NI amateur drama stars wow with performance at London's National Theatre

Performing Strangers Like Me, a new play by Ed Harris, the Crescent Arts Youth Theatre was one of ten selected companies representing the talent of young people across the UK at the 2023 Connections Festival, which ran June 20-24.

The Crescent Arts Youth Theatre is run by the Cresent Arts Centre, a cultural hub in south Belfast, and is open to young people from across the city and beyond, with creativity, community and kindness at the heart of its ethos.

The group has been involved in all aspects of the theatre-making process, both on and off stage.

This includes their own team of young people working on costume, lighting and set design.

They first performed Strangers Like Me earlier this year at the Connections partner theatre Lyric Theatre, Belfast.

The annual nationwide youth theatre festival, now in its 28th year, celebrates young talent with 5,600 young people aged 13-19 performing one of ten new plays from established and emerging playwrights including Lisa McGee (Derry Girls) and Shamser Sinha (Three Sat Under the Banyan Tree).

The ten plays, commissioned by Connections for young people to perform, explore themes of justice, grief, love, teamwork, friendship, rural life, the end of the world and the ongoing climate emergency.

Andrea Grimason, group leader of the Crescent Arts Youth Theatre, said: “Inspiration, challenges and empowerment for young people are at the heart of this creative programme. The Crescent Arts Youth Theatre being selected for the National Theatre Connections Festival has been a proud moment in our young people’s lives.”

Jessica McGrath, a young participant, said: “Strangers Like Me has been a challenging play tackling the big issues of grief and loss, rarely talked about, but universally experienced. We’ve loved the humour and the honesty and we have loved our physical approach to the performance and the chance to perform at the National Theatre as part of the Connections Festival is amazing.”

Rufus Norris, director of the National Theatre added: “Watching talented young people from across the nation bring to life these new plays through the Connections Festival is a highlight of the National Theatre’s calendar.”

To represent the vast range of young talent across the UK, the Crescent Arts Youth Theatre and nine other companies were invited to bring their performance to the Dorfman stage at the iconic London venue.