Live Theatre is a theatre based in Newcastle upon Tyne, dedicated to the creation and production of new plays, using theatre to unlock the potential of young people. Live Theatre applied for a grant from the Hays Travel Foundation to fund their Children and Young People’s Programme, which included Live Tales and Live Youth Theatre, for children living in some of the most deprived areas in Tyne and Wear.

Live Tales enables children who struggle with literacy in a traditional environment to shine, and to celebrate identities and cultures to be celebrated and has allowed over 2,000 school children per year to participate in creative writing. The project consisted of children from five schools across Tyne and Wear taking part in workshops alongside author and activist, Lisette Auton. The project entailed creating characters and stories for the play which resulted in the creation of Wintry Tales: Snow Covered Maps and Mountainous Mayhem. The play premiered in December 2023 where the play was seen by over 1,200 people in Live Theatre’s Studio, Newcastle.

Live Youth Theatre is the largest open access youth theatre in the region for young people, and allows for areas such as self-confidence and personal communication skills to be developed through drama. Live Youth Theatre allows young people to develop their performance skills, and to develop a play to perform on stage. With the help of Hays’ funding, Live Theatre staged Home which was performed in March and explored what the word ‘home’ means through areas such as community and friendships.

Participants stated they felt ‘proud’ watching the story come to life as they ‘loved seeing their ideas coming to life’ and they ‘enjoyed seeing other schools’ ideas too.’