The Emerald Group announced as Theatre Royal Plymouth Young Company Create sponsors

Theatre Royal Plymouth (TRP) is proud to announce the continuation of its partnership with specialist global recruitment and selection company, The Emerald Group, which has taken on the role of Young Company Create sponsor. 

The Emerald Group is now in its third year of support for TRP having previously funded Acting Up and People’s Company in its role as Inclusion Sponsor. Its new Young Company Create sponsorship will cover a full term of the scheme for 15 young people, plus a theatre trip for the group.

Young Company Create is a theatre group run by TRP which is open to disabled young people aged 12-25, and anyone who feels they may benefit from additional support. Each year, TRP runs three terms of ten-week workshops, delivering sessions led by specialist practitioners who carefully design a programme of work that is accessible and engaging to the group. The participants work with these professionals to discover and explore a range of rehearsal techniques and performance skills with energetic and creative sessions designed to spark the imagination and build confidence. At the end of each term, the group showcases what they’ve learnt in front of friends and family. Alongside the regular sessions, TRP hosts a summer activity for Young Company Create in which participants create a new play in just one week. 

The current scheme is at full capacity and the shrinking provision for accessible arts activity in the city, makes the project even more vital for the individuals and families it engages with.

Beth Siddall, Children, Young People & Families Officer at TRP, said: “The families of the young people involved with Young Company Create describe it as a ‘lifeline’. The sessions give these young people a chance to engage with the theatre while also developing key skills such as confidence, communication and relationship building. For learning disabled young people, developing these skills is essential and a huge part of their transition into adulthood and further independence. The showcase is a really joyful experience and the sense of pride coming from the families and the young people themselves is profound.

“We’re extremely thankful to The Emerald Group for their support over the past two years and now, sponsoring Young Company Create. Without their generosity and financial backing, we simply wouldn’t be able to run these vital provisions for the people of Plymouth.”

The Emerald Group finds solutions for the financial services industry. Maria Deacon, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Emerald Group, said: “The city is so lucky to have such an amazing asset in Theatre Royal Plymouth and we feel privileged to be part of their journey in making the theatre accessible to as many people as possible.”  

To find out more about Young Company Create or if you would like to support TRP’s youth work, visit www.theatreroyal.com/take-part/young-people.