The academies training next generation of acting talent in Merseyside

‘What we really pride ourselves with is that connection to the industry’

Theatre academies are training the next generation of acting talent in Merseyside. The Liverpool Empire Youth Theatre teaches young people in the region musical theatre, acting, singing and dancing, while also providing transferable skills that can be used beyond a career in the arts.

When Natalie Flynn, the Empire’s senior creative learning manager, joined the team in 2005, the Youth Theatre had around 10 young people in the programme.

Now, the team welcome more than 150 people per week from the ages of seven up to 21. The academies are open to all, with annual auditions set to take place again in September.

The academies have an impressive alumni of theatre talent including Will Callan, who is currently on a world tour as Marius in Les Misérables, Ellie Clayton, who recently took to the Royal Court stage in The Peaceful Hour 2, and Jamil Abbasi, who is set to return to the Empire as Miss Saigon continues its UK tour.

Natalie told the ECHO: “What we really pride ourselves with is that connection to the industry. We are part of ATG Entertainment, so there’s lots of lovely opportunities that come with that.

“Whether they go into a job in the arts or whether they go into something else, it does prepare them for the future. All of our practitioners are industry professionals themselves. They’ve either worked in the industry as performers or backstage members.

“Some of them are still working and they come back to us in between jobs. It’s really lovely for our young people to have that connection to the industry and for that to be very current as well. This is people that are touring in some of the biggest UK productions and then coming back to us and imparting that knowledge and that expertise.

“This venue is over 100-years-old. When you think of the people that have performed here, we’re standing on the shoulders of giants.

“For that opportunity, for those young people, sometimes as young as seven and eight years of age, to have that opportunity to come out and stand on that stage, potentially in front of an audience of 2,381 people, maybe across three or four performances, that’s really quite something. I think they’re incredibly brave.”

The Youth Theatre is made up of academies of ages seven to 11, 11 to 13 and 13 to 15-year-olds. The senior Youth Theatre is made up of 15 and a half to 21-year-olds.

The senior Youth Theatre will soon take to the stage for an amateur production of We Will Rock You from April 3 to 4.

Natalie said: “We’re just about to go into our tech rehearsals ahead of the show opening next week. So it’s been a lot of fun, a lot of hard work but we’ve had a great soundtrack to keep us motivated.”

More information on We Will Rock You can be found on the ATG website.