The Traverse has teamed back up with Wonder Fools to commission five of the UK’s most exciting voices in theatre to create new plays for and with young people aged between 6-25 in Scotland and around the world.
Over the next year, the project will engage over 3000 young people and 200 youth leaders nationally and internationally before culminating in the final festivals in which young people from Scotland and across the world will have the opportunity to perform these new plays on professional stages across the country.
The festivals will take place on some of Scotland’s most loved stages:
- Tron Theatre in Glasgow Sat 7 – Sun 8 June
- Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh Sat 14– Sun 15 June
- Theatre Royal Dumfries in Dumfries and Galloway Sat 28 – Sun 29 June
- An Lanntair in Stornoway Fri 4 – Sat 5 July
Participants can be schools, drama groups, youth theatres or any group of young people. Each group choose one of the new plays written for the project and receive professional support and workshops to guide them while they create their masterpieces - and all for free! They can perform the play in their local community or school, create digital responses or put themselves forward to perform at one of the festivals across the country.
As part of the festivals, 24 groups will be selected to perform across the four partner venues – five from the local area and one international group for each festival.
PSFNT Season 4 will feature five new plays by an incredible line up of talent including Ella Hickson, James Ley,Travis Alabanza, Mammalian Diving Reflex and young writer Hannah Low who was selected as part of a national callout. All of the plays are different in style and offer something for everyone, no matter the group size, age or their experience of making theatre.
In the last 3 years this international participatory project has engaged over 10,000 young people in 24 different countries and commissioned 22 new plays including Tim Crouch, Robert Softley Gale, Leyla Josephine, Bryony Kimmings, Hannah Lavery, Sabrina Mahfouz, Douglas Maxwell, The PappyShow with Lewis Hetherington, Sara Shaarawi, Stef Smith, Debris Stevenson, Chris Thorpe, Bea Webster, Wonder Fools and Traverse young writer Ellen Bannerman.
Season 4 plays include:
Hold Me Closer Bunny Baxter by James Ley – A brand new musical about the final night of an unsettling Scottish tour with queer music collective The Queer Animals, Bunny Baxter discovers the importance of finding your tribe.
We Ain’t Movin’ by Travis Alabanza – An angry overhead announcement. The sound of bulldozers. One drama block at risk of being demolished. Can the students save their building?
The Book of Spin by Mammalian Diving Reflex – Real-world audiences are guided telephonically by performers, who provide instructions to engage with the world around them in intimate and unusual ways.
Roman Cardboard Swift by Ella Hickson – Three generations of one family help each other through tough times and learn the important lessons of looking forward and learning to laugh.
Careful What You Wish for by Hannah Low – A ‘paint’ your own adventure story featuring crazy characters, talking paintings and all your wishes brought to life on stage.
Wonder Fools said:
“The project started with conversations during lockdown with young people discussing what they wanted the future of youth theatre to look like. Little did we know that those chats would be the catalyst for creating one of the biggest and far-reaching projects of its kind, with 10,000 young people from 24 different countries participating. We are genuinely in awe. Anyone can get involved and stage a performance in their local community, and for 24 of the lucky companies, they'll get to perform at one of our festivals across Scotland."
Traverse Artistic Director Gareth Nicholls said:
"The Traverse Theatre is thrilled to continue our collaboration with Wonder Fools on Positive Stories for Negative Times, in our fourth season together. PSFNT truly embodies the power of theatre to inspire and connect young people across Scotland - and beyond - and by commissioning bold and dynamic voices. In creating work with and for young people, we’re not only providing a platform for their creativity but also fostering the next generation of theatre-makers and storytellers. It’s an honour to be a part of something that empowers young people to make their voices heard in such a meaningful and impactful way. We thank our commissioned playwrights for this most recent contribution to the PSFNT canon."
PSFNT is created and produced by Wonder Fools in association with the Traverse Theatre, Tron Theatre, Citizens Theatre, An Lanntair, Theatre Royal and Youth Theatre Arts Scotland.