New funding will encourage Doncaster schoolchildren into theatres
More than 100,000 children and young people across the country will get the chance to experience live theatre, many for the first time, as new funding is announced.
Doncaster has been chosen as one of 60 areas that will get funding to give opportunities to young people in the community.
The government backed programme will open up opportunities for young people in theatre, sports, arts and the outdoors - Doncaster has been chosen as one of the areas to receive funding.
The National Theatre will work with 12 partners across every English region to bring world-class theatre to more than 100,000 young people.
They will be able to explore acting, directing, playwriting and backstage roles, training and workshops will help them develop skills for careers in the creative industries, both on stage and behind the screen.
There will be thousands of subsidised £10 tickets to make performances affordable for young people, and productions specifically designed for young audiences will tour to 400 schools across the country.
In addition, a new music theatre programme will create original community productions, inspired, devised, produced and performed by local young people in their own areas.
Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy said: “I am tired of being told that not everybody can or should have access to the best of what this country has to offer.
“Arts and culture gives the chance to live a richer, larger life and that chance should be afforded to every young person.
“Experiencing the joy of theatre shouldn’t be restricted to only those who can afford it or who were born in the right postcode.
“This programme takes the very best of the National Theatre and brings it to the doorsteps of our young people across the country, many for the first time ever, to help them find their spark, expand their horizons and encourage them to see a creative future for themselves."
The announcement forms part of the Prime Minister’s programme to improve the experience of young people growing up across the country.
Funding will support 60 locations across England (including Doncaster), selected because they are the most in need of investment.
These areas have experienced longstanding underinvestment in youth provision, with young people reporting a lack of access to sufficient opportunities.
Doncaster’s local authorities will receive an initial share of £20.7 million in funding from the Youth Matters Fund programme this year.