Beyond the Walls: The story of Polmont Youth Theatre

Description

In May 2023, Glass Performance and Polmont Youth Theatre hosted a Symposium to investigate how the youth theatre sector can better support young people with experience of the justice system. YTAS have invited the team Tashi, Jess and Louise to share their learning from this event as well as reflect on the journey of their organisation and as individual artists. The presentation will be the next step in acting on their learning with an aim to inspire the wider sector in a call to action. Glass is an award-winning Arts Company that gives voice to unheard stories, told by everyday people. They began working together in 2004 and since then have made performances and co-produced projects on small and large scales – from theatres to nightclubs and football pitches – for an audience of 600 to an audience of just one. In February 2019, Glass launched Polmont Youth Theatre (PYT) in HMPYOI Polmont, the first ever Youth Theatre in a Scottish prison. It is delivered through their ongoing partnership with Barnardo’s and the Scottish Prison Service. Polmont Youth Theatre is a legacy from the National Theatre of Scotland’s Futureproof programme in Year of Young People 2018, when Glass worked with a group of young men in the prison to create MOTION; an original show about what it means to be a young man in Scotland today. The group continue to meet every Thursday inside the prison and make original devised theatre from their own ideas and perspectives about the world as they find it.

While many of the individuals in the group find a place to belong and a creative home in PYT it can be difficult for them to continue their love of the performing arts post release. Many of them were brought up thinking that Drama was not for them or struggle to understand how to make it part of their future. This talk asks why? How can this change? How are we making sure Youth Theatre is for everyone? And how are we supporting everyone to take part in it?

Period	23 Mar 2023
Held at	Youth Theatre Arts Scotland
Degree of Recognition	National