The National Theatre is to take world-class theatre to more than 100,000 young people across England under a new four-year programme backed by up to £15 million of government funding.

The scheme, called National Theatre Nationwide, was announced by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy at a launch event at the National Theatre in London on 12 November. She was joined on stage by actors including Jim Carter, Adjoa Andoh, Adrian Lester, Imelda Staunton and Bella Maclean, alongside young performers.

Under the programme, the National Theatre will work with 12 partner theatres in every English region to bring productions, workshops and training to young people who may never have experienced live theatre because of cost or where they live. Partners include the Lowry in Salford, Newcastle Theatre Royal and Norwich Theatre.

£10 tickets and tours to 400 schools

The partners will offer thousands of subsidised £10 tickets to make performances affordable for young people, and productions designed specifically for young audiences will tour to 400 schools across the country.

Young people will be able to explore acting, directing, playwriting and backstage roles, with training and workshops aimed at building skills for careers in the creative industries, both on stage and behind the scenes.

The programme will also include a new music theatre strand creating original community productions devised, produced and performed by local young people, and a Skills Roadshow that will take opportunities directly to young people in areas without theatres. A new Nationwide Youth Council will give young people a say in how activities are designed and delivered.

Part of the Every Child Can programme

The funding of up to £15 million comes from the Every Child Can programme and will be delivered with The National Lottery Community Fund. The government has also announced a further £106 million from the Dormant Assets Scheme for Every Child Can, bringing its total funding to £238.5 million.

Announcing the programme, Lisa Nandy said she was tired of being told that not everybody can or should have access to the best of what the country has to offer. “Arts and culture gives the chance to live a richer, larger life and that chance should be afforded to every young person,” she said. “This programme takes the very best of the National Theatre and brings it to the doorsteps of our young people across the country, many for the first time ever, to help them find their spark, expand their horizons and encourage them to see a creative future for themselves.”

Actor Sir Ian McKellen, who attended the launch, said it was appropriate that a National Theatre should live up to its name by taking its work around the country. “For young audiences living far away from the NT’s London headquarters, here is a chance to see them close to home and get involved,” he said.

Why the programme matters now

Kate Varah, the National Theatre’s executive director and co-chief executive, said a young person’s chance to experience theatre should not depend on their postcode or what their family can afford. “This is about more than finding the next generation of theatre-makers,” she said. “It is about giving 100,000 young people the chance to discover what they enjoy, what they are good at, and where their creativity could take them.”

The announcement comes as school trips face growing financial pressure. A survey by the Sutton Trust last year found that 53 per cent of school leaders said they were cutting back on trips and outings because of costs.

The government said Nationwide forms part of a £688 million plan by Prime Minister Andy Burnham to improve the experience of growing up across the country. It also comes ahead of Alan Milburn’s final report into the estimated one million young people not in education, employment or training, which is due to be published next week.

Alongside the theatre programme, the government said it is investing in youth services through a £450 million Youth Matters Fund, supporting improvements to hundreds of youth facilities and funding the recruitment of 1,000 new youth workers and trusted adults.

Sources: GOV.UK and Arts Professional