National Youth Theatre
The Ancestors
A site-specific outdoor production starring National Youth Theatre talent that explores the voices of Black revolutionaries within the grounds of Portchester Castle. A clique of Caribbean maroon warrior women, a general of Haiti and his right-hand man, an ex-enslaved couple reclaiming their land, a group of Black French Caribbean soldiers held captive in Portchester, and their wives traveling across the Atlantic to be reunited with them. These are The Ancestors – manifesting in our world, in the hopes we can stop history from repeating itself, but do we really hold the key?
Filmed on-location at Portchester Castle, ‘The Ancestors’ will be screened in late 2022. Originally written as a play, the project has been adapted into a film, which is currently being edited by Black Apron Entertainment, after the production was struck by a COVID-19 outbreak. For more information on this, click here.
At the 2022 Youth Summit, members from the National Youth Theatre talked about their process for this production and gave us a sneak peak performance. See photos below taken at the event.
Our House
In summer 2019, young people from both the National Youth Theatre (NYT) and METRO Charity had the unique opportunity to develop a new play at Eltham Palace ‘Our House’.
‘Our House’ explores LGBTQ+ stories and the history of the Eltham Palace. Taking inspiration from the lives of Eltham’s famous occupants – King Edward II, King Henry VIII, and Courtauld family, as well as the stories of the countless people including servants, musicians, soldiers, and administrators, whose lives are linked with Eltham and its more famous residents, but whose stories have gone untold or have even been lost entirely.
Over two months, historians, musicians, directors, writers and theatre professionals worked together to create a new immersive promenade performance. Following an introduction to Eltham Palace’s history, they researched LGBTQ+ narratives relating to the palace and its inhabitants and, during creative workshops, forged their ideas into a script.
The play is divided into eight short scenes exploring the supposed romance between King Edward II and his favourite, Piers Gaveston, Henry VIII’s upbringing at the Palace with his sisters, and working-class queer stories from the 1930s when Eltham Palace was known for high-society parties.
At the event, Ben Salmon, writer of the ‘Our House’ script, read an extract from the play for everyone at the summit.
Click here to find out more about this incredible project.