Salford will host the UK’s largest youth theatre festival as it is staged outside London for the first time this summer.
Hundreds of young performers from as near as Pendleton and as far away as King’s Lynn will take to the stage at The Lowry Theatre as eight new plays will premiere at this year’s National Theatre Connections Festival.
Between 25-28 June, eight youth groups from across the UK will perform their own interpretations of new plays specially commissioned for young performers, as the touring festival celebrating the power of youth theatre visits Salford for the first time.
Jenny Riding, Director of Learning and Engagement at Lowry, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be hosting the National Theatre’s Connections Festival at Lowry for the very first time in its 31-year history.
“This is a landmark moment for us and for Salford, and we’re incredibly proud to be welcoming so many vibrant, talented young companies from across the country to our stages. Their energy, creativity and voices are at the heart of the future of theatre, and we can’t wait to share their work with audiences here this summer.”
For the past three months, over 5,000 young people from more than 250 companies and schools have performed at home venues and on one of 33 professional stages across the country.
The Connections Festival at the Lowry in Salford is the culmination of the nationwide programme with representation of the voices and creativity of young people from across the UK.
By offering opportunities to work with professional directors and to perform on a professional stage, Connections offers young people a feeling of belonging, the chance to explore and develop their own voices as well as develop key skills for their future careers.
Each year, the Connections’ plays are born from discussions and workshops with young people across the country focusing on themes that inspire and stories that matter to them, with the new writing this year including themes of global warming, national identity and bullying.
Kirsten Adam, Head of Participation at the National Theatre, said: “We are really pleased to be working with Lowry this year to bring our annual Connections Festival outside of London for the first time.”
Over the past 31 years, over 130,000 young people have taken part in Connections, the National Theatre’s flagship annual youth theatre festival, producing over 230 plays written specifically for young people.
Kirsten added: “It is brilliant to witness the impact of youth theatre to support young people in finding their voices and telling the stories that matter most to them, especially in a time of heightened youth isolation.
“Each year, it is an honour to watch thousands of young people from across the UK develop the confidence to express themselves authentically through our Connections programme and build meaningful communities together.
We cannot wait to celebrate this year’s extraordinary energy and creative visions in Salford through our partnership with The Lowry.”
Tickets for Connections are £5 per performance or £8 for two performances in an evening and will be on sale via the Lowry website on 22 May.
The groups performing in the Connections Festival 2026 are:
– Cockburn John Charles Academy (Leeds) will perform Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth by Kirsty Housley on Thursday 25 June, 7pm.
– The Egg Young Company (Bath) will perform Sycamore Gap by Al Smith on Thursday 25 June, 8:30pm.
– Pendleton School of Theatre (Salford) will perform Wildfire Road by Eve Leigh on Friday 26 June, 7pm.
– Cardiff High School (Cardiff) will perform Cloud Busting by Helen Blakeman on Friday 26 June, 8:30pm.
– Westacre Theatre Company (King’s Lynn) will perform Fishville by Afsaneh Gray on Saturday 27 June, 7pm.
– Guild of Players Youth Theatre (Dumfries) will perform Britney’s Lock by Alexandra Wood on Saturday 27 June 8:30pm.
– Wyke College (Hull) will perform The Animals by Sean Buckley on Sunday 28 June, 7pm.
– Jigsaw Arts Balham (London) will perform Ride or Die by Florence Espeut-Nickless on Sunday 28 June, 8:30pm.
