A look back at activities for young people over the summer at the New Vic!

1st September 2023

This summer the New Vic hosted several projects for young people allowing them to explore their creativity, learn new skills and meet new friends – all while exploring exciting new islands, saving the planet, and hanging off circus equipment! Here we take a look back at what’s been happening…

Education’s Play In A Week: The Island

Our Education department hosted Play In A Week, a five day programme that saw sixteen participants between the ages of ten to fifteen construct a play from scratch. Written and directed by the New Vic’s Youth Theatre Director, Amy Fletcher, this year’s play was called The Island which told the tale of a group of friends who take a boat to a summer island and discover a time-capsule filled with stories of adventures gone by. Participants were able to explore the characters and story, decide how they’d like to bring it to life on stage, cast the show from the group, create the setting and rehearse, before finally sharing their performance with family and friends at the end of the week.

Education’s Young Adventurers

Young Adventurers invited participants aged six to nine to bring their energy and imaginations to the theatre in two fun-packed days of activities that offered children the chance to create their own characters on the set of The Island (the show created during Play In A Week), alongside fun arts, crafts and drama games.

Borderlines’ Play In A Week

Borderlines’ Play In A Week project also returned this summer; a four-day programme designed for young people aged between ten and sixteen to explore their creative side and stretch their performance muscles before their return to school. The theme of this year’s play was “Act Now!”

The play explored how we share the world we live in, looking at ways we can live better including examining environmental issues and ways of saving the planet. It featured elements of puppetry, music and dance. Participation in Play In A Week also allowed the young performers the opportunity to join New Vic Borderlines’ Young People’s Theatre Company which meets regularly at the New Vic.

Circus Flavours

Circus Flavours visited the Six Towns Carnival, The Potteries Centre, Smithfield and Appetite’s The Big Feast in Hanley across the summer. A high energy experience offering those aged seven and over the chance to live out their dreams of joining the circus saw participants watch a breathtaking performance from Upswing’s Associate Artists, before getting to ‘have a go’ themselves.

Circus Summer School

Also part of a new annual programme established by the New Vic and award-winning contemporary circus company Upswing, along with Circus Flavours a Circus Summer School was held for care leavers at the theatre this August, designed to encourage participants to explore and develop their circus skills and meet new friends.

What a fantastic summer we’ve had introducing new young people to the theatre, and welcoming back familiar faces as well!