About Us
British Youth Music Theatre is a national performing arts education charity and the largest commissioner of new musicals in the UK. Every year we engage around 2000 11-21 year olds in our auditions, workshops, Young Company and projects; BYMT helps young people and developing artists to navigate and further their training and careers in the arts.
As an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation and National Youth Music Organisation, we ensure that youth voice is at the heart of everything we do.
OUR MISSION
BYMT’s mission is to create opportunities for young people and early career creatives from all backgrounds to develop theatre skills and enhance wellbeing, through the collaborative and inclusive process of making original music theatre.
OUR VISION
BYMT’s vision is to transform perceptions of musical theatre, be the leading voice in youth music theatre and be internationally recognised as the UK’s most prolific creator of new musicals.
OUR VALUES
- Being inclusive and making everything we do accessible
- Taking responsibility for developing and nurturing collaborative processes
- Inspiring environmental responsibility within our staff and young people
- Creating space for young people and artists to value their voices
- Committing to making new work through new approaches
"The most extraordinary thing about how BYMT operate is how much of a win-win-win eco system it is - BYMT gets to put on high quality shows and courses, Creatives get an opportunity to get paid to write and put on a show, and Young people get an opportunity to work with a professional team and train in a professional setting. This also benefits the wider industry as it creates a pool of new shows that can be developed while contributing to the pipeline of young performers"
Amir Shoenfeld, Composer & Lyricist of When We Strike (2024)
NEW MUSIC THEATRE
We asked our Young Company Panel what it is that makes a BYMT show and they said - BYMT shows are always surprising, they tell stories that matter to young people, they can’t be seen anywhere else, they are collaborative.
We see music theatre as an art form that covers a wide range of musical and theatrical styles, including grime and opera, Bollywood and jazz, improvisation and classics. Since our first season in 2004 we have commissioned and produced over 100 shows from Composers and Writers and will continue to diversify the artists we work with.
ARTISTIC PROGRAMME
SUMMER PRODUCTIONS
These are two/three-week residential courses that take place across the UK during the summer holidays with young people drawn from our National Auditions tour, resulting in performances in professional theatres
MUSIC THEATRE COURSES
Week-long open access courses to develop acting, singing and dancing
BACKSTAGE COURSES
Training opportunities for young people interested in working backstage
CREATIVE TRAINEE SCHEME
Opportunities for emerging artists on professionally-staged productions
WORKSHOPS and OUTREACH
Bespoke workshops in musical theatre skills, theatre careers, lighting, sound, stage management. Our work in schools offer even more performing arts opportunities.
OUR FUTURE
Over the next ten years we hope to build on all we’ve achieved so far:
We have trained over 8,000 young people, and our alumni have gone on to have success in a wide range of careers, with many currently working in the West End, regional theatre, music industry, television and film.
We have devised and commissioned over 100 pieces of new music theatre, with more than 80 world premieres performed at top theatre venues across the UK.
All our courses are now assessed by Trinity College London, so participants receive a certificate in Music Theatre in Production at Grade 8 (Summer Productions) and Grade 6 (Summer Skills Courses) benchmarking our work against the Qualifications and Credit Framework
We are committed to offering opportunities to young people from any and every background and continue to fundraise for our Bursary Scheme to encourage the widest intake of young people from a range of backgrounds
We are developing our Outreach programme in schools to offer even more performing arts opportunities to young people
We have a long standing relationship with the UK’s largest teaching union, the NASUWT, who are our principal sponsors, and we rely on our other supporters to fund our work, to whom we are extremely grateful
We hope that you will join us on that journey, whether as a performer, a creative practitioner, a parent, a friend, an audience member or a supporter.
Welcome to BYMT!
