(The teachers) take care of you. You feel like you really don’t have to really hide yourself, you can just be yourself here, there’s no judging or anything.
Northcott Young Company Participant
The Northcott Young Company is for anyone aged 9-16. Our weekly drama classes focus on acting and performance skills. We work together across a 10-week term to create a show that we share with parents, friends and family on our final week. Each term we work from a different stimulus, whether that is a style of theatre, a script, a poem, or just an idea.
Our ethos is centred around the idea of working as an ensemble – everything we create is made in collaboration with the young people, and our incredible team of facilitators. This leads to creating work that is relevant, interesting, creatively risky, and innovative.
We are always looking to create meaningful opportunities for our young people, so there are always additional performance opportunities, including the chance to take part in our annual Summer Show. We create a show as an ensemble, working alongside the whole Northcott production team.
At the heart of the Northcott Young Company are the Saturday classes we run during school term time. Sessions are fun, welcoming and inclusive, and we don’t expect young people to have previous experience, just a desire to get involved and work creatively.
SUMMER TERM 2024
All sessions will take place in the Clifford Room at the Barnfield Theatre.
Ages 9-12 Group
For the Ages 9-12 Group, Northcott Young Company will run 10am – 12pm every Saturday from Sat 13 Apr until Sat 6 July (inclusive). There will be three weeks off, with no sessions on Sat 25 May, Sat 1 June or Sat 29 June.
Ages 13-16, Group 1
For the Ages 13-16 Group 1, Northcott Young Company will run 12:30pm – 2:30pm every Saturday from Sat 13 Apr until Sat 6 July (inclusive). There will be three weeks off, with no sessions on Sat 25 May, Sat 1 June or Sat 29 June.
Ages 13-16, Group 2
For the Ages 13-16 Group 2, Northcott Young Company will run 3pm – 5pm every Saturday from Sat 13 Apr until Sat 6 July (inclusive). There will be three weeks off, with no sessions on Sat 25 May, Sat 1 June or Sat 29 June.
EASTER SCHOOL 2024
Would you like to make a piece of theatre in a week? Come and join us for Easter School! No previous experience necessary, just a willingness to get involved.
Easter School is for young people ages 9 to 13 years and will run from Tue 2 – Fri 5 Apr 2024.
- Tuesday – Thursday, 10am – 4pm
- Friday 11am – 7pm (with a sharing of work for friends and family at 6pm)
£150 per participant.
Limited bursaries are available – contact our Creative Engagement Producer, Jacob, for more details ([email protected])
To book a place, please email our Box Office team on [email protected], or call 01392 72 63 63.
Performance projects are a natural extension of our NYC Saturday Classes, with older participants (12+ years) invited to audition for a fully-realised theatre production on the Northcott stage, typically with rehearsals during school holidays.
Performance Projects encapsulate our NYC ethos, with participants working creatively and generously, sharing ideas and making work in collaboration, developing their understanding of themselves and the world around them.
Recent projects have included a new version of Rime of the Ancient Mariner (2017), Into The Light, a response to W.H. Auden’s poem September 1 1939 (2018), an adaptation of The Family Tree by Mal Peet (2019), and UNLOCKed, which encompasses Tomorrow, a short film reflecting on participants’ experience of lockdown, I Am Rose, live performances inspired by this film (2020), and farcical TV studio comedy Studio on the 3rd Floor (2023).
Young Creatives Work With Le Navet Bete
Our 17-21 group have recently been collaborating with Exeter’s favourite funny men Le Navet Bete – one of several industry professionals our company have worked with.
Read the storyIt creates a real sense of community and you always feel welcome no matter where you’ve come from.
Northcott Young Company participant
Support our work with young people
Our specialised programmes transform the lives of young people in Devon, supporting their creativity and helping them to explore and understand issues that are relevant to them. Please support us to continue this vital work.
