The world's first youth theatre, the National Youth Theatre was founded in 1956 by
Michael Croft and
Kenneth Spring. As a member of the English Department, Croft had been responsible for producing a number of school plays at
Alleyn's Boys' School. Following his departure, he was approached by a number of pupils from the school to continue working together on productions during school holidays. Their first production of
Henry V created something of a stir; at the time, it was unusual for young actors to be performing
Shakespeare, and this innovative venture attracted the attention of a curious public. The first audiences included actors
Richard Burton and
Ralph Richardson, with Richardson agreeing to become the first President of what Croft called The Youth Theatre. The organisation evolved rapidly throughout the United Kingdom, involving young people on a national basis. Croft died in 1986 and was succeeded by Edward Wilson as Director. Building on Croft's vision, Wilson took the company forward into new territory, increasing its range of activities and reinforcing its approach to technical production values. Wilson also recognised the opportunity to extend the organisation to more disadvantaged young people, and started the first Outreach department in 1989, working initially with young offenders and gradually widening the opportunities to other socially excluded groups. Wilson also secured the organisation's current headquarters in
north London, which now houses all of its production facilities, including rehearsal rooms, scenery and costume workshops, sound studios, photographic dark rooms, and administration offices. Wilson left the company in 2004. Sid Higgins (executive director), John Hoggarth (artistic director), and Paul Roseby (artistic director) took over. Since then, they have built on the legacy inherited from Croft and Wilson, and the organisation has continued to expand its opportunities to young people from a more diverse background through a wider range of theatrical projects and collaborations. Hoggarth stepped down in 2007 and Roseby continues as the organisation's Artistic Director. In 2010, the National Youth Theatre moved administrative offices from Holloway Road to the Woolyard on
Bermondsey Street; since 2016, it has been based on Bayham Street in
Camden Town. In January 2012, Roseby became CEO while retaining his position as artistic director. In 2012 the company suffered major issues with its finances and was bailed out with £680,000 from Arts Council England. Traditionally, the National Youth Theatre has done most of its work with members in the summer months, but this is changing more and more. Creative events and performances take place throughout the year, courses take place in school holidays and throughout term time, and the company continues to expand its work with young people from all areas of the community. In summer 2012, the National Youth Theatre created and performed the Welcome Ceremonies for the
London Olympics and
Paralympics teams, with 200 members welcoming 20,000 athletes to
Athletes' Village with 200 performances. The National Youth Theatre also currently runs Playing Up, an OCN Level 3 accredited 10 month drama training programme, offering young people aged 19 to 24 who are not in education, employment, or training the opportunity to gain an access to higher education diploma in Theatre Arts, which is equivalent to two
A Levels. In 2016, the National Youth Theatre celebrated its 60th anniversary. The celebrations culminated in a 60th Anniversary Gala performance,
The Story of Our Youth, featuring alumni including
Matt Smith,
Gina McKee,
Daisy Lewis,
Jessica Hynes, and
Hugh Bonneville.
Barbara Broccoli succeeded
Lord Waheed Alli and became the NYT's first female President in 2017. The National Youth Theatre's Royal Patron is the
Duke of Edinburgh. 2017 marked 50 years since the staging of the National Youth Theatre's first ever commission,
Zigger Zagger by
Peter Terson, and to mark the occasion an anniversary production was staged at
Wilton's Music Hall. NYT's first ever
East End season was launched in
Hackney Wick in 2017, which saw the NYT on "exuberantly good form". Autumn 2017 saw the fifth anniversary of the NYT REP West End season at the
Ambassadors Theatre, featuring performances
Jekyll and Hyde,
Othello, and
Mrs Dalloway. 2018 saw the NYT REP Season move away from the Ambassadors Theatre, to the
Soho Theatre, the
Garrick Theatre and the
Lyric Hammersmith, with performances of
Consensual, ''Victoria's Knickers
, and a female-led Macbeth abridged by Moira Buffini, as well as a production of To Kill a Mockingbird''. , where the NYT created its Sanctuary Theatre during the
COVID-19 pandemic In 2018, the NYT REP Company's production of
Macbeth was the first in London's West End to cast the lead role with a female actor, in a gender-fluid production adapted by Moira Buffini and directed by Natasha Nixon at the Garrick Theatre. That same year, for his lead performance in
The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Akshay Sharan won the
Stage Debut Award for Best Actor in a Play. In 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic, outdoor performance was reintroduced to
Soulton Hall when NYT members gave their first live in-person performance since pandemic lockdowns. The play was a specially-devised work called
The Last Harvest. In 2021, the NYT returned to Soulton with a performance of
Animal Farm. In 2021, the NYT launched the Inclusive Practice Collective, which created 60 paid roles and brought drama to young disabled people in 15 schools across London,
Greater Manchester, and
West Yorkshire as part of the KickStart scheme. In November, the NYT performed at the
United Nations's climate conference
COP26, staging a "Climate Cabaret" and performing Adeola Yemitan's "I Don't Care". That same year, the NYT completed a major redevelopment of its north London creative production house on Holloway Road. As part of the redevelopment, a new workshop theatre was created. In 2022, the first production was staged in the new venue, with the double bill of
Boy/Girl/Boy/Girl by Tife Kusoro and
Mess by Urielle Klein-Mekongo. ==Alumni==