My daughter has been attending the Young Actors Group for the last 4 years or so. In this time Aaron and his team have been amazing, and she has enjoyed every minute. The group activities, and projects (performance, creative and video) have increased her confidence and really allowed her imagination to shine. Highly recommended!
Summer highlights for me have been the wonderful Shakespeare weeks with the Young Actors Group. This year I played Malvolio in a circus themed Twelfth Night. It was amazing to work with director Luke and share his vision. He certainly helped stretch me. I also very much enjoyed Holly's Charleston dance. Each year I very much look forward to reading Ben Murry-Watson's script, which always has some witty additions to the orginal. This year I had a lot of fun talking to myself in a mirror, completely failing to do handstands and cartwheels and chasing Malvolio's tricksters around the auditorium. These productions really bring joy and fun to Shakespeare. Most people's introduction to Shakespeare is preparing for an exam, pouring over a text that was meant to be performed not read. To make a Harry Potter analogy: it is like comparing Umbridge's philosophy of education to actually being allowed to perform the magic of Shakespeare. And Brighton Open Air Theatre is such a special place to perform.
Our young actor Wilfrid Watson has had a whole series of great experiences with Young Actors Group's summer Shakespeare productions at Brighton Open Air Theatre (BOAT). The YAG productions are friendly and a fun mix of Shakespeare and modern text with interpretations that really appeal to young people. Here is Wilfrid as Malvolio (Twelfth NIght 2022), Macbeth (2021), Caliban (The Tempest 2019), Charles King of France (Henry V 2018) and Hastings (Richard III 2017). The intensive week-long courses ending in a public performance at BOAT really instilled a love of Shakespeare in Wilfrid, who has gone on to tread the boards with the Shakespeare's Globe Young Company.
My 12 year old son attended the summer drama camp. They put on a amazingly polished performance of Twelfth Night at the Brighton Open Air Theatre after just a week of rehearsals. And my son loved it - no prodding him out of the door each morning.
A little background on me first: I’m Arlo, I’m 17 years old and I use a wheelchair as I suffer from Cerabel Palsy. I have just completed my first term at YAG and my first ever term of acting for that matter. I participate in Aaron Tonka’ Saturday evening class in Kemptown. From the moment that I walked into my first group, I felt right at home and I was blown away with the teaching, the inclusion and the overall posterity of the group. As a teenager living with a disability, I can find it hard to be included and involved but YAG has shown me that if I throw myself into something void of fear, I will reap the rewards. Very highly recommend
My daughter loves coming to the Sessions and has made lots of friends there. Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming and she is made to feel a valuable member of the group. Luke makes the sessions really good fun with warm up games to start so they are relaxed and happy. My daughter’s confidence in acting has really grown since she has been attending and she has really enjoyed taking part in the end of year play. We have tried out a few acting classes and this is the first one that she has truly enjoyed. The teaching is outstanding and everyone is valued and encouraged to be the best they can be. Very Highly recommended.
Hi ! My name is Helena and I am a 15 year old young actor. I joined YAG when I was 10 and have loved it ever since. The highlight of the year for me is our Shakespeare play which we perform at BOAT after a week of rehearsals. It's totally AMAZING and one of the best things about my summer holidays. We have just performed Midsummer Night's Dream and I loved every minute. Thank you Ben, Luke, Aaron and Holly, you're the best!
The Young Actors Group is located at 9 Talbot Mead, Hurstpierpoint, Hassocks BN6 9FN, UK
You can contact The Young Actors Group at +44 1273 758512
You can find directions to The Young Actors Group by following this map link