Scottish Youth Theatre is delighted to announce the return of the Trajectories showcase, celebrating new work by early-career theatre-makers at the end of April
Scottish Youth Theatre specialises in connecting young artists with mentors, networks and each other to inspire their practice as they take the creative lead and develop their own distinct artistic voice.
Over 7 weeks, Hannah McGregor, Harry Walker, Margot Conde Arenas, Molly McGrath, Robbie Hail and Taya Sian are working with multi award-winning director Cora Bissett alongside a range of practitioners to experiment, collaborate with one another and develop brand-new work for the showcase event at Assembly Roxy on Friday 25 April 2025.
Cora Bissett, Lead Artist on the programme, is excited to be collaborating with the cohort: “Young artists at the early stages of their career are the very people we need to be bold, intrepid, resourceful, political, inventive and fearless – to keep culture thriving in Scotland.
“I am loving sharing the experience I have but also listening to and facilitating their ideas. I have been extremely fortunate in my journey at various stages to have had elders like the late great.
“Dave MacLennan and the legendary Andy Arnold support me and my ideas when I was starting out. Those elders gave me space and encouragement to try stuff out and grow in confidence. It’s a privilege now to do that for this new generation.”
Trajectories is designed to fully support these 6 young artists through dedicated development and rehearsal time, financial support and a tailored line-up of leading industry professionals.
Harry Walker, one of the young artists on this year’s programme, reflects: “I relish collaborating with other creatives to devise new theatre and often find that I work best as part of a diverse group of artists.
“I value taking inspiration from other people’s ideas and how I can incorporate their feedback into my own work, a process I love reciprocating for other artists too. Trajectories creates the perfect conditions for this – it enables us to share our practices and learn from each other, in a truly safe and supported environment.”
The programme is informed by Scottish Youth Theatre’s consultation with young people around Scotland. The organisation’s 2024 survey found that, alongside high motivation to pursue their creative aspirations, young artists have a shared concern for their future place in the industry and the gaps forming as funded opportunities have receded.
Scottish Youth Theatre’s renewed model of delivery continues to evolve in direct response to the needs and aspirations of the next generation of Scotland’s theatre-makers, with a commitment to working in more places across the country, at no cost to each young artist that participates.
Jacky Hardacre, Chief Executive of Scottish Youth Theatre, says: “We first delivered the Trajectories programme successfully in 2022 in Glasgow and we’re delighted to offer the opportunity again, this time in Edinburgh.
“Forging a path into a theatre career is fraught with challenges and the scaffolding Scottish Youth Theatre provides is needed more than ever. The young artists and the performances they create inspire us to keep showcasing the sector’s newest voices.”
The public showcase event takes the form of a mini festival of performances around the venue. Tickets start at an accessible £6 for the full event and go on sale on the Assembly Roxy website on Friday 4 April. You can find out more about the project, the young artists and Scottish Youth Theatre via their website and social media channels.
Trajectories is produced by Scottish Youth Theatre, supported by Creative Scotland’s National Lottery Open Fund for Organisations and Thriplow Charitable Trust.