For me pure Youth Theatre is the one with no auditions and affordable fees or no fees at all. Targeted at bringing a democratic, eclectic and inclusive group together it uses that mix to be an artistic alternate to what Peter Brook called Dead Theatre – original and not a copy of what the adults were doing.
Having run a Youth Theatre for 16 years, the majority of people disagree with me – and they are mainly young people! They want to do real stuff and be a real theatre company. So, when looking through the material in the Fringe, it can take a bit of digging to find anything by the yoof…
But if you want to support and be a good person, whilst enjoying the safety of a Disney or ten, hunt for Musicals with recognisable names from young companies – they can have “Jr version” attached to the title – there’s quite a lot to choose from. I have avoided them here.
I have strayed from my own definition – slightly – and here are a few worthwhile causes and for some, notably good stuff worthy of your time. I have picked 11, but there are a lot more if you go searching. Some companies I have seen, some companies I have not but they represent commitment to being here and doing something a bit different. So, if you can, take a risk and support. They are more than the future by the way; they are very much our present…
As for how present? Most are on short runs because of costs, academic start dates/returns and whilst people may be up for subsidising young folk more than professional ones, the limits are constantly being expanded – especially those from far away.
Oh, and to avoid disappointment, I may get to review some of them – I shan’t get to review all of them because I don’t take my tent and live in Edinburgh for 3 ½ weeks…
Couple of notes – venues and early productions. Bedlam Theatre is run by students so will host a lot of able student theatre work. Well worth a visit. And Dance Base in the Grassmarket is the go to for international contemporary dance and should be worth a visit as it hosts a lot of young performers.
And remember halfway through August, Scottish schools return so a lot of work by young people will hit early Fringe and disappear before it hits its stride so buy early, buy often to catch em all!
Let’s start with Scotland
Edinburgh College’s Performance Academy Scotland Drama and Theatre Schools (PASS), appear for one night only, with Stand Out at the Church at artSpace@StMarks on 10th of August. It’s a variety style showcase with pedigree because after four years of selling out their shows at the Fringe, this should be a good night out. Former alumni include Karen Gillan but more importantly, representing the FE sector, PASS have won awards – rightly so – for the quality of their work. So, avoid the Footlights and embrace their stage. Other Academic Institutions have sent productions form all over the UK and the world so worth keeping an eye out for early review indications of what is catching fire. PASS’s commitment to Edinburgh, however, is not just for The Fringe…
And if we mention Edinburgh, then in the spirit of fairness, let’s look west towards Glasgow and Summer Fling atLower Theatre at theSpace @ Niddry St by Student Theatre at Glasgow (STAG). Performing from the 1st to the 9th of August this mixes a farmer, a Taco Bell employee, a make up artist and a landlord/influencer… it’s a hot mess and we aint even actual talking about the weather… it promises to be funny and absurd – after all it’s about a dating show – what could possibly go right? STAG has a long tradition, as the oldest student theatre company in Glasgow – dating back to 1922 – of being at the Fringe – their first appearance was in 1957!
Returning to Edinburgh, Edinburgh Youth Theatre are at the Big at theSpace Triplex from the 7th to 12th August with a Shakespearean spin and reimagining of one of his most performed plays with Juliet and Romeo. It should hardly come as a surprise to any that the young of today question things and have helped push the boundaries of gender and identity so any mucking about with this legendary love story should be welcomed. Lots of promises are made in their publicity over what want to deliver but as a company led by an award-winning actor, open to youngsters as young as 5, they will no doubt put the effort in on home soil.
Next is a company sitting midway between Edinburgh and Glasgow, near Falkirk. Based in Denny High School, Exi Attica return to the Fringe form the 2nd to the 9th of August at Space 2 at theSpace on the Mile with Get Thee to a Nursery. This show asks the peculiar question of what happens when a bunch of four-year-olds are cursed by the spirit of Shakespeare… They told us last year, and his year they return to tell us again. This has all the spirit of the Fringe in it with local young people now drawn from the Falkirk area and other schools as well as Denny High School itself – lots of fun and artistry in play.
In dance, Scotland has always been a model of investment and high-quality practice for young people. Up at the top is Scottish Youth Dance and they annually bring their YDance show to the Fringe. This is a fascinating collaboration internationally and this year Evolution from the 5th to the 10th of August is at DB1 at Assembly @Dance Base. It features the National Youth Dance Company of Scotland, ETA Kompanii, and the 2025 Project Y Evolution Company (choregraphed by Dr Mitul Sengupta and Dr Shambik Ghose from Rhythmosaic Dance Company).
So, if Scotland is well represented, then there are a couple of absolute bankers that return this year from down south. They may not fall into the realm of Youth Theatre as I ascribe, however you cannot deny these young people really show what young people, with a bit of investment can really do. Young Pleasance return with Ghost Light at Pleasance One at Pleasance Courtyard from the 31st of July to the 10th of August and the Parker and Snell Youth Company bring Find Me by Owen Wymark to the Space 1 at theSpace on the Mile from the 4th to the 9th of August.
Drawn from auditionees across London, Young Pleasance drag the haunting nature of theatre itself from the heart of the West End to Edinburgh with Drury Lane’s costume assistant to the stars, Izzy as our narrator. She takes us on a tour of the many legends of the stage she has served. From tales of real artistic people at the Pleasance Courtyard, Parker and Snell bring true stories of Broadmoor and mental ill health as we discover Verity, a teenager institutionalised after a crisis. This production promises to pack a punch and shows once more young people comfortable with difficult topics.
As usual international work is well represented with several shows from American High Schools, Chinese institutions, an Indian school and a New Zealand Youth Theatre.
Let’s start with Youth and Poetry by the QFun Theatre Children’s Experimental Troupe which is in town for two days – 1st and 2nd August at Forest Theatre at Greenside @ George Street. Rather than being a fairytale culled from the rich tradition of their country this has a real contemporary feel about t – students are almost ready to perform when their leader disappears. What shall they do and how shall they cope? One way to find out, of course. Hailing from Shanghai, this is not their first visit to the Fringe and previous productions have always tried to give a creative spin to their work. In 2023 the work was entirely created by the young people including a 30,000-word script! They have appeared at the Avignon Arts Festival in France too so their non-disappearing leaders should have wide experience to draw upon if the actors don’t. What is impressive is their avowed mission to offer the young people the experience of experiencing different artforms whilst they are here.
From China, we stay Asian for The Symphony of Cultural Identity at Main Church Sanctuary at Greyfriars Kirk for the 19th and 20th of August. Indian dance is culturally so important, built with significance and tradition as a vital part of the experience so here we have Lotus Valley International School of India tracing their dance evolution from “the ancient Dancing Girl of Harappa to devotional Bharatanatyam, Kathak’s royal courts and Bollywood’s global fusion-highlighting tradition and transformation” on the inside show, with “India’s folk dances tied to festivals” on the outside. The school is relatively new, founded in 2004, with lofty cultural ambitions.
Perhaps the furthers travelled is the Nelson Youth Theatre of New Zealand. I have reviewed them before and found them both charming and skilled. This year they are on from the 1st to the 8th of August at Big at theSpaceTriplex with All Shook Up. As the title suggests, it has a kingly focus as in Elvis! They are taking you all the way back to 1955 with the hits rolling off the tongue and guitar strings from Jailhouse Rock to Devil in Disguise to All Shook Up its very self! It’s a hip swivelling musical charting what happened when the man himself arrived at a small town in the USA! Nelson have been coming since at least 2019 and is a fully volunteer run youth theatre – by an osteopath… hands on healing at work and hands-free healing through art at play.
Now, there are plenty of American High Schools and University Dramatic Societies that have made the trip across the pond. There are plenty from which to choose. But the one which caught my eye was Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical. It might be because from over here, over there feels like it is going through its own parody government just now, it’s at theSpace @ Venue 45 from the 2nd to the 6th of August and also takes us back in time. To 1983 and Hawkins Indiana, as the team from Dr. Phillips High School takes the Netflix hit and turn it on its head in a way, I am sure that only Americans could… This is their 7th visit to the Fringe, and along with many others bring the chutzpah associated with an American enthusiastic artistic endeavour.
My final international visitor worth a chance would be Hopkins Drama Associations’ Ecce Romani on a Shoestring. This is all about Latin classes and how people hate em… It might be a strange topic but what drew me is a school company taking on the classics and it struck me how it might sit alongside Get Thee to a Nursery – see above. Oftentimes you can find that two youth groups will tackle a single text, like Romeo and Juliet, but it is unusual that a couple will take on the classics as a theme. And so, Connecticut’s finest are at Sanctuary at Paradise in Augustines from the 4th to the 9th of August. It promises all 27 chapters of the classic textbook in 50 minutes. Hats off to the New Haven natives and a school claiming Latin has been taught there since 1660… What provides some comfort is that they have a busy faculty at home which produces five productions per year!
