Assemble

National Youth Theatre’s Assemble to create systemic change in recruitment of young disabled creative talent with landmark £2.3m UK Fund grant

• Assemble will be delivered nationally over three years with six partner venues: Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff; Exeter Northcott Theatre; Lowry, Salford; Mayflower, Southampton; National Youth Theatre; and Sheffield Theatres

• Funding will enable 810 young learning disabled and neurodivergent people to gain training and practical work experience with theatre partners in the creative industries

• 270 young creatives will be trained and employed as Creative Support Workers across 18 cultural employers

• 95% of young disabled participants in the pilot scheme were unaware of creative career paths available to them

Thanks to National Lottery players, National Youth Theatre has received £2.3 million over three years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. The funding will be used to support the professional and personal development of D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent young people, expanding their skills through training and creative placements with theatres across the UK.

This comes from The UK Fund, one of The National Lottery Community Fund’s significant commitments as part of its 2023-2030 strategy, ‘It starts with community’, funding projects that help children and young people thrive – one of the funder’s four key missions.

This landmark grant will support National Youth Theatre to work with leading venue partners Chapter Arts Centre, Exeter Northcott Theatre, Lowry, Mayflower, Southampton and Sheffield Theatres, to deliver its flagship inclusion programme Assemble in a landmark grant to support inclusive engagement, progression and recruitment in the sector.