“I’d like to say a big thank you for giving me the opportunity to perform. This experience has made me feel magical.”
YOUTH TROUPES COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES
Our Youth Troupe community programmes are at the heart of what we do.
We offer after-school (and sometimes holiday) workshops for children who are deemed to have experienced distress as a result of adverse childhood experiences. Through local partnerships, we work in dedicated theatre and arts spaces, for workshops and performance. In our Youth Troupes, children receive one-to-one mentoring from a volunteer, home-made food and the chance to take part in all sorts of creative activities. These groups are led by an experienced theatre-arts facilitator and an artist-therapist.
East London Youth Troupe for 7-11 year olds
NEW PROJECT STARTING JANUARY 2026
We are delighted to be continuing our successful Tower Hamlets youth troupe in partnership with Queen Mary University.
This takes place 4-5.45pm on Wednesdays at:
BLOC Arts Lab, Queen Mary University London (QMUL), Mile End Road, E1 4NS
Travel to and from school/home is provided within Tower Hamlets
We accept referrals from:
- Mainstream schools and alternative education providers
- Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (Tiers 3&4)
- Tower Hamlets children’s services teams including safeguarding, Early Help, and the looked after team
Referrals can be accepted from parents, but we ask for a professional to support the referral.
If you would like to make a referral, please email emily@theatretroupe.org for more information or a referral form.
Southwark Youth Troupe (10-12; 13-18)
Southwark Youth Troupe is currently on hold, but we’re hoping to be able to start again in April 2026. If you have a child in mind for this project, or have any other enquiries, please contact emily@theatretroupe.org. We are operating a waiting list for when we can start up again.
OUR OTHER WORK
ATTUNE Research Project
ATTUNE was a major project led by Oxford and Falmouth Universities and funded by the UK Research Council (2021-2025). Its remit was to explore the service needs of young people in England with Adverse Childhood Experiences through an arts-focused methodology. In Phase one, young people from settings across the country used dance, animation, zines and other art forms to give their opinions and voices about the mental health interventions they receive and what they want from the professionals who treat them. Theatre Troupe created a short play interpreting the research findings from Phase One, designed as an interactive training tool for mental health and education professionals and performed by two neurodivergent actors.
More Than Just Survive had its premiere in April 2024. If you’re interested in this interactive training model for your team, please get in touch.