Over 5 days, our young theatre-makers will create their own work to be performed for parents at an informal Studio show back on the final day.

Supported by a drama practitioner and drama support worker, the group will decide what they make.

It could be a comedy, tragedy or a musical, but it will be all their own work!

Date: Monday 28 July - Friday 1 August 2025

Time: 9.30am-3.30pm

A brand new course for young people ready to take their next step in theatre

LYT is a year-long course with three 8-week terms from October 2025 - June 2026.

Across the year, participants will work closely with industry professionals and each other to develop their performance skills and deepen their theatre practice. The course includes focused time on monologue and audition preparation, as well as the chance to explore a variety of performance techniques in more detail. Along the way, there will be specialist guest sessions, giving participants valuable insights into different areas of the industry and helping them grow as confident, creative performers.

We offer subsidised and bursary places to help make LYT Advance accessible to as many young people as possible.

Unlike our other Youth Theatre groups, LYT Advance has a short application process where you will be asked to write a short statement supporting your application. With 20 spaces available, we're looking for young people who are committed, curious, and excited to get involved.

If you're offered a place, you'll confirm it by booking through our Box Office. A £100 non-refundable deposit is required to secure your space. This deposit reflects your commitment to all three terms of the course.

Budding actors can spend a week training and working with a professional Theatre Director to explore a variety of drama techniques, learn new skills and create a new piece of theatre that will be performed for family and friends in Polka’s Adventure Theatre!

Dates: Monday 28 July - Friday 1 August (final performance held on Friday 2 August at 3.30pm)
Time: 10am – 4pm

Tickets: £215* (Child only)

*£2.50 transaction fee applies to phone and online bookings. Delivery fees may apply

Scratch My Progress is the Oh Yeah Music Centre’s flagship annual talent development programme.

It is supported by PRS Foundation, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council.

Each year we recruit 4-5 emerging artists from Northern Ireland onto a structured and dedicated scheme of work that supports the creation, performance and promotion of their work. The programme is guided by our dedicated talent development specialist, Charlene Hegarty and builds a system of ‘real world’ experience and support around artists at pivotal stages of their career development. 

The support offered includes mentoring, one to one meetings with industry experts, and workshops on everything from vocal coaching, songwriting, funding and festival applications, copyright & IP management and developing skills in managing finances. 

As part of the 9-month programme each act will gain free rehearsal space, recording time, PR and marketing support and training, a professional photoshoot and a biography writing session as we prepare for an official release as part of the programme.

The theme for our summer programme this year is Books and Story Telling!

We will take inspiration from Oscar Wilde’s sparkling comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest. Participants will be encouraged to explore the play’s themes of mistaken identity, love, and social conventions, and use these ideas to create their own performances.

Through lively workshops and creative exploration, they will devise unique theatre pieces that capture Wilde's wit and charm, bringing his timeless satire to life on stage.

Taught by a team of professional facilitators, this course is perfect for those studying Drama/Performing arts for GCSE and A level.

At the end of the week, family and friends will have the opportunity to join us for a sharing of their work, showcased in the Naughton Theatre.

Dates: Monday 18 – Saturday 23 August

Develop your skills, meet new friends and have some fun in Derby Theatre's fantastic Summer School!

Participants will grow their abilities as actors and creatives, working together as a team to create a brand new performance over the course of the week, with a production showcase at the end of the week.

Family and friends can come along to a showcase of the performance created during the week.

Half price and full bursaries are available, subject to availability.

Monday 11 - Friday 15 August, 2025

Pricing

How can creativity engage learners and reintroduce joy to your teaching practice? 

Join us for Playful Spaces, a one-day learning event for educators, theatre-makers and creative practitioners who want to reimagine how young people learn.  

Hosted by Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation, this innovative day of workshops, masterclasses and conversations will give you practical tools to energise your teaching and transform your learning environment. 

Work alongside leading theatre-makers and education experts to: 

Date and time: Saturday 12 July 2025, 9:30AM

A workshop for the politically engaged and perpetually exhausted. In the face of arts cuts, climate collapse, and rising authoritarianism, what does it mean to keep making political theatre?

Is it still a tool for change or just shouting into the void? This session creates space to reflect, rant, and reimagine: to swap strategies, share frustrations, and ask what resistance looks like onstage today.

All ticket sales will be ​donated to WarChild. The workshop will take place on June 22nd at Riverside Studios, 1:30pm - 3:30pm.

About Sam Rees:

Sam Rees is a critically acclaimed theatre-maker whose work has been staged at leading UK venues, including Summerhall, Oxford Playhouse, Soho, Norwich Theatre, and Jermyn Street. His recent projects include Edinburgh Fringe 2024 sell-out show Lessons On Revolution, praised as ‘compelling and galvanising’ (James Graham), ‘one of my favourites of this year’s fringe’ (Natasha Tripney),‘a heartfelt paean to the politics of hope ★★★★★’ (The Scotsman), ‘the best thing we’ve seen this year ★★★★★’ (The Morning Star), ‘intelligent, questioning documentary theatre ★★★★’ (The Stage), and ‘one of the most talked about shows from this year’s festival’ (The Conversation), and The Food Bank Show, called  ‘utterly magnetic ★★★★’ by Broadway Baby, a show which ‘creates space for radical conversation to happen ★★★★’ by A Young(ish) Perspective), and ‘an exemplary production that defies the rules of the genre’ by Theatre Weekly.

Ludlow Song are looking for young composers, aged 16 to 25, who are facing financial barriers to their musical practice, to take part in a free, expenses-paid workshop with leading composer and teacher Professor Julian Philips in September this year.

The workshop is an opportunity to explore English song: music for voice and piano with text in the English language.

The workshop is an opportunity for young composers to meet each other and the Ludlow Song team, including Artistic Director Iain Burnside. We hope that at least one participant will be offered a paid commission for Ludlow English Song Weekend 2026, with support to attend the festival in Shropshire next April.

The workshop is generously supported by the Gerald Finzi Trust, and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Our week long summer school is a great opportunity to learn new skills, meet friends and perform on the Hope Mill stage

Students not only experience singing, dancing and acting classes, but they will take part in craft and cooking sessions too.

Fully funded and part funded places are available.

Cost: £252

2025 Dates: 11 - 15 August

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