Bush Theatre Young Company to Present New Work in August

This summer, the Bush Theatre is continuing its commitment to developing talent for the arts and entertainment industry by giving its main stage over for the fifth time to new work by the Bush Theatre Young Company. The 14-17 company presents PAUSE/REWIND on 8 & 9 August, with the 18-25 company performing MAKE ME FEEL by Bush Writers’ Group alumni Will Jackson from 19 – 23 August.

Bush Theatre sees at first-hand the increase in demand for arts provision for young people and the need for opportunities that help talented practitioners establish careers in the industry. The BYC has been instrumental in bringing new voices to the stage and continues to be an important platform for the next generation of theatre-makers.

Bush Theatre Associate Director and Young Company Director - Katie Greenall said, ‘Our Young People's work is vital, not only to our talent development programmes here at the Bush, but to wider theatre ecology. Currently, as an industry, we are consistently reaching for star casting and established writers to entice audiences, but if we neglect our early career artists, we run the risk of no stars of the future. This is our fifth summer of handing over our main stage to our Young Companies, and even in this short time, we've already seen the impact of these artists both in our building and beyond it. 

We recently received over 300 applications (our highest ever) for 18 places in our Young Company, highlighting the huge demand for free professional training opportunities for Young Artists. It is harder than ever for Young Artists from marginalised or disadvantaged backgrounds to make their first pieces of work. But in an increasingly risk-averse industry, how do we give Young People the experience they need to move up the career ladder? 

 In a time where programming timelines are longer, Young Company work is vital to respond to those urgent and pressing issues for the audiences of today. It's a great opportunity for writers to write for big casts, talk about contemporary themes, and often have their work performed in main houses for the first time. It also provides vital training and development opportunities for creative teams, as well as allowing Young Artists to have experience working with award-winning industry professionals. ‘

Earlier this year, Bush Writers’ Group alumni Coral Wylie, one of the founding members of BYC when it launched in 2021, had their play Lavender, Hyacinth, Violet, Yew produced at The Bush, receiving 5* reviews and setting Coral on a career path within the arts. Coral said, ‘BYC is the strongest support system and family I have ever known’

PAUSE/REWIND

Devised by the Bush Theatre 14-17 Young Company

Directed by Jordi M.Carter

Assistant Director - Basheba ‘Bashiie’ Baptiste

Set and Costume Designer – Hazel Low

Lighting Designer – Joshie Harriette

Sound Designer - AJ Turner

Movement Director - Xanthus Peters

8 & 9 August at 7.30 pm

Saturday matinee - 9 August at 2.30 pm

The 14-17 Bush Young Company returns to the main stage in this thrilling new production co-created with director Jordi M.Carter

If you could hit rewind, would you? 

The 14-17 Bush Young Company dives head-first into the past, exploring nostalgia and memory.  PAUSE/REWIND is a love letter to the moments that made us.  It’s about growing up, looking back, and pressing play on the mixtape of your life. 

Exploring what memories we hold as we grow up, as well as those we wish we could forget, it promises to be funny, evocative, and unforgettable.

Jordi M. Carter is a Caribbean-British director and theatre-maker from Streatham, South London. His work is shaped by storytelling practices from the Global South and Black Diaspora, and centres mindfulness and cultural expression. He is currently the 2024/25 Lambeth Baylis Trustee at The Old Vic and was the inaugural Co-Artistic Director/CEO at Boundless Theatre and a former Young Vic Young Associate. Recent credits include Marie & Rosetta (Rose Theatre / ETT / Chichester Festival Theatre); Animal Farm (Stratford East / Leeds Playhouse / Nottingham Playhouse); And (Theatre503); His Name (Contact Manchester); Aromatherapy (Talawa); The Government Inspector (Lyric Hammersmith / UAL); We Need New Names (National Tour); Of The Cut (Young Vic); Five Plays (Young Vic); Love Reign (Young Vic).

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Bush Theatre 18 - 25 Young Company presents

MAKE ME FEEL

Written by Will Jackson

Directed by Bush Theatre Associate Director and Young Company Director - Katie Greenall

Set and Costume Designer – Hazel Low

Lighting Designer – Joshie Harriette

Sound Designer  - Xana

Movement Director – Mateus Daniel

Dramaturg - Amy Crighton

19 - 23 August at 7.30 pm

Saturday matinee - 23 August at 2.30 pm

The 18-25 Bush Young Company returns to the main stage with the final show of this cohort’s two-year tenure.

“Love is not transactional. It is cyclical. It grows. It biodegrades. It fertilises.”

This should be the happiest time in their lives. Jamie and Ruby. Together forever. First in their friendship group to get married. So why does Jamie feel so sad and scared all the time? With spa trips, stag dos, and a big wedding on the horizon, MAKE ME FEEL explores how we ask for help in a world that feels like it isn’t listening.

Written by Bush Writers’ Group alumni Will Jackson (Clutch) for the 18-25 Bush Young Company, and directed by Bush Associate Director Katie Greenall, this world premiere is hilarious and heartfelt. 

Will Jackson is a Birmingham-based writer, actor, and director. He is an alumnus of the Bush Theatre’s Emerging Writers Group, and his play Clutch premiered as part of the Bush’s 50th anniversary season. Will was named ‘A Rising Comic Star’ by Attitude for his solo show Yours Sincerely, which toured over 100 performances across the UK, including a critically acclaimed run at Soho Theatre. Soho and Homotopia Festival have since commissioned him as part of the latest Soho Six cohort. Will is an Associate Artist at National Youth Theatre, and has also written a new Christmas musical, DASHING! with Matthew Floyd Jones, which recently received a sharing at The Other Palace. Writing credits include Confetti & Fashion Spies (Quick Duck Theatre, UK TOURS); The Final Showdown (Birmingham Hippodrome); Magic Hour: The Murder Mystery Disco! (Winner of the Singularity of Vision and Best Ensemble awards – National Student Drama Festival); and The Life & Works of Veronica St. Claude (BBC Radio 4).