Theatre Centre

Theatre Centre A national new writing theatre company making bold, relevant work with and for young people.

Founded in 1953 by Brian Way and Margaret Faulks, we've been a vital catalyst for youth leadership and creativity for 70 years. In this time, we’ve commissioned 108 writers and produced 237 plays. We have played to audiences of over 1 million in schools and theatres and we have worked with over 250,000 young people through a vast range of projects. Some of those young people are now working in the arts, running companies of their own, or in education teaching drama to the next generations. We commission new writing from trailblazing writers, touring directly into schools and theatres UK-wide, as well as running our year-round Future Makers activities to bring young people, artists, and teachers together as creative collaborators. Future Makers makes space for young people to have agency as they nurture their talent and interests on their own terms. We see access, equality, and representation as foundations of a fair society and work to dismantle exclusion and systemic injustice. We prioritise areas that are systemically underserved and excluded, removing economic and social barriers, and working where young people can benefit most. We celebrate the true creative diversity only the widest access can bring.

Fun fact: today is our 73rd birthday! To celebrate, we're spending the next few weeks delving into our past. To start at...
12/09/2026

Fun fact: today is our 73rd birthday! To celebrate, we're spending the next few weeks delving into our past. To start at the beginning, we're looking back at the shows of the 50s, a time when the modern concept of teenagers was still very new, and British households were only just adopting television as a means of entertainment.

Starting from 1953, Theatre Centre's shows were unique in touring directly into schools. A mixture of adaptations, original work, and existing plays, they played to a range of ages.

To be honest, we don't have loads of information or material about the shows of the 50s. We're a small (but mighty) team of theatre makers, currently digging into our past as self-taught historians. If you were a part of Theatre Centre's past in any way and have a story, photo or memory connected with it, get in touch!

To read more, visit our new Past Shows page through the link in our bio! We'll be updating it throughout the rest of our birthday month.

Interested in teaching Theatre Centre scripts in your classroom, drama session or theatre group?Our next Teacher's CPD e...
03/09/2026

Interested in teaching Theatre Centre scripts in your classroom, drama session or theatre group?

Our next Teacher's CPD explores Theatre Centre's most recent plays, created with and for young people since 2020. Every play is written from the perspective of teenagers today, in response to conversations with hundreds of young people across the country. Each show explores topics and issues experienced by teenagers, from discrimination, to gender identity, family dynamics, body image, grief, and neurodiversity.

Led by Theatre Centre's Artistic Director Eleanor Manners and Creative Education Officer Amy Cooper, this CPD is for English, Drama and PSHE teachers of Year 8 onwards.

When: Thursday 19 November • 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Where: Online
Cost: Free of charge

Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/teachers-cpd-why-choose-a-theatre-centre-script-tickets-1998960489635

20/08/2026

"even if you do have to have an earbud in to be able to fully interact in a session, that's so much better than not interacting at all."

Our Artistic Director Eleanor Manners after spending a week with some young Future Makers at Lewisham Youth Theatre.

According to a recent study, under-25s are speaking less and less with each year that goes by, with an average of 451 fewer words per day. As silence is becoming more and more common, and social isolation is being proven to impact our health, opportunities for young people to interact and be creative are more important than ever.

Future Makers this week with Lewisham Youth Theatre! From all the things you'll find on social media, to stolen phones, ...
13/08/2026

Future Makers this week with Lewisham Youth Theatre!

From all the things you'll find on social media, to stolen phones, to chats about friendship, we've been asking young people to take the co-creation lead as they work together with our Resident Writer Christopher York on themes connecting to our next show, Touch Grass.

Together, these young people have developed their creative skills including script-writing and devising, while exploring design and technical elements such as lighting and sound. We can't wait to tell you more about what we've been working on!

06/08/2026

The second teaser trailer from our Future Makers sessions at Crawley Library! Young people aged 14-19 had just 1.5 hours to create a teaser for our next show, Touch Grass.

To watch the first teaser trailer from the session, scroll below!

06/08/2026

“it was like a packet of cookies, very sweet” - Myah, age 14

“I love going every Thursday it got me out” - Yva, 14

“i just liked it a lot” - Iris, 14

We had a brilliant time working with young people from in and around Crawley during our Future Makers sessions at Crawley Library. And we’re thrilled to share some of the work they created during one of the sessions!

The task: create a teaser trailer for our upcoming show Touch Grass
Total time to make the trailer: 1.5 hours
Storyboard, Shoot, Edit - GO!

Here is one of the videos the group created last week. Stay tuned for part 2, coming soon!

Behind-the-scenes at TC! On Sunday we joined the Crawley Fusion Mela to connect with our local community and chat all ab...
30/07/2026

Behind-the-scenes at TC! On Sunday we joined the Crawley Fusion Mela to connect with our local community and chat all about creativity and the arts offerings that are and aren't (yet) on offer in Crawley. It was brilliant to meet so many new people and see some of the great work created by artists and organisations locally.

Thank you so much to Crawley Borough Council, Creative Crawley and CohesionPlus for hosting this fabulous array of cultural performances, live music, dance, art and activities across town 🎉

Future Makers at Crawley Library! During our 3rd session of the summer, we held a Speakeasy* with local teens and playwr...
24/07/2026

Future Makers at Crawley Library! During our 3rd session of the summer, we held a Speakeasy* with local teens and playwright Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini, giving us a chance to chew over everything from conspiracy theories, to AI, to the things you would and wouldn't tell your best friend.

This summer's series of Future Makers sessions invites young people from in and around Crawley to join us as young creators, while developing the ideas of Theatre Centre's Resident Writers.

We have just one session left, next Thursday 30th July. Sign up for the last couple spaces through the link in our bio!

*Speakeasy - a platform for young people to discuss big and crunchy topics while enjoying a meal with peers and artists.

"If we’re asking young people to spend less time online, we need to create places worth choosing instead."With the annou...
10/07/2026

"If we’re asking young people to spend less time online, we need to create places worth choosing instead."

With the announced ban on social media for under 16s coming next year, and the upcoming TC show Touch Grass, our in person Future Makers spaces feel more important than ever.

Our Artistic Director Eleanor Manners has thoughts - and mixed feelings. Read our latest zine here: https://www.theatre-centre.co.uk/zine/social-media-ban-touch-grass

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London

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm

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+442077293066

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