Truth About Youth

A £700,000, national, five-year partnership with the Co-operative Foundation, designed to challenge and change negative perceptions of young people. TaY included numerous projects as well as an extensive and sustained programme of training, mentoring, political lobbying and partnership development across Greater Manchester. Events included a new theatre piece made and performed in an old fire station, On The Grass, an outdoor weekend takeover of St Ann’s Square, Manchester City Centre, , My Neck of the Woods - a collaborative digital project with Blast Theory and a team of Manchester elders and teenagers, and TAY Talks. Modelled on TED talks, this 12 month creative speechmaking programme culminated in an evening of talks, rants and creative provocations, ranging from the personal to the political, organised and delivered by young people aged 14 to 25 and presented to an audience of 500. The evening was co-hosted with comedian and writer Robin Ince.

At the centre of the 5 year programme was The Truth about Youth Festival

A two week celebration of theatre, music, film, cooking, exhibitions and opinion-gathering, led by young people who took over all aspects of the theatre from Festival Management, Producing & Programming and Marketing Strategy to Front of House, Directing, Design and Stage Management. 14 Young Leaders took part in a bespoke training programme developing their creative and arts management skills and future employability and worked with a number of external professional partners to develop their skills in the run up to the festival.

15 young and intergenerational companies devised, rehearsed and created 20 new pieces of theatre, young comedians were mentored by Justin Moorhouse, and young photographers mounted Exposure – an exhibition of photographs exploring the real ‘truth about youth’. The Shout Out Radio team created and launched a radio station, The Cuisine Sixteen team took over the restaurant, and young craftspeople created Future Makers, a professional selling exhibition of crafts in the Craft Shop. Other teams of young people developed the skills to welcome visitors to the building and to work front of house, as well as being trained up to Take To The Streets with the Bikeaphone (complete with colourful flags and a huge megaphone) and the Opinionator (a fantastical mobile booth). My Young And Foolish Heart - an intergenerational theatre piece for the Royal Exchange main stage brought elders and teenagers together in an explosive piece of theatre directed by Max Webster, working with writer Sonia Hughes and the company of performers.

Through Truth about Youth, a network of creative partnerships were developed with companies and individuals from across the North West including theatre companies Quarantine and 20 Stories High, media partner BBC Radio Manchester, Community Arts Northwest, Reclaim and Springboard. They were joined by fledgling teenage companies, speechmakers and performers who presented their work at daily Youth SFX events. Schools from across the region were also involved, creating visual art and performance work for the Festival.

My Young and Foolish Heart