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20 Stories High Wins National Theatre Award

Last week we took a group of our young people down to London to receive The Jenny Harris Award at the National Theatre’s Foundation Awards.

The award includes a grant of £10,000, which we will use to fund a new Young Writers Programme which will complement the work we already do with young people keen to develop their performing skills through their acclaimed Youth Theatre and Young Actors Company.

The Young Writers Programme will be led by our very own Co-Artistic Director Keith Saha and Associate Artist Philip Osment and will help develop the playwriting skills of young people who have important stories to tell but for whom literacy can be daunting or challenging.

The brand new award was given in memory of Jenny Harris – an inspiring and deeply influential practitioner who was at the forefront of community and educational arts practice from the 1970s.

Co-Artistic Director Julia Samuels, who worked with Jenny Harris at the National Theatre’s Education Department in the 1990s, says:

“We’re absolutely over the moon with the news we’ve been granted this award. It is a deep honour for our work to be celebrated in this way and in honour of Jenny who had such a profound influence on my career. Jenny believed wholeheartedly in making the arts accessible to young people from marginalised communities. This award will allow us to set up the young writers project inspiring exciting new voices to be heard.”

And Keith is equally excited…

“I think it is so important that young people who have something to say, get a chance to write the stories that come from themselves and from within their communities. Theatre, like most of the arts at the moment, is so lacking in diversity and hopefully this programme will help redress the balance. I’m really looking forward to leading the project with our Associate Artist, writer Philip Osment, and helping develop and nurture the new playwrights of tomorrow. “

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