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Pre-order. Available 14 May 2026
$33.83 RRP $42.29 Website price saving $8.46 (20%)

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Description

National Theatre Connections 2026 draws together eight new plays for young people to perform, from some of the UK's most exciting and popular playwrights.

These are plays for a generation of theatre-makers who want to ask questions, challenge assertions and test boundaries, and for those who love to invent and imagine a world of possibilities.

The plays offer young performers an engaging and diverse range of material to perform, read or study. Wrestling with themes like the Youth Custody Service, conspiracy, the climate crisis, exam pressure, grief and friendship, this collection lays bare a rich and complex terrain in which students can fully immerse themselves, explore and discover.

This 2026 anthology represents the full set of eight plays offered by the National Theatre's 2026 programme, as well as comprehensive workshop notes that give insights and inspiration for building characters, running rehearsals and staging a production.

Table of Contents

Head of Participation Introduction
Connections Dramaturg Introduction
Connections 2026 Synopses

The Animals by Sean Buckley
Character Plot
Main Narrative Beats
Workshop Notes

Britney's Lock
by Alexandra Wood
Character Plot
Main Narrative Beats
Workshop Notes

Cloud Busting
by Helen Blakeman (based on the novel by Malorie Blackman)
Character Plot
Main Narrative Beats
Workshop Notes

Fishville by Afsaneh Gray
Character Plot
Main Narrative Beats
Workshop Notes

Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth by Kirsty Housley
Character Plot
Main Narrative Beats
Workshop Notes

Ride or Die by Florence Espeut-Nickless
Character Plot
Main Narrative Beats
Workshop Notes

Sycamore Gap by Al Smith
Character Plot
Main Narrative Beats
Workshop Notes

Wildfire Road by Eve Leigh
Character Plot
Main Narrative Beats
Workshop Notes

Participating Companies
Partner Theatres
National Theatre Connections Team
Performing Rights

Product details

Explore Methuen Drama
Published 14 May 2026
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Pages 464
ISBN 9781350614314
Imprint Methuen Drama
Series Plays for Young People
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Helen Blakeman

Helen Blakeman is a British playwright and screenw…

Author

Afsaneh Gray

Afsaneh Gray is a playwright, librettist and short…

Author

Kirsty Housley

Kirsty Housley is an award winning director who ha…

Author

Florence Espeut-Nickless

Florence Espeut-Nickless is a writer and actor fro…

Author

Al Smith

Al Smith's theatre includes Enola (Underbelly, 200…

Author

Eve Leigh

Eve Leigh is an award-winning, internationally rec…

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