

NT Connections
–About NT Connections
Connections is the National Theatre’s annual, nationwide youth theatre festival that commissions new plays for young people to perform. The programme brings together some of the UK’s most exciting writers with the theatre-makers of tomorrow, performed by local schools, youth theatres and community groups.
| Date | Group | Show |
|---|---|---|
| Wed 4 Mar | Petersfield School | Fishville by Afsaneh Gray |
| Wed 4 Mar | Chichester Festival Youth Theatre | Ride or Die by Florence Espeut-Nickless |
| Thu 5 Mar | Angmering Connections | Wildfire Road by Eve Leigh |
| Thu 5 Mar | Groundlings Youth Theatre Company | Fishville by Afsaneh Gray |
| Fri 6 Mar | Winton Academy Players | MACBETH, MACBETH, MACBETH, MACBETH, MACBETH by Kirsty Housley |
| Fri 6 Mar | Bohunt Horsham Drama Club | Britney's Lock by Alexandra Wood |
| Sat 7 Mar | Sir Robert Woodard Academy | Sycamore Gap by Al Smith |
| Sat 7 Mar | Chichester Festival Youth Theatre | Ride or Die by Florence Espeut-Nickless |
More info on the shows
Fishville
The story starts when a young man named Jared takes to the sea in swimming gear but never starts swimming… His death, which follows on from the unexpected sale of his parents’ house, throws the community into chaos. When the daughter of the man who bought Jared’s house arrives in Saltwell and finds a severed foot washed up at her feet, she and the daughter of the ‘second homers’ decide to investigate what drove Jared into the sea. They uncover a local myth about an underwater community – did Jared believe the myth? Then, ‘Jared’ starts posting messages, asking his friends to join him. With the new girl’s father spending more and more time in the sea, and the myth gaining traction, the young people must figure out what’s going on before anybody else is lost to a vengeful ocean…
Content guidance:
- Mild sexual references
- References to suicide
- Themes alluding to radicalisation and conspiracy theories
Recommended for ages 14+
Britney's Lock
When Ruby acquires a lock of Britney Spears’ hair as a relic to help her stay calm during her GCSE mocks, her friends dismiss it, but one by one they feel its power and want a piece of it, until it is destroyed. This funny play about how we cope in stressful situations, explores the power of belief and friendship.
Content guidance:
- Mild sexual references
- One use of strong language (an alternative is offered in the notes section of the text)
- Themes of anxiety
Recommended for ages 14+
Wildfire Road
A story about a generation whose future has been hijacked. The whole play takes place on a flight from London to Tokyo. There's a hijacker on board and the flight is re-directed to Siberia and in the process saving the lives of all 416 people on board, as the rest of the world is engulfed in a massive wildfire. It's metaphorical, prophetic and a tale for the most important question of our times - are we going to wake up and address the climate emergency before it's too late?
Content guidance:
- Some strong language
- Mild sexual references
- Scenes of peril
Recommended for ages 13+
MACBETH, MACBETH, MACBETH, MACBETH, MACBETH
When an alarm is deliberately set off during their GCSE drama exam, a group of students find themselves in detention. As they struggle to navigate the seemingly endless tasks they’ve been set as punishment, questions are raised. Who set off the alarm and why? Will they ever get out of this detention? Will it cost them their GCSE? And why is Shakespeare still so popular? So begins a meta deconstruction of the play as we move from classroom to theatre, artifice to reality. The performers switch between their characters and their real selves as they interrogate Shakespeare, the canon, the education system, the nature of theatre, and the world itself. They begin to wonder whether the classics really are that classic, or whether we might need to tell a different story altogether….
Content guidance:
- Themes exploring the climate emergency
- Themes exploring the cost of living crisis
- Depictions of anxiety
- References to colonialism
Recommended for ages 14+
Sycamore Gap
A whodunnit about the felling of the Robin Hood Tree at Sycamore Gap. Set on the day after the felling, the local police are ‘in school’ conducting an investigation. The twelve members of the school’s eco-club are held in a classroom, being taken out and interviewed one by one, until the culprit cracks and confesses. While they wait for their turn, the pupils interrogate each other. Who could have done something so monstrous? What possible motivation could they have had? What impact will it have on their club and their community, now that the tree is gone? And will it be possible for any of them to move on?
Content guidance:
- Some references to violence and brutality
- Allusions to porn addiction
- Themes or references to the climate emergency, cancer, anxiety, panic attacks, and police brutality
Recommended for ages 14+
Ride or Die
The Kids spend the whole year arguing about whether Alton Towers is actually better than Thorpe Park. At the moment Alton Towers has got 2 votes and Thorpe Park has got 2 votes. The deciding vote goes to the youngest, Angel who hasn’t actually been to any of them yet, cause he’s in year 7 and you don’t get to go on The Theme Park Extravaganza until the end of Year 7. But that’s literally in like 2 weeks, so it’ll be settled once and for all, very very soon! So what could possibly go wrong?....Angel getting suspended from school, Nan going off on a surprise holiday, Dad coming round to look after them (and he's useless) and lasts one night, and The Kids borrowing Nan's car and colliding with a Waitrose delivery van. The whole affair is literally a car crash.
Content guidance:
- References to drug use and paraphernalia
Recommended for ages 13+
Booking info
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