Youth Engagement…
Photo credit: TheatreCraft
Besties, when did you first go to the theatre and acquire a passion and love of live performance? We believe that taking part as an audience member or as a participant on stage/behind the scenes is an essential a part of a child’s growth whether they choose to develop a career in the Arts or not. As the SOLT/UK Theatre report says: “The State of British Theatre in 2025” said in May 2025, “For young people engaging with live performance can raise attainment, boost confidence, foster empathy and build meaningful connections beyond the online world” and they said, “every child should have the chance to attend at least one theatre performance before they leave school”.
Claire Walker, Co-CEO of the Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre, said on the outcome of the Curriculum and Assessment Review: “If we are to ensure that arts and culture are for everyone, the classroom is only the start. As we have highlighted through our Theatre for Every Child campaign, access to school trips has fallen sharply, disproportionately affecting working-class children. Schools are facing a multitude of challenges, and finances are increasingly stretched. Delivering on the promise of the new core enrichment entitlement - which must include opportunities off the school premises as well as opportunities within schools - will require sustained funding. To truly enable an arts-rich education, schools must be properly equipped with the trained staff, time, and resources needed to deliver. Our members across the country stand ready to work with their local schools to turn this vision into a reality.”
The Curriculum and Assessment Review published in November 2025 stated that GCSE Drama take up had fallen to 7% in 2024/25 (from 13% the year before) and A level Drama was just 1% of A level entries in 2023/24. It acknowledged that Drama was a valuable part of a broad and balanced curriculum that builds student confidence and prepares them for later life. So while the Government and theatre leadership recognise the importance of live theatre to a child’s development, there is a significant gap in the delivery of that experience.
In the book the Uses of Enchantment, the meaning and importance of fairy tales, Bruno Bettelheim examines the impact of fairy tales on children’s development. The annual pantomime visit is often the first experience a child gets of live theatre and is vital for giving the person a passion for the experience. School performances are an essential part of the pantomime season, but the cost of visits and transport is a barrier to some schools’ communities and the cost of staging the performance with discounted ticket pricing is a financial challenge to some of the smaller venues.
The Campaign for Arts research indicates that the UK has the lowest level of government spending on culture among European countries and reduced total culture spending per person between 2010 and 2022. Their State of the Arts report showed between 2013/14 and 2019/20, around 50% of 11-15 years olds had no engagement with the Arts outside of school while the teaching hours were also falling.
You can support this campaign through this link:
Donate – Campaign for the Arts
We need to do more in the UK to develop young people’s life skills and passion for live theatre and that requires more funding and philanthropic giving. Here are ten ways we can support the young people from age 4-25 to enjoy live theatre and benefit from the experience.
1. School Drama
Clearly resourcing schools to teach Drama and embedding the great playwrights into English Literature studies is the starting point but the teaching needs to be in way that is inclusive and fun, not dry and earnest. The less confident speakers need to be supported and encouraged to take part and find a role to develop their self-belief. The language of Shakespeare needs to be explained and enjoyed, and the period context explored and then related to the modern society. Visiting companies need to be encouraged and funded to take performance into schools’ halls. RADA’s annual short school tours of 75-minute Shakespeare plays featuring the work of second year students from their BA (Hons) in Acting and Foundation Degree in Technical Theatre & Stage Management to Greater London state schools at no cost to schools is an excellent model for both the schools and the RADA students.
You can donate to support access to RADA on this link:
https://tickets.rada.ac.uk/RADA/website/Donations.aspx
2. The Pantomime Visit
The annual trip to the local pantomime for young school children is a joyous occasion for both the pupils and the performers. It has always struck me as curious that we encourage kids to shout out and interact on this their first theatre visit but expect them to follow the etiquette of behaviours on later visits but there is no doubt the raucous atmosphere of a schools performance is unique and hopefully embeds the idea of fun and enjoyment that live performance can deliver. Local theatres must support these shows with cheaper prices and discounted ice creams as they are critical to audience development. Wiltshire Creative reported that in 2024, over five thousand school children attended their pantomime, Sleeping Beauty.
You can support Wiltshire Creative’s access to pantomime through this link:
Salisbury Christmas Appeal | Wiltshire Creative
3. Discounted Pricing
Theatre is becoming expensive to stage and run and that is reflected in ticket pricing. Although UK Theatre report ‘The State of British Theatre’ states that “across the UK most tickets were sold in 2023/24 for £39.50 or less, this is still a barrier to frequent visits for some segments of the community. The reports states that “over 70% planned to freeze their lowest priced tickets” and venues were adopting a dual strategy of premium and dynamic pricing subsidising the access prices. The best example of this is the Chichester Festival Theatre Prologue scheme. As a Prologue member, you can book up to two £5 tickets (subject to availability) per performance. Prologue members have to make the booking themselves, and both ticket holders must have valid ID showing they are 16-30 on the date of the performance. You can join Prologue on this link:
Prologue | Chichester Festival Theatre
4. Regular Programmes for schools and young people
The State of British Theatre Report in 2025 states that 80% of theatre leaders run free or subsidised programmes for schools and young people. 68% ran workshops with local schools, 55% talent development and 37% afterschool and holiday activity. In 2024, the Watermill in Newbury, a delightful 200-seat venue reported that 180 young people visited the theatre each week to take part in their outreach programmes. At Wiltshire Creative, they reported growth in 2023/24 in their Youth Theatre programme with bursaries and 50% of under five sessions free of charge.
You can support the Watermill outreach though this link:
Make a Donation: Theatre for all | Watermill Theatre
5. Summer Youth Projects
A natural progression from a good school drama experience or theatre visit is to join a Summer Youth Project at your local theatre. These can accommodate everyone on stage or behind the scenes, and build new relationships and friendships. Wiltshire Creative’s Stage 65 Youth Theatre was started sixty years ago and has mounted 148 shows to date. In 2025. 130 members joined, with 117 of them involved in their wonderful production of The Jungle Book on the main stage of the Playhouse. In 2026, they involved the Stage 65 in the full-scale professional production of Romeo and Juliet. Fifty-two of the places enjoyed a bursary to fund their membership.
At the Wycombe Swan this summer, they staged the 33rd Summer Youth Project with their production of The Addams Family including many filling the technical roles. The key to all of these is to make the arts feel accessible to all and building the confidence, creativity, and community connections of all who take part. At Swindon’s Wyvern Theatre, nearly 200 young people aged from 9-21 will take part in their 2026 production of Little Shop of Horrors. Their annual projects have been running since the first Bugsy Malone in 1994. You can donate to support this activity through this link:
https://donate.justgiving.com/charity/trafalgarentertainmenttrust/donation-amount
6. Edinburgh Fringe
For those bold enough taking a school or youth group to the Edinburgh Fringe, it is an extraordinary experience both as an immersive audience experience and a unique intensive performance experience. In 2025, we saw a remarkable youth group, Stage Skool Live’s production of Newsies. In their third year at the Fringe and claiming just two weeks rehearsal for two shows, they put on a show to rival so many professional shows at the Fringe. With children aged 7-16, this talented cast worked incredibly well together, nailed the American accents, and delivered the songs and dances with great skill and finesse.
You can find out more about Stage Skool on this link:
7. Targeted Projects like Romeo and Juliet & Balletboyz
Another bold initiative was the Trafalgar Entertainment Trust community project Romeo and Juliet, staged at the Trafalgar Theatre in November 2025, which partnered with Fighting Knife Crime in London, Act On It, and 2020 Levels. It gave eleven young performers with diverse backgrounds a West End debut. The Beginners Please project is an opportunity for people aged sixteen and over who have faced adversity to take part in a creative process and intends each season to draw attention to an issue affecting society today.
https://donate.justgiving.com/charity/trafalgarentertainmenttrust/donation-amount
Earlier in 2025, we saw a sharing of the Balletboyz weeklong workshop at Richmond Theatre, with twenty boys aged 12-16 called Connect, Communicate, Create. The project aimed to foster confidence, new skills, and friendships in a supportive environment. It was an extraordinarily moving session to watch as these young men were coaxed and encouraged into demonstrating to parents and friends how they had learned to develop some movement routines inspired by pictures and words. You can support the work of the Richmond Theatre Trust on this link:
https://www.givey.com/richmondtheatretrustlimited
8. TheatreCraft
For those young people who have been bitten by the performance bug at school, the TheatreCraft initiative in the heart of the West End is surely a must visit event. This year’s event will take place in November with exhibitors and events at the Royal Opera House, plus tours and workshops at other venues including the Dominion, Prince of Wales, Adelphi, Drury Lane, Lyric and Trafalgar Theatre. With exhibitors from venues (such as Cameron Mackintosh Theatres), service industries (like Casarotto Ramsey), producers (like Jamie Wilson), and educators (including LAMDA), and with plenty of people on hand to chat with young people about the opportunities, it is a truly inspiring free event.
You can find out more of their support for bursaries on this link:
https://www.theatrecraft.org/project_category/funding-bursaries/page/2/
9. Drama schools
Although there are several routes to pursuing a career in theatre performance, the best way is through one of the many drama schools around the country or aspire to one of the elite ones like RADA, LAMDA or the Royal Conservatoire in Scotland. The cost can be prohibitive, with the RCS even with fees at only £1,820 p.a. for Scottish domiciled undergraduates, it still estimates living costs of £11,000 to £15,000 p.a. for the three-year course, although they do offer scholarships. In London, RADA’s Technical Theatre & Stage Management course costs £9,535 p.a for two or three years. For 2024/25, RADA allocated £400,000 in scholarships and fee support to undergraduate students. At least with a RADA TTSM degree, there is a good chance of regular employment in the industry.
Entry to these drama schools requires a portfolio of work to demonstrate commitment and skill, and this can be acquired at school, in amateur theatre or at one of the local drama classes and productions such as those run by Stagecoach around the country.
Our Story | Performing Arts Classes | Stagecoach
10. Volunteering
The other obvious way to develop and grow a passion for theatre is by volunteering your time and perspective to your local venue. Many theatres rely on volunteer support especially Front of House to enable them to open safely and economically. Others progress from Summer Youth Project participants to be assistant facilitators or if over eighteen, as a chaperone for the projects. Chichester Festival Theatre (CFT) takes engagement with young people very seriously with an active Youth Advisory Board (YAB). The Board is used to identify and champion ways in which CFT can become a more welcoming, inclusive, diverse, and innovative organisation for young people. It seeks their thoughts on fresh, bold ideas in order to help the theatre actively move forward in ensuring that the spaces and programming excites, inspires and resonates, and as an advocate for the voice of young people in theatre and the creative industries.
The YAB meets several times a year and engages in a two-way conversation with the Board of Trustees and CFT staff on how best to make the theatre an inviting and exciting place for young people. More venues should follow this impressive engagement with young audiences. You can support access to Chichester Festival Theatre through this link:
Donate - Chichester Festival Theatre
All of these cost money to run but that funding will change lives, especially for young people who live their lives through a phone screen. Experiencing being part of a live audience or participating in a performance can inspire, motivate, and provide new life skills that help a young person build a better life. West End Best Friend urges you to support your local community theatre by donating to their campaigns to fund these projects and urge your friends and family to do the same. We can’t wait for the Government to prioritise this area, the industry and we, theatregoers, must take the lead.
Nick Wayne
Nick has been involved as a Trustee/Director in UK Producer and Venue Organisations for twenty-six years, seen over 1350 productions, visited over 160 of the UK Venues, seen overseas productions in USA, Canada, France, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, and Australia and invested in over 40 West End Productions. You can read his long form articles on Stage Whispers UK - Nick Wayne