The Heights
Directed By Tara Daniels
Lillie Lee lives on the Heights estate. Confined to her bedroom by sickness, her bedroom window is her only connection to the outside world. To occupy herself, she keeps an obsessive watch on her neighbours and makes up stories about them. An unusual encounter with Dara, another girl from the estate, leads the two teenagers to strike up a firm friendship that may prove to be dangerous. The Heights touches on what it’s like to be different from others; examining the idea of storytelling and the power of the imagination - and how the lines between fact and fiction can easily become blurred.
Ruckus in Garden By David Farr
Directed by Alexandria Turner
Riverdale Comprehensive and St Nectan's Grant Maintained find themselves in the Garden of Cecil Fortescue on a school trip. A ruckus is inevitable, as is customary when these two schools meet. Magic waits amongst the topiary in the form of Cupid, who brings about transformations romantic, revealing and hilarious.
Tales of loss and corruption, cover-ups and breathstopping risks. Settings include the street, ancient and magical gardens, a small town in Sweden and a hot, alien landscape. collectively they demonstrate that, for a young person, the big wide world can be a testing place, whether you're inside or out.
The Prince Of Denmark By Michael Leslie
Directed by Wylie Longmore Assistant Director Verity
Set a decade before the action of Shakespeare’s play, Michael Lesslie’s imagined prequel follows the teenage Hamlet, Ophelia and Laertes as they rage against the roles handed down by their parents.
Secure in his position as the Danish heir, Hamlet sets his sights on romantic endeavours and the pursuit of the newly arrived Ophelia. Her ambitious brother, Laertes, seizes the opportunity with the hope of enhancing his social standing.
The young characters attempt to balance duty, expectation and adolescence in a world of scheming, ambition and a play within a play.
Grandfathers
Directed by Lewis Bailey Assistant Director Daisy Vollans
National service in the UK ended fifty years ago, but teenagers across the world are still conscripted into the armed forces. The Grandfathers follows eight young recruits as they are trained to become instruments of war.
In the midst of gunfire and explosions, teenage soldiers watch their friend die. To comfort his final moments, they recall their journey to become part of the military machinery. Reliving the moments they came to terms with stabbing a sandbag, dealt with a fledgling bird's incursion into their territory, and learnt to ignore the dark.
This visceral and provocative play questions the sacrifice of young lives and aspirations for others' political miscalculations.