NT Connections – Double Bill

A weekend of new plays created for young people and performed by Eastern Angles Young Company and Youth Theatre (2) as part of National Theatre Connections 2026.

Fishville written by Afsaneh Gray and performed by EA Young Company

The story starts when a young man named Jared takes to the sea in swimming gear but never starts swimming…His death, which follows on from the unexpected sale of his parents’ house, throws the community into chaos. When the daughter of the man who bought Jared’s house arrives in Saltwell and finds a severed foot washed up at her feet, she and the daughter of the ‘second homers’ decide to investigate what drove Jared into the sea. They uncover a local myth about an underwater community – did Jared believe the myth? Then, ‘Jared’ starts posting messages asking his friends to join him. With the new girl’s father spending more and more time in the sea, and the myth gaining traction, the young people must figure out what’s going on before anybody else is lost to a vengeful ocean…

Ride Or Die written by Florence Espeut-Nickless and performed by EA Youth Theatre (2)

The Kids spend the whole year arguing about whether Alton Towers is actually better than Thorpe Park. At the moment Alton Towers has got 2 votes and Thorpe Park has got 2 votes. The deciding vote goes to the youngest, Angel who hasn’t actually been to any of them yet, cause he’s in year 7 and you don’t get to go on The Theme Park Extravaganza until the end of year 7. But that’s literally in like 2 weeks, so it’ll be settled once and for all, very very soon! So what could possibly go wrong?…Angel getting suspended from school, Nan going off on a surprise holiday, Dad coming round to look after them (and he’s useless) and lasts one night, and The Kids borrowing Nan’s car and colliding with a Waitrose delivery van. The whole affair is literally a car crash.