, Richard E Grant, Lashana Lynch, Matt Lucas, Sharon Horgan, Lennie James and Joanna Lumley among many others also penned letters, which will be published alongside letters from the night in a special commemorative book to be published later this year.
Reading a letter written by critically acclaimed playwright James Graham, Daniel Craig told the audience that “the most important invention in the history of civilisation [...] was stopping, standing still”. Asserting that “I don’t want any future that’s inevitable,” Craig dedicated the letter to “those here who stopped, who stayed, who planted seeds, and grew things…”.
Meanwhile, Code of Silence actress Rose Ayling-Ellis used her letter to speak about how hard her younger self has had to work to fit into a world that wasn’t built for her: “No matter how hard you tried, you never quite fitted in. Until one day, you just stopped trying. You allowed yourself to be Deaf. The silence forced you inward. You learnt to love the quietness of outside and listen to the loudness of inside. And in that loudness, you found your community. Your language, Your culture.”
Creator of Netflix’s Adolescence Jack Thorne quipped that his first piece of advice would be to “Enjoy your hair,” because “in thirty one years time even the idea of a quiff will be an ancient bitter memory.” He concluded with a sincere plea to his younger self to “be kind to others” and “try to do better than you do”.
Introducing the very special performance, Creative Director for the gala and Artistic Director for National Youth Theatre, Paul Roseby OBE said: “Tonight, thanks to stand out support from Netflix, we celebrate 70 years of championing young voices and their stories. As you’ll see on stage we’ve nurtured some world-leading storytellers over the last 70 years and are proud to have started a global youth theatre movement. And we don’t rest on our laurels - just this week we were nominated at the UK Theatre Awards for Excellence in Inclusivity. With critical youth unemployment outside of London, students in deprived areas three times less likely to take GCSE drama and A level drama down 50%, the National Youth Theatre is more important than ever. We are the positive story that Britain needs more of.’’
Anne Mensah, Vice President of UK Content, Netflix said: "Tonight was a brilliant reminder of what's possible when you invest in young talent and the National Youth Theatre has spent 70 years nurturing young people into the storytellers who go on to shape our screens and stages. We're proud to support them through Generation N and IGNITE Your Creativity, because backing the next generation isn't just about opening doors, it's about making sure the industry we love keeps being fed by fresh voices, fresh perspectives and fresh ambition."
