THE Beacon Arts Centre is to host events as part of a UK-wide festival of theatre giving young people the chance to produce and perform plays on a professional stage.
National Theatre Connections Festival is held annually and bring together budding writers of tomorrow together with industry experts.
The Beacon is one of 36 venues taking part in this year’s event, but one of only Scottish participants.
A total of 300 youth theatres and schools across the UK will have a choice of 10 plays to take part in this year.
Professional support and guidance will be provided by the National Theatre and its partner venues.
The festival’s events at the Beacon will run from Sunday, April 23 until Saturday, April 29, with eight youth groups to perform five different plays, including Beacon Young Company and Inverclyde-based Kayos Youth Theatre.
Groups from Dublin, Glasgow, Musselburgh, Biggar, and East Kilbride will also travel to the Beacon to perform.
The plays which are to be performed include The Heights by Derry Girls writer Lisa McGee, Strangers Like Me by Ed Harris, and Model Behaviour by John Briton.
Karen Townsend, creative producer at Beacon Arts Centre, said: “National Theatre Connections offers young theatre-makers invaluable experience and support as they get to produce and perform plays with guidance from industry leaders.
“We are delighted to be a partner venue for the festival for a second year in a row and can’t wait to welcome talented young people from across Scotland and Ireland to the Beacon.
“A huge amount of work will go into each of these plays, and we are incredibly excited to see them come to life on our stage next month.
“It is also a fantastic opportunity for people in the local area to come along and see some brand-new productions and support young people who could one day go on to become the next big thing.”
The festival’s participants will be able to take part in a programme of activities delivered by industry practitioners, including voice projection, improvisation, lighting, and stage management.
Kirsten Adam, head of young people’s programmes at the National Theatre, said: “It is fantastic that young people are performing in theatres right across the UK as part of National Theatre Connections over the next few months, including at Beacon Arts Centre, and we are so excited to have the National Theatre building buzzing with young talent in June for the culmination of the nationwide festival.
“By taking part in Connections, we hope to inspire more young people in the art of theatre-making and to discover the huge variety of backstage and offstage roles involved in creating a production.”
Tickets for the performances are available the Beacon's website.
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