Crawling in the Dark: youth theatre at the Almeida

The kids are all right: the north-London theatre's Young Friends take centre stage

by Alice VincentTuesday, 05 April 2011

Some kids do 'ave 'em: Michael Lewis, Kellie Bright and Tahirah Sharif rehearse 'Crawling in the Dark'Rehearsal images Ludovic des Cognets

In a play about drugs for a secondary-school audience there is always the potential for cringing. My own experience of theatre for a young audience involved PSHE lessons, overtly moral drama from hammy actors and dated street names for drugs. It was The Magic Roundabout, only more awkward and less entertaining. The Almeida Theatre and its solid Young Friends scheme is working hard to give youth theatre a better image through Crawling in the Dark, a new play which deals with young people and, yes, drugs, but without an embarrassing reference in sight.

The broad age range, close links with the theatre’s programme and professional participation all ensure that it’s definitely not stage school

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