50 Plays in a Day

To mark the announcement of National Youth Theatre’s 2017 season, celebrating the 50th anniversary of our first new writing commission, we challenged our young members aged 14-25 to stage 50 readings of plays from our back catalogue in one day and stream them on Facebook Live.

On 4 April 2017 National Youth Theatre members creatively produced 54 play readings across the UK and beyond.

Audience and Participation
75,000 - Audience for live streams over 24 hour period
180,000 - Reach of live stream social posts over 24 hour period
54 - Creative Producers
300+ Cast Members

Locations
Readings took place in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Calais;
On riverbanks and rooftops and in public squares, parks, kitchens and car parks
36/54 readings took place outside of London
Locations Included:
The Refugee Kitchen, Calais
The National Space Centre, Leicester
Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire
Wycombe Museum
The Black Country Living Museum
Shakespeare Memorial Room, Birmingham
Govanhill Baths, Glasgow
Pubs in Wigan and Ipswich
Train station, Bristol
Bronte Parsonage, Keighley
Cannock Chase Forest, Staffordshire
Houses of Parliament, Westminster
Furniture Shop, Finsbury Park

Theatres and Arts Centres in: Doncaster, Cardiff, Southend, Peterborough, Sheffield, Liverpool, Newcastle, Margate, Stratford, Hammersmith, Borough, Shepherds Bush, Kentish Town and the West End.

Youth Centres, Schools, Colleges and Universities in: Belfast, Brighton, Carlisle, Edinburgh, East Sussex, Surrey, Whitstable, Bath and Bedfordshire.

Feedback
“I hope you do more things like this in the future. It's a great way of staying a part of this wonderful organisation and being trusted to carry the NYT flag into our home regions. Congratulations on what looks like an incredibly successful day of productions. I'm very proud to call myself an NYT member!”
Martha Loader, Creative Producer, Bedroom by Jack Thorne, Thomas Wolsey Pub, Ipswich
“It was such an incredible experience, I definitely want to go back and help out in the camps. Thank you to you guys for such giving us this opportunity!”

Rosie Dwyer, Cast Member, The Host by Nessah Muthy, The Help Refugees Kitchen in Calais

“Today, I had the pleasure of producing, and taking part in, a reading of Tory Boyz by James Graham, at the Houses of Parliament, for the NYT's 50 Plays In A Day. Never thought I'd be able to say that! Thank you NYT – I couldn’t have done it with you.” Simon Lennon, Creative Producer, Tory Boyz by James Graham, Houses of Parliament