<p>Amid financial pressures on household and school budgets, the theatre company is expanding access with free plays </p><p>Six young actors step into the spotlight as a reverent silence descends on the hall at City Academy in Bristol. A boy steps forward to pose a central question: “What does it mean to be young in Britain in 2026?”</p><p>Union jack flags flash across the backdrop as three girls excitedly debate a Spice Girls reunion concert, before the focus swings back to the young boy wrestling with modern British identity. He rattles off a list of familiar cultural touchstones – fish and chips, cups of tea, Butlin’s, David Attenborough, Gogglebox and the England football team, naming heroes such as Jordan Pickford and Jude Bellingham.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/oct/18/bristol-old-vic-arts-emergency-city-academy-theatre-plays-access">Continue reading...</a>
World
Bristol Old Vic tackles arts ‘emergency’ by bringing the theatre into classrooms
<p>Amid financial pressures on household and school budgets, the theatre company is expanding access with free plays </p><p>Six young actors step into the spotlight as a reverent silence descends on the hall at City Academy in Bristol. A boy steps forward to pose a central question: “What does it mean to be young in Britain in 2026?”</p><p>Union jack flags flash across the backdrop as three girls excitedly debate a Spice Girls reunion concert, before the focus swings back to the young boy wrestling with modern British identity. He rattles off a list of familiar cultural touchstones – fish and chips, cups of tea, Butlin’s, David Attenborough, Gogglebox and the England football team, naming heroes such as Jordan Pickford and Jude Bellingham.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/oct/18/bristol-old-vic-arts-emergency-city-academy-theatre-plays-access">Continue reading...</a>