New Northampton summer school set up for 500 children with professional acting classes

Royal & Derngate and The National Youth Theatre have joined forces to provide classes for up to 500 young people aged 14 to 21 in summer 2021.

The annual summer residency will provide learning opportunities in performing, creative and production roles, under Covid-adapted conditions.

The programme will be taking over the whole venue in summer 2021, for five weeks, and the Royal & Derngate is co-commissioning three productions with the National Youth Theatre (NYT).

Royal & Derngate chief executive Jo Gordon said: “On the back of such a devastating year for theatre but also young people who’ve had so many opportunities curtailed or removed, I am delighted that as Royal & Derngate begin to emerge from the pandemic and look to reopening, our future is focused on creating new opportunities to enable young people to have a future in theatre and become the creatives who will shape our industry in the years to come.”

Teaching will take place on all three of their stages – Royal, Derngate and Underground – as well as in the Rehearsal Rooms and other Cultural Quarter venues.

Participants will gain valuable insight into a 360-degree overview of a working theatre’s practice with time also spent with the venue’s wider staff.

Taking place in Northampton, but open to young adults of all backgrounds from across the UK, the summer residency programme will offer 16 acting courses, with placements being made available for those who have completed NYT’s courses in costume design, to lighting and sound and stage management from September 2021 onwards.

The partnership officially launches in February 2021 at the same time the pre-existing intake of performers will take to the stage in Northampton with two new Made in Northampton productions, which can be watched at the Royal & Derngate from Friday, February 19 to Saturday, March 13, 2021.