Here at Peer we are celebrating a wave of success as 100% of our young actors on our Peer Actor Development Programme (PAD) have recently secured places at top drama schools. To date, the group of nine young actors have received 23 offers from a range of top drama schools including Bristol Old Vic, Drama Studio London, East15, Fourth Monkey, Guildford School of Acting, Italia Conti, Leeds Conservatoire, LIPA, Mountview, Performers College, Performers Preparatory Academy, Rose Bruford and Trinity Laban and audition season isn’t over yet!

We are very excited to announce that our play for Key Stage 2 - The Space Between (my Head & Heart) by Alice Underwood is now available to stream as part of our free digital theatre offer.

All you have to do is sign up and you can stream a range of our productions. Whether you’re a teacher, home educator, theatre student or parent, you’ll find lots of different productions on the digital tab on our website and we are adding more all the time.

When I heard that the extraordinary Netflix drama Adolescence was being made available for schools to use free of charge, I have to admit I had mixed feelings. Before I explain, let me start by saying that, I agree with it seems everyone who has watched it, it’s a total MASTERPIECE! It is an astounding piece of television which is compelling and engaging and is an absolute feat of brilliant story telling and technical expertise. Jack Thorne is an incredible playwright and screenwriter who has an incredible ability to bring young voices to life. I first encountered his writing in the play Bunny, a one woman play in which a teenage girl chronicles her experiences growing up in Luton. He’s also the writer behind the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and and numerous TV dramas including, most recently, the critically acclaimed Toxic Town. Adolescence is co-written by actor and producer Stephen Graham who, in an industry which feels like it is becoming increasingly homogenised, stands out as a powerhouse championing working class voices. The entire cast are exceptional and the complexity of shooting each episode in one take is a technical triumph. I am sure it will pick up BAFTAs and other accolades and it deserves to. It’s brilliant!

BUT…

To anyone who knows the work that Peer produces it will come as no surprise that we believe trigger warnings are an important part of how we make our work accessible. Like any tools of accessibility, audiences can choose to what extent they engage with the warnings depending on how relevant they might be to them personally.

What worries us far more is tendency to be afraid to talk to young people about challenging topics for fear of upsetting them especially when we know that children are exposed to a plethora of extreme content online from an increasingly young age. We believe in having the difficult conversations, and giving the young people the tools they need to critically assess what they encounter online so that they can feel empowered to make positive decisions.

Here’s 3 ways our Artistic Director’s ADHD has benefitted Peer!

In consultation with our brilliant PEP artists, we’ve decided to change the name of our specialist training programme for young actors and theatre-makers with learning disabilities. 

We are pleased to announce the launch of our Drama Teachers’ Pack and full length digital production of Masking which, together with our PSHE Teachers’ Pack, can be accessed for free on our website.