Nancy Median announces initiative to meet the cultural needs of young people in Bristol
17 Oct 2025
Bristol Old Vic’s Artistic Director Nancy Medina today unveiled a new scheme to meet the cultural needs of young people across Bristol, through a new free programme of Theatre in Education to take place in state secondary schools across the city in 2026, the Theatre's 260th Anniversary year.
Bristol Old Vic is teaming up its annual Made in Bristol training programme for theatre-makers with the recently created Five Year Commitment Writers initiative to create two pieces of high-quality theatre for young people, funded by the Bristol Old Vic Future Fund. The plays will wrestle with British identity, interrogating what it means to be British in 2026 and celebrating the brilliant young people of our city. The plays will be directed by Bristol Old Vic Artistic Director Nancy Medina and Literary & Directors Associate Lisa Gregan.
Today, schools are less likely to bring their young people to the theatre than ever before, with theatre leaders labelling an “emergency” for access to the industry (The Stage 2025). In addition, there has been a reduction in the amount of dynamic and original new work that is taken directly into schools. This is creating a generation of pupils who could go their entire academic life without experiencing theatre.
For this scheme, Bristol Old Vic is creating work aimed at those in secondary education; young people on the precipice of adulthood that might be provoked, inspired or moved by work that is made specifically for them.
One of the schools earmarked to participate in the project is City Academy. The Head of Drama, Rebecca Pierce said:
“Seeing good live theatre in school inspires students to truly develop key cultural, social, and moral aspects of learning. Seeing a story being bought to life through theatre supports a range of transferable skills like oracy, resourcefulness, and empathy and evokes a love of school, the Arts and life-long learning.”
Another school is Cotham School. Ross Geoghegan is Faculty Leader for Performing Arts:
“Experiencing live theatre is a vital part of a young person’s education. By bringing high-quality performances directly into schools, Bristol Old Vic is ensuring that all students have access to that magic, not just those who can afford the cost or logistics of a trip to the theatre. This initiative breaks down barriers and makes the transformative power of live performance truly accessible to every young person in our city”.
The two new plays will be written by Sam Parker and Muneera Pilgrim, two of Bristol Old Vic’s Five Year Commitment writers. Sam and Muneera will be mentored in this process by Hannah Khalil and Winsome Pinnock, the other two writers on the programme. The Five Year Commitment is Bristol Old Vic’s flagship residency for four writers (Winsome, Hannah, Sam and Muneera) which began in January 2025 and will run until 2030. The programme provides a space for four writers at different stages of their careers to make Bristol Old Vic their home, giving them time and space to develop and present new work with the theatre’s support.
There is so much to adore about this Made in Bristol project. It speaks to me for so many reasons, but primarily because it centres accessibility and collaboration, putting young people’s voices and stories at the heart of the work Sam and I create.
This project intentionally disrupts current models of theatre attendance, bringing the magic and possibility of theatre to a generation of young people who are in school and at a stage in life where they are shaping their own narratives.
This project democratises art through the voices, eyes and ears of young theatre makers and young audiences; I hope it will allow new meaning to emerge, just when the world needs it the most.
Muneera Pilgrim, Five Year Commitment writer
I am so excited to be writing something for schools in Bristol. Having previously led a youth theatre, I jumped at the chance to get back in a room and create something with and for young people.
I’m convinced it yields work with a unique originality and spark that allows young audiences to get their heads and hearts inside some of the big issues we are all having to face up to right now
Sam Parker, Five Year Commitment writer
This is our Theatre’s 260th birthday, so we want to reflect on our shared past and heritage whilst talking about our present and how we look to the future.
We are thrilled to be able to draw on the talents of our Five Year Commitment writers. To also have the opportunity to harness our longstanding Made In Bristol initiative to deliver these productions directly into schools just shows how Bristol Old Vic is filling the gaps in cultural engagement in school provision.
We recognise the importance of children having extra-curricular opportunities and we feel it’s important for us to contribute to that opportunity in every way we can.
Nancy Medina, Artistic Director
Did you know?
- Young adults from working class backgrounds are four times less likely to work in the creative industries than their middle-class peers. (CLA report 2024)
- Youth participation in extra-curricular activities is 56% of children living in the two most deprived fifths of the country, compared to 76% in the least deprived fifth. (CLA report, 2024)
- Children who attend clubs for Art & Music are 56% more likely to get admitted to University. (EPI, 2024)
- Learning through arts and culture can improve attainment in English and Maths.
(CLA, The value of cultural learning, 2017) - Learning through arts and culture develops skills and behaviour that lead children to do better in school. (CLA, The value of cultural learning, 2017)
- Students from low-income families who engage in arts at school are 20% more likely to vote as young adults. (CLA, The value of cultural learning, 2017)
- Young offenders who take part in arts activities are 18% less likely to re-offend (CLA, The value of cultural learning, 2017)
