Arcola Youth Theatre

From first lines to final bows – empowering tomorrow’s brightest theatre makers.

Arcola Youth Theatre is now accepting applications for our Autumn 2026 term running between September – December 2026 in line with the Hackney schools term calendar.

Our weekly sessions take place from 5.45pm – 7.15pm. We will run three groups, tailored to specific age ranges:

Tuesday: 9–11 year olds and 12–13 year olds
Wednesday: 14–16 year olds

To express your young person’s interest in joining us, please fill out this form.

What to expect?

Arcola Youth Theatre (AYT) aims to engage young individuals aged 9-16 from Hackney and surrounding areas in the multifaceted world of theatre. AYT focuses on building teamwork, enhancing performance skills, and fostering creativity through various aspects of theatre-making, including set design, lighting, sound, scriptwriting, and directing. Arcola Youth Theatre creates spaces for imagination and play and fostering a sense of self and group identity. In the Autumn term, the young people will begin rehearsals for their public performances which will take place in February 2027.

We are a proud recipient of the Jack Petchey Achievement Award scheme. Youth Theatre members regularly benefit from attending free theatre trips, workshops by external practitioners on theatre disciplines such as stage combat and set design.

"I have made lots of new friends and have had lots of fun. I can forget about my stress and be creative."

"One day I want to be an actor or part of a theatre or film industry so it’s great to practice and maintain my acting. But also it’s a really nice community and a great way to make connections and friends over a shared interest."

"I love doing improvising and meeting new people."

"So impressive what you do with the young people and how much they clearly get from participating."

"The staging and puppetry were so impressive as well as the young people’s performances."

"It has been a wonderful way to end what’s been a fantastic few years at Arcola. I remember a couple of years ago him saying that Arcola made his week! He’s going to continue with drama at A level and will continue to frequent Arcola as an audience member."

"It’s been such a great opportunity for both my kids."

"Thank you both again for giving X and his pals such a great experience. I’m sure you’ll be seeing them all for many years to come. I was telling my agent this morning what a joy it was over the last two nights to see the performance ‘bug’ biting, and for their journey to be curated by so many safe pairs of hands."