National Theatre
Connections Festival
2026
Wednesday 22 April - Saturday 25 April
The National Theatre’s annual,
nationwide youth theatre
festival.
Connections is the National Theatre’s annual, nationwide youth theatre festival. The programme is 30 years old and has a history of championing the talent of young people from across the UK.
Tramshed is a proud partner venue for National Theatre Connections festival for the fourth year in a row. Every year, Connections commissions new plays for young people to perform. The programme brings together some of the UK’s most exciting writers with the theatre-makers of tomorrow. In 23/24, they worked with over 250 youth companies from every corner of the UK.
LOCATION
Tramshed
51-53 Woolwich New Road
London
SE18 6ES
Wildfire Road - Habs Hatchham Company
Wednesday 22 April, 6.30pm
A story about a generation whose future has been hijacked. The whole play takes place on a flight from London to Tokyo. There's a hijacker on board and the flight is re-directed to Siberia and in the process saving the lives of all 416 people on board, as the rest of the world is engulfed in a massive wildfire. It's metaphorical, prophetic and a tale for the most important question of our times - are we going to wake up and address the climate emergency before it's too late?
Tickets: Under 16s free, General admission £7
Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth - Berwick Youth Theatre
Wednesday 22 April, 8pm
When an alarm is deliberately set off during their GCSE drama exam, a group of students find themselves in detention. As they struggle to navigate the seemingly endless tasks they’ve been set as punishment, questions are raised. Who set off the alarm and why? Will they ever get out of this detention? Will it cost them their GCSE? And why is Shakespeare still so popular? So begins a meta deconstruction of the play as we move from classroom to theatre, artifice to reality. The performers switch between their characters and their real selves as they interrogate Shakespeare, the canon, the education system, the nature of theatre, and the world itself. They begin to wonder whether the classics really are that classic, or whether we might need to tell a different story altogether….
Tickets: Under 16s free, General admission £7
Britney’s Lock- ACT 2 Academy
Thursday 23 April, 6.30pm
When Ruby acquires a lock of Britney Spears’ hair as a relic to help her stay calm during her GCSE mocks, her friends dismiss it, but one by one they feel its power and want a piece of it, until it is destroyed. This funny play about how we cope in stressful situations, explores the power of belief and friendship.
Tickets: Under 16s free, General admission £7
The Animals - St Thomas the Apostle College
Thursday 23 April, 8pm
Student teacher Sam arrives at Redhill Youth Custody Secure Unit hoping to enrich the troubled residents' lives there by introducing them to the subject of Philosophy. The wary class resist engaging in this alien, ancient art of thinking at first, but start to thaw when they find themselves being challenged and empowered in ways they haven't previously experienced. Yet the hope Sam's teaching offers them is fragile, particularly for hard fronting Gee, who's on the verge of being released from the unit and is secretly terrified at this prospect.
Tickets: Under 16s free, General admission £7
Ride or Die - Deptford Green
Friday 24 April, 6.30pm
The Kids spend the whole year arguing about whether Alton Towers is actually better than Thorpe Park. At the moment Alton Towers has got 2 votes and Thorpe Park has got 2 votes. The deciding vote goes to the youngest, Angel who hasn’t actually been to any of them yet, cause he’s in year 7 and you don’t get to go on The Theme Park Extravaganza until the end of Year 7. But that’s literally in like 2 weeks, so it’ll be settled once and for all, very very soon! So what could possibly go wrong?....Angel getting suspended from school, Nan going off on a surprise holiday, Dad coming round to look after them (and he's useless) and lasts one night, and The Kids borrowing Nan's car and colliding with a Waitrose delivery van. The whole affair is literally a car crash.
Tickets: Under 16s free, General admission £7
Fishville - Tramshed Young Company
Friday 24 April, 8pm
The story starts when a young man named Jared takes to the sea in swimming gear but never starts swimming… His death, which follows on from the unexpected sale of his parents’ house, throws the community into chaos. When the daughter of the man who bought Jared’s house arrives in Saltwell and finds a severed foot washed up at her feet, she and the daughter of the ‘second homers’ decide to investigate what drove Jared into the sea. They uncover a local myth about an underwater community – did Jared believe the myth? Then, ‘Jared’ starts posting messages, asking his friends to join him. With the new girl’s father spending more and more time in the sea, and the myth gaining traction, the young people must figure out what’s going on before anybody else is lost to a vengeful ocean…
Tickets: Under 16s free, General admission £7
Ride or Die - Longfield Hall Young Company
Saturday 25 April, 6.30pm
The Kids spend the whole year arguing about whether Alton Towers is actually better than Thorpe Park. At the moment Alton Towers has got 2 votes and Thorpe Park has got 2 votes. The deciding vote goes to the youngest, Angel who hasn’t actually been to any of them yet, cause he’s in year 7 and you don’t get to go on The Theme Park Extravaganza until the end of Year 7. But that’s literally in like 2 weeks, so it’ll be settled once and for all, very very soon! So what could possibly go wrong?....Angel getting suspended from school, Nan going off on a surprise holiday, Dad coming round to look after them (and he's useless) and lasts one night, and The Kids borrowing Nan's car and colliding with a Waitrose delivery van. The whole affair is literally a car crash.
Tickets: Under 16s free, General admission £7
Britney’s Lock - Southwalk Playhouse Young Company
Saturday 25 April, 8pm
When Ruby acquires a lock of Britney Spears’ hair as a relic to help her stay calm during her GCSE mocks, her friends dismiss it, but one by one they feel its power and want a piece of it, until it is destroyed. This funny play about how we cope in stressful situations, explores the power of belief and friendship.
Tickets: Under 16s free, General admission £7