Bristol Old Vic Young Company Explore Power, Punishment, and Mental Health in Schools With New Show

Set in a re-education centre a few hundred metres below the earth, There's Nobody Else In The World and The World Was Made For Me is the powerful new show from Bristol Old Vic's Young Company.

The production has been written and devised by the company of 14 young people aged 14 to 20 and explores power, punishment and the current state of young people's mental health.

Hello. It's us. The little sh*ts. You told us to do something with our lives. But NOT that. You told us to be whoever we wanted to be. But NOT them.

So you put us underground by ourselves to think and reflect for a while.

You can't bury your problems forever.

They won't like it.

Bristol Old Vic Young Company is one of the largest regional youth theatres in the UK and has been running for three decades. It is home to 360 young people aged 3-25 from across the South West, providing an environment of playful creativity to encourage and cultivate exploration, questioning, creativity, building of skills and ensemble working. The Young Company is a place for young people to find their voice, and make work that reflects the world they live in.

There's Nobody Else in The World... is directed by Harry Gould. Speaking today he said:
"I am extremely proud of the cast who have written and devised this play. A failing education system often leads to quick fixes when it comes to disciplining teenagers. Isolating and excluding teenagers by way of punishment - now compounded by the impact of the pandemic on young people's mental health - is clearly detrimental to their wellbeing and development.

Our aim is that adults watching this play will recognise that real change starts with re-considering our relationship with young people."

Harry graduated from Bristol Old Vic's Made in Bristol scheme in 2020 and went on to study an MA in Directing at LAMDA. Currently, he works as an Associate Lecturer at UWE, a Community Director for the Orange Tree Theatre and is directing an NT Connection's play for the White City Youth Theatre at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith.

The creative team is completed by Designer Gi Vasey, Sound Designer & Composer Nikki Crowley, Lighting Designer Imogen Senter and Assistant Director Imogen Downes.

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