On Thursday 28 March, members of the Royal Exchange’s Young Company presented We’re Bloody Marvellous, an anthology of six plays all created and curated by Young Company Performers, Writers and Makers.

Interlinked by a tram journey across Manchester, each piece of new writing took inspiration from A Taste of Honey and gave themes their own twists.  

Scarlett Spiro-Beazley, Children & Young People Producer at the Royal Exchange, said,

Being a text-based producing theatre is at the root of RET’s productions on stage, so it’s important that our Young Company’s work reflects this and they get hands-on experience of the process from initial ideas right through to realisation. The collaborative project is also about putting Young Company centre stage, we had witty, thoughtful and ingenious writing; Makers running production meetings and tech rehearsals; and Performers absolutely shining on stage with very little rehearsal time. I am incredibly proud of the Young Company, we have been so impressed with their professionalism, talent and care of each other throughout the whole process. They took so much ownership of this production and excelled beyond expectations.  

From a disruption at Cornbrook to questions of class and gentrification, from a comedy about wealth (or lack of it) to the things you can’t get rid of, from conversations about the future between friends to the biggest audition of one girl’s life, each production showcased the brilliant talents of the Young Company and the future of theatre in Manchester.  

 

The Young Company members relished the experience, with some commenting, 

“It was nice to have so much creative freedom.” 

“It was such a lovely experience working with the professionals who helped me get my vision across perfectly.” 

“The experience was so much fun, I’ve never gotten to interact with writers and makers in such a way before and I’ll always remember this experience. Thank you!” 

 

It was a warm and receptive audience, with some observing, 

“Reminds me how many stories are on the Metrolink!” 

“It showed just how important the Young Company is!” 

“I could have watched another 2 hours of it – very, very enjoyable! Brilliant work.” 

“Amazing to see such a variety of young people performing to such a high standard.”