National Theatre Connections – ‘No Regrets’ and ‘YOU 2.0’

Connections is the National Theatre’s annual, nationwide youth theatre festival, celebrating 30 years of championing young talent from across the UK. Each year, The National Theatre commission ten new plays for young people to perform, pairing some of the UK’s most exciting writers with the theatre-makers of tomorrow.

Blackpool Grand Theatre is proud to be hosting the National Theatre Connections Festival, with five local Young Theatre groups taking part, including our very own Grand Young Company young actors.

Mon 21 Apr performances

No Regrets by Gary McNair

Over the course of five years, playwright Gary McNair spoke to people at all stages and in all walks of life on the subject of regret. This play marks the results of those conversations. A collection of scenes from the silly to the profound, that charts our relationship with the things we should have done but didn’t and the things we shouldn’t have done, but did.

Content warnings:
– Strong language
– Description of violence
– Mention of alcohol and addiction
– One scene of a mugging and stabbing
– References to death

followed by

YOU 2.0 by Alys Metcalf

Strangers Martha and Isaac find themselves forced into playing YOU 2.0, a new therapy video game designed to help players access their better selves. As they tackle the levels in two player mode, the pair form an unlikely friendship behind the anonymity of their gaming avatars, but their impact on each other’s lives goes much deeper than the game.

Content warnings:
– Discussion of mental health
– Allusion to self-harm
– Mild language
– Discussion of bereavement
– References to chronic illness

OTHER PERFORMANCE DATES

Tue 22 Apr – ‘Normalised’ & ‘The Company of Trees’ – BOOK NOW

Wed 23 Apr – ‘Mia and the Fish’ – BOOK NOW