SELLOUTS: A Young Company Production

The show opened on a community of cicadas living in a junkyard. The set, beautifully designed by the Makers Design Team and almost entirely made from reused materials, captured the overwhelming result of consumerism. The cicadas layered costumes and wings, adorned with found objects and rubbish, were designed by the Makers Costume Team with the support of the Royal Exchange Wardrobe department and contributed to the magical opening of the show.  

“I enjoyed working on different elements – sound, directing, the programme” Young Company member  

CICADA was followed by TEAM BUILDING, an awkward and competitive company day out that had audiences cringing with recognition. FROZEN ASSETS saw an overworked anti-hero challenge corporate indifference. At the interval, the audience animatedly responded to questions in the foyer such as ‘Who would you sacrifice for £10k?’ and ‘How often do you use ChatGPT?’ The second half began with SCRATCH THAT, which followed the rise and fall of a generative AI company and its ultimate devastating impact on the environment. Closing the show was THANK YOU FOR VISITING, where a jury gathered to decide the eternal fate of Carol, based on only one thing: her final receipt. 

“My highlight was hearing the text brought to life for the first time – seeing how the table read evolved into the finished product.” Young Company Member  

Using the show SPEND, SPEND, SPEND as a jumping off point, the Young Company collaborated on initial ideas inspired by the themes. This resulted in five completely varied concepts and scripts from the Writers, exploring poignant and important topics through a series of excellent stories and characters with heart, humour, and a healthy dose of human nature. The Directors blew us away with their approach to rehearsals, taking charge of their companies and leading them through such a short rehearsal process with care, guidance, flexibility and enthusiasm. The costume, set, lighting and sound from the Design Team was so ambitious and creative, and it had such an impact; from the set and costumes to the musical composition, the ticket design and the digital programme, it all added to the atmosphere that was created. The Performers grew in confidence and completely owned the stage with their talent.  

“It was awesome to work with other likeminded people my age” Young Company Member  

65 Young Company members were involved in the production, supported by various internal staff in the Theatre and freelance creatives. For some Young Company members, it was their first time stepping into these roles, whether that being on and off stage, so everyone built on their collaboration skills, increased their confidence and built strong peer bonds. The scripts and responses to the initial stimuli material came from Young Company and it was fantastic to see the varied directions they went in.  

“The stories linked together well with themes of justice, fairness, throwaway society and the climate crisis all linked in.  Brilliant commentary on what is going wrong in our world!” Audience Member  

“I have been so impressed with the Young Company’s passion, ideas, professionalism, bravery and collaboration on this project. Putting on work can be challenging, especially in the short time they had, but each group supported each other, adapted and really came into their own. We’re incredibly proud of all of the work they put into the whole process; seeing how it all come together for the production was truly brilliant.” Scarlett Spiro-Beazley, Children & Young People Producer  

This production would have not been possible without the generous support from funders of Young Company, Garfield Weston and The Thistle Trust.