National Youth Theatre

The London-based National Youth Theatre or NYT is the United Kingdom’s leading organisation for young people in the field of theatre. It runs acting auditions, workshops, drama courses and actual theatre productions. The organisation is based in North London.

The National Youth Theatre was founded in 1956 by Michael Croft and was one of the UK’s first premier youth arts organisations. The NYT gives young people (13 to 21) the opportunity for creative participation through theatre arts. All young people from across the UK, regardless of background, situation or status, are welcome to apply and the theatre receives roughly 5000 applicants a year.

The NYT is a hotbed of young creative talent, and many of the best known names in the entertainment industry started out with the company, including Sir Ben Kingsley, Sir Derek Jacobi, Dame Helen Mirren, Kate Adie, Daniel Craig, Timothy Dalton, Daniel Day-Lewis, Julian Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alec Newman, Jessica Stevenson, Michael Kitchen, Gina McKee, Diana Quick, Timothy Spall, David Suchet, Douglas Hodge, Liza Tarbuck, Jamie Theakston, Alex Kingston, Simon Ward, Clive Mantle, Paula Wilcox, Michael York, Orlando Bloom, Rosamund Pike, Beth Winslet, Charlotte Reather,Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Matt Lucas, Max Minghella, Matthew Marsden, and David Walliams.