Scottish Youth Theatre

Scottish Youth Theatre is a national young artists' development organisation. It designs projects that offer artistic development opportunities for aspiring and early career artists, age 14 to 25. The company was established in 1976 and has a free-to-participate National Artistic Programme for young people who are based in Scotland and interested in creating theatre. It strives to broaden young people's artistic experiences, introducing them to a range of art forms and creatives in the industry. The programme is crafted around young people's needs, adopting a variety of physical and digital platforms to produce small-scale engagement projects, festivals, full-scale productions and national tours. 

Scottish Youth Theatre is a remote-working organisation, delivering in-person projects throughout Scotland.

History

Scottish Youth Theatre started in Edinburgh on 6 December 1976 and held its inaugural Summer Festival in 1977. The company's first production was 'Oh What a Lovely Peace' performed at Moray House Theatre in Edinburgh, written by Hector MacMillan and directed by Denise Coffey. The company was then incorporated on 28 March 1978. 

The company has occupied various homes in its history, including the Old Athenaeum in Buchanan Street, Glasgow and The Old Sheriff Court on Brunswick Street, Glasgow as part of the redevelopment of that building, opening in 2005. In 2023, Scottish Youth Theatre became a remote working organisation, delivering in-person projects across Scotland. 

Past Artistic Directors include Gareth Wardell, Robin Peoples and Mary McCluskey, who held the role for 26 years from 1992 to 2018. With a change in structure, Jacky Hardacre became Chief Executive in 2016 and Mahri Reilly took artistic lead as Creative Director from 2018 to 2022. She was succeeded by Rikki Payne in November 2022.

Following a decision by Creative Scotland to end its funding, the theatre announced it would cease trading in July 2018. Scottish Youth Theatre was then saved by a decision by the Scottish Government to fund it directly, and by extensive private sponsorship and donations.

Alumni of Scottish Youth Theatre include Andrew Still, Brian Ferguson, Gerard Butler, Jack Lowden, Jamie Parker, Gayle Rankin, Karen Gillan, Kate Dickie, KT Tunstall, Laura Fraser, Michelle Gomez and Tony Curran.

Patrons
Patrons of Scottish Youth Theatre include:

 Brian Cox (after whom the Brian Cox Theatre within the Old Sheriff Court building is named)
 Alan Cumming
 Blythe Duff
 Phyllida Law
 Liz Lochhead
 Colin McCredie
 John Michie 
 Bill Paterson 
 Paul Riley
 David Rintoul
 Elaine C Smith
 Emma Thompson 
 Richard Wilson

Past Productions
 Pinocchio (2009)
 Hidden Treasures (2009)
 Hamlet (2009)
 Geordie (Summer 2008)
 Oh! What A Lovely War (Summer 2008)
 Hero (Summer 2008)
 When A Star Falls (2007–2008)
 His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman Trilogy) (2007)
 Wee MacGreegor (2006)
 Man of the Crowd (2006)
 Tales From The Arabian Nights (2006)
 Geordie (2006)
 The Snow Queen (2005)
The Ugly Ducking (2005)
Into The Light (2005)
Dying For It (2004–2005)
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (2004)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2004)
Romeo and Juliet (2003)
Born Bad
The Wizard of Oz (2001)
Hamlet
Macbeth (2000)
The Threepenny Opera (1992) (Dundee Rep)
Tam o' Shanter (1991) (The People's Palace)
Nicholas Nickleby (1991) (The Old Athenaeum)
The Human Cannon (1990) (The Old Athenaeum)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1990) (The Burrell Collection)
The Dragon (1988) (Aberdeen University)
Romeo and Juliet (1988) (RSAMD Theatre)

References

External links
 Official Website
 Facebook Page
 YouTube Channel

Theatre companies in Scotland
Youth organisations based in Scotland
Youth theatre companies
Organisations supported by the Scottish Government