National Youth Theatre announce new Inclusive Practice Collective

The National Youth Theatre has announced a new initiative to create 60 jobs and bring drama to disabled young people in 15 schools.

They will be working with young people, specialist schools and colleges, and cultural community partners, initially Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire. The Inclusive Practice Collective programme has been enabled by the Government’s Kickstart scheme.

The programme aims to boost drama provision in schools for young people and was inspired by the young people engaged with the NYT’s inclusion programme and its work with schools. In its first year it aims to create regular National Youth Theatre opportunities for young disabled people, alongside providing around 60 paid job placements for young people currently on Universal Credit. These placements will be open to young creatives between 18-24 years and have been created in response to the impact of the pandemic on the employment prospects of young creative people. It will empower a new generation of paid, inclusive practice practitioners.

The Inclusive Practice Collective is the latest addition to NYT’s growing inclusive practice programme, which has been designed to reduce barriers to accessing opportunities and build the representation of young disabled talent within their membership.

CEO and Artistic Director of National Youth Theatre, Paul Roseby OBE, said: "Disabled people and all young people are most at risk of reduced opportunities post-Covid. Rising unemployment figures emphasise the urgent need for a social and cultural recovery that prioritises creative jobs, ensures accessible and inclusive opportunities and celebrates the diversity of British youth in all its forms and that's exactly what our new Inclusive Practice Collective is designed to do.”

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