Stage Productions
Opportunities to perform
The Playing Space Productions
The Playing Space mounts a full theatrical production every few years. Usually we stage these productions as part of National Theatre Connections. This is a nationwide festival of new plays commissioned and written specially for teenage performers.
I really enjoyed seeing how theatrically inventive the company were… it was visually playful and fun.
National Theatre Show Report on The Changing Room by Chris Bush (NT Connections 2018)
When we take part in Connections, the National Theatre puts amazing resources at our disposal. We are mentored by a National Theatre director, who comes to watch our shows, meets and speaks to the cast and gives us a written show report. We perform a ‘home show’, at a venue we hire for the purpose, and then again at a regional festival alongside other drama companies from London and the surrounding area.
A clear and engaging production, confidently performed by an experienced and skilled group of young people.
National Theatre Show Report on The Wardrobe by Sam Holcroft (NT Connections 2014)
Auditions for The Playing Space productions are usually open to our Advanced students only (NT Connections has a minimum age of 13).
For more information on Connections, visit the National Theatre website:
Garden Suburb Theatre
Every year, our partners and friends at Garden Suburb Theatre stage a family production. We encourage any of our students who are keen on performing to audition for these productions. Recent GST productions involving students from The Playing Space have included A Midsummer Night’s Dream (open-air production, 2016), Peter Pan (2019) and Tom Sawyer (2020). GST casts include actors as young as six, though younger students should bear in mind that there is a lot of rehearsing involved.
LAMDA Exams
Our students have the option of taking a LAMDA exam in subjects including acting, public speaking, verse and prose reading and devising.
Professional Opportunities
All teachers at The Playing Space have studied theatre or performing arts to degree level or as postgraduates, and many of us are actors with professional training and experience. Over the years, a number of our students have had ambitions to perform professionally. Current and former students at The Playing Space have appeared on stage in the West End, on screen and on radio. We have prepared several students for professional drama school training, as well as for auditions for stage schools. From time to time we receive casting calls for professional theatre, film, TV and commercials. If we have students who are suitable and would like to give it a try, we will give them all the support as we can.
