Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has announced a government-backed theatre programme that aims to reach more than 100,000 children and young people in England, according to GOV.UK. For many of them it would be their first experience of live theatre. Nandy launched the plan at the National Theatre alongside young performers and actors Imelda Staunton, Jim Carter, Bella Maclean, Adrian Lester and Adjoa Andoh.
The money is not yet confirmed. Under the proposal, up to £15 million from the government's Every Child Can programme would help the National Theatre work with The National Lottery Community Fund and regional venues. According to the government, ministers have asked the Fund to scrutinise and develop the theatre's plans, which must pass through the Fund's formal solicitation process. Both the award of funding and the way the programme is run will be strictly subject to the outcome, the government said.
The initiative, National Theatre Nationwide, is planned as a four-year partnership spanning every English region. The government said it is aimed at young people who may never have seen a play because of cost or where they live.
What the scheme would offer
Under the plans, the partner venues would sell thousands of subsidised £10 tickets, and shows made for young audiences would visit 400 schools. Participants could try acting, directing, playwriting and backstage work, with workshops and training geared towards creative-industry careers. These activities are designed to sit alongside National Theatre touring productions in each area.
The scheme also includes a music theatre strand in which local young people would devise and stage original community shows. A Skills Roadshow would visit places without a theatre, and a Nationwide Youth Council would let young people help decide how activities are planned and run.
The 12 regional partners are Birmingham Hippodrome, Curve in Leicester, the Belgrade in Coventry, Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Norwich Theatre, Sheffield Theatres, Leeds Heritage Theatres, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Nottingham Theatre Royal and the Lowry in Salford.
Kate Varah, the National Theatre's Co-Chief Executive and Executive Director, said a young person's access to theatre should not hinge on their home area or on what their family can pay.
Every Child Can funding
The government also said it is putting an extra £106 million from the Dormant Assets Scheme into Every Child Can, the same programme behind the theatre proposal, taking its total to £238.5 million. Of that total, the remaining £173 million will be opened up to organisations across England in 2027. The Every Child Can Fund is due to launch in Spring 2027.
Wider youth spending
The government presented the announcement as part of the Prime Minister's programme to improve young people's experience of growing up. It also cited its £450 million Youth Matters Fund programme, under which 60 local authorities are getting a first tranche totalling £20.7 million this year. The money will reach places ranging from Middlesbrough and Oldham to the coastal communities of Skegness and King's Lynn. The government added that it is paying for 1,000 new youth workers and trusted adults to be recruited and deployed.
Alan Milburn's final report on youth unemployment, which the government commissioned, is expected this month, it said.
