Theatre Centre


Theatre Centre is a UK-based theatre company touring new plays for young audiences. It was Founded in 1953 by Brian Way and Margaret Faulkes.

History

Brian Way and Margaret Faulkes founded Theatre Centre in 1953. When they produced a shortened version of Dorothy L. Sayers' The Man Born to Be King, the production inspired Sayers to donate £200 to help establish the company.
Many of Theatre Centre's early plays were written by Brian Way himself, who believed that plays should be written for a specific age group, and audiences are best kept small, for the best performances. Theatre Centre productions were presented informally, in the round, on the floor of school halls.
The company's "initial aim was to provide a place where unemployed actors might meet and practise their art", according to Laurence Harbottle in 2006. "What it became was the launch pad for educational theatre in schools – and what Brian became, in the next half century, was the seminal influence on that movement, worldwide".
The Theatre Centre has developed plays by many writers, including Lisa Evans, Noël Greig, Mike Kenny, Bryony Lavery, Leo Butler, Brendan Murray, Philip Osment, Manjinder Virk, Roy Williams and Benjamin Zephaniah.

Description

Today, Theatre Centre shows tour to schools and venues around the country and the company has a focus on writers creating work for young audiences aged 4 to 18.
It is a member of Theatre for Young Audiences UK, a network for makers and promoters of professional theatre for young audiences.
Theatre Centre is a registered charity and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.

Awards

Theatre Centre administrates two prizes for writers, the Brian Way Award for Best New Play and the Adrienne Benham Award. The Brian Way Award is presented annually to the writer of a play for young people which has been professionally produced, and the Adrienne Benham Award to a writer who wishes to write a play for young people but who hasn't previously done so.
Winners of the Brian Way Award for Best New Play:
Winners of the Adrienne Benham Award: