Regional venues create consortium to develop work for younger audiences

Venues including York Theatre Royal and Derby Theatre are launching a consortium to develop work for younger audiences.

Other partners in the venture include the Belgrade Theatre Coventry, the Mercury Theatre in Colchester and Pilot Theatre, a York-based touring company.

The organisations will commission and co-produce a mid-scale production every year from 2019 to 2022, which will run at all the consortium venues as well as touring nationally.

Sabrina Mahfouz’s adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s novel Noughts and Crosses will be the consortium’s first production. It will be directed by Pilot Theatre’s artistic director Esther Richardson.

The play will premiere with a two-week run at Derby Theatre from the February 1 to 16 before embarking on a national tour.

Richardson said: “In the current climate, it is more important than ever that there’s a space in mainstream theatre for relevant contemporary work for young audiences.

“We are so thrilled and excited to be working with these excellent companies from across the country on a bold programme of new work.”

A stage adaptation of Alex Wheatle’s Crongton Knights, a book set on a Croydon council estate, will be the second production by the consortium in spring 2020.

School workshops, outreach projects and free digital resources will be organised alongside each of the productions.