MEDIA RELEASE – Tuesday 9 June 2015
Fife focal point for youth theatre festival The Kingdom of Fife is host once again to the annual National Festival of Youth Theatre this July. Young performers and professional artists from Scotland and further afield will meet for a weekend of the best of youth theatre for public and participants to enjoy.
Now in its eleventh year, the National Festival of Youth Theatre (NFYT) is the UK’s largest youth theatre event, sponsored for the fifth consecutive year by Shell UK. NFYT acts as a showcase for all that is best in youth theatre in Scotland and the UK. Youth groups from across the country gather for the weekend to work with each other developing theatre skills and sharing performances. For many, this year will be the first time they have taken part. First-time participants for 2015 include Argyll Youth Arts, Nairn Youth Theatre, Dumfries and Galloway’s Ryan Youth Theatre, Musselburgh’s Scratch the Surface and multiple participants from a Fife schools and community group outreach project.
This year will also see NFYT develop its festival campsite with the addition of a performance marquee at Falkland Estate. The new marquee stage offers groups a different environment in which to perform, as well as a venue for the popular festival open-mic events, ceilidh and wrap party. Public performances take place at the Rothes Halls in nearby Glenrothes, with the support of OnFife.
Other development initiatives in 2015 include a youth theatre ‘buddy up’ scheme that will build on the work and relationships created at the festival, and a short film screening by West Lothian’s Firefly Arts, which highlights the event’s cross-artform appeal.
Broader involvement from Fife-based young people is also encouraged through NFYT, linked to Community Learning and Development and Fife Youth Arts Hub. The Shell ‘Engage’ Outreach Project engages local young people from the communities of Inverkeithing, Rosyth, Lochgelly and Cowdenbeath to participate in a theatre performance project as part of the 2015 festival.
ENDS
Notes to Editors Available for interview: Kenny McGlashan CEO of Youth Theatre Arts Scotland. Youth theatre groups participating in 2015: Argyll Youth Arts, Eden Court Creative - Caithness Young Company, Cumbernauld Youth Theatre, Firefly Arts (West Lothian), Kildare YT (Ireland), Lab Station (Glasgow), Nairn Youth Theatre, Perth Youth Theatre, Ryan Youth Theatre (Stranraer), Scratch The Surface (Musselburgh), Shazam Act (Aberdeen), Shell ENGAGE Young Co., Tea PaP (Teater Pijarett å Pijarå, Sweden), Toonspeak Young People’s Theatre (Glasgow), Aberdeen Performing Arts Youth Theatre. Listings information National Festival of Youth Theatre: the UK’s largest open platform for youth theatre performance. rd th Friday 3 to Sunday 5 July 2015 Rothes Halls, Glenrothes, Fife, KY7 5NX Tickets: £5 (conc. £3) per show; £8 (Conc. £6) Day Pass. Family £15 (2 adults & 3 children) Box office: www.onfife.com/box-office or call 01592 611101 Each year Scotland’s National Festival of Youth Theatre (NFYT) creates an explosion of young creative talent at the largest gathering of youth theatres in the UK. The festival enables young people to discover a shared passion and develop as artists, audience members and creative thinkers. NFYT always welcomes public audiences to enjoy what it has to offer, including six programmed shows, two scratch performances and a special short performance created by the Fife schools NFYT outreach project. In 2015 the festival will welcome youth theatre groups from across Scotland and further afield. The programme line-up will include performances which explore responses to the Irish marriage equality referendum, question life’s array of choices and offer fresh ponderings over forces of nature and matters of the heart. Event produced by Youth Theatre Arts Scotland. Principal Event Sponsor: Shell UK Ltd. Sponsors and Partnerships NFYT 2015 is produced in partnership with Fife Cultural Trust. Youth Theatre Arts Scotland gratefully acknowledges event sponsorship from Shell UK Ltd; support from Fife Council’s Strategic Events Investment Programme and the Moffat Charitable Trust; partnership support from the Falkland Centre for Stewardship; and investment from Creative Scotland. Youth Theatre Arts Scotland is the national development organisation for youth theatre. Our mission is to transform lives through youth theatre by developing inspiring participatory opportunities for young people in Scotland, and by connecting, supporting and training the professionals who work with them. We support a membership of more than 100 youth theatre organisations and freelance practitioners who engage around 25,000 young people in youth theatre activity across the country every week. Further information and images are available from James Coutts, Press Office on 0131 538 0591 or email james@ytas.org.uk