11-18 years old? Interested in theatre? Want to meet like-minded friends? Eager to learn performance skills?
Why not join Bath's highly-acclaimed Next Stage Youth Theatre Company?
Meeting on a Sunday 4:30 - 6:00pm at The Mission Theatre, Bath.
Sundays 16:30 - 18:00
10 week terms
£200 per term (10% sibling discount)
September Enrolment:
Sunday 6th, 16:30 - 18:00
at The Mission Theatre
32 Corn Street, Bath, BA1 1UF
For further information please call Ann Ellison on 01225 428600 or email nextstagebath@aol.com
Launched in the same year as the parent company, Next Stage Youth has been in existence since 1994. Next Stage tutors and actors have coached hundreds of youngsters, preparing many for performances, auditions and competitions. Indeed, some of our talented young actors have gone on from Next Stage Youth to train for the professional theatre.
Key attributes of Next Stage Youth are:
An emphasis on friendship, teamwork, support and a professional grounding in theatre arts.
No auditions.
The opportunity to perform in 1-2 fully staged productions a year.
Training in all performance skills, including backstage roles.
Regular, professionally-led workshops.
The opportunity to take part in festival work.
A dedicated 100 - 150 seater, versatile performance space - The Mission Theatre - enabling the company to frequently produce plays in-the-round.
Regular collaboration on productions with Next Stage Theatre Company.
The opportunity, on occasions, to take part in bi-annual tours to the Minack open-air Theatre on the cliffs at Porthcurno, Cornwall.
A bursary scheme is available to help established members to pursue further training for the professional theatre.
“I enjoy Next Stage Youth as the people that are there are really nice and supportive and I’ve made loads of new friends”
“What I like about Next Stage Youth is you’re able to meet a bunch of people who are just like you, and also they treat you a bit like young professionals”
“What I like about Next Stage Youth is the commitment everyone has to putting on a good show and being really professional with acting”
Mid-Somerset Drama Festival 2026
Crisp Cowley Cup winners (from left to right) Elspeth Geddis, Finn Zanelli, Millie Godfrey
Next Stage Youth (NSY) had very successful results in the Mid-Somerset Drama Festival on March 10th. Our 11-18 year old theatre group competed in two classes with our younger members in the Year 9 and under Group Acting and our older members entered for 19 and Under Group Acting.
The younger group came second in their class, achieving honors for their engaging extract from The Witches. The adjudicator applauded them for their group work, their use of space and excellent mime. Eilidh Henwood received particular praise for her depiction of The Grand High Witch and Theo Sharma was outstanding as beastly Bruno!
Our three older groups performed scenes from Noughts and Crosses and The Children’s Hour. The first group was commended for a powerful scene from Mallory Blackman’s story of teenagers who fall in love against all the odds of class and race. Strong performances were delivered by the NSY actors Juliet Stanbridge and George Chivers portraying Sephy and Callum and they in turn were well supported by the other coherent and focused group members.
The second group, who also did an extract from Noughts and Crosses, came second with honours for a gripping scene between Sephy (Dilys Hughes) and her mother Jasmine (Willow Adams) and father Kamal (Alex Tarasevych. The three actors were congratulated for effective use of dialogue and their movement around the stage.
Finally, the last group were awarded first place and the Crisp Cowley Cup for their excellent three-hander scene from The Children’s Hour. Finn Zanelli played Dr Cardin with Elspeth Geddis as the grandmother figure and Mllie Godfrey as the scheming and manipulative schoolgirl, Mary. Their mature depiction of a tense exchange from this thought-provoking play gripped the adjudicator and the audience alike.
Next Stage Youth’s Artistic Director, Ann Ellison BEM says:
‘I am so proud of what our youngsters achieved in this year’s Mid-Somerset Drama Festival. All of them have worked hard since Christmas during their weekly Sunday get-togethers to ensure that their work was of sufficiently high calibre to achieve the marks and comments they so deserved. All of them did a final Showcase of their work to parents and friends at their weekly session on Sunday March 15th where they meet regularly throughout the term time.’
Next Stage Youth working alongside Next Stage Theatre Company
Members of Next Stage Youth frequently enjoy the opportunity to work with adult actors from Next Stage Theatre Company. Most recently, The Railway Children in 2018 had a cast of 10 youth actors and 7 adults. Such collaborations are enjoyed by all. Youthers occasionally join adult casts going on tour, as was the case with Next Stage’s August 2019 production of Great Expectations which toured to the Minack Theatre in Cornwall from 29th July - 2nd August.
“What I love about being part of Next Stage Youth is the amazing opportunities we get, such as working with the adult company and getting to work with some amazing people”
Come You Giants Bursary
In May 2012, Next Stage Theatre Company announced the creation of the Come You Giants (CYG) bursary, open to all members of Next Stage Youth who have been in the company for at least 1 year. The £1000 grant has been set up specifically to help young and talented actors who wish to pursue further training in performing arts.
2026’s recipient is Millie Godfrey who is using her bursary to fund her placement with and travel to The Globe's Young Company. She will be working on a production with them in October and returning to NSY in the New Year.
Millie is a very talented member of NSY whose talent is already being recognised across the country, she is a very worthy recipient of help from Come You Giants.
To find out more about past recipients, click here.
The Bridget Cassé Award for Excellence in Youth Theatre
Image > Former Mayor of Bath Gerry Curran and Alan Casse join director Ann Ellison BEM and the cast and crew of Tom’s Midnight Garden on set at The Mission Theatre for Next Stage Youth’s 25th Birthday party. Also pictured are some of the ex-youthers who have won the Bridget Cassé Trophy for Excellence in Youth Theatre since 2010.
Each year, the Next Stage Youth tutors nominate youth members for this prestigious award from which one individual is selected. Inaugurated in 2010, in memory of a talented Next Stage actress - Bridget Cassé - who had also been a Youth tutor.
The trophy is given to somebody who has shown theatrical talent, enthusiasm, a willingness to help out, and a positive attitude towards fellow members. The trophy was awarded for the first time in 2010 to Philip Davies and the current joint award holders are George Chivers and Finn Zanelli.
The 2026 Bridget Cassé Award for Excellence in Youth Theatre
The winner of the prestigious 2026 Bridget Cassé Award for Excellence in Theatre is Willow Adams, who has been a fantastically comitted member of the youth company. Juliet Seville-Stanbridge was awarded this year’s Runner-Up prize and Mabel Hughes recieved the Highly Commended award.
”Willow is someone who quietly turns up, week after week, and gives everything a go. Even when something feels outside her comfort zone, even when she feels a little awkward or unsure, she still does it. She listens, she takes part and she challenges herself.”
”I see Juliet as a little bit of a mother hen to the younger ones in the group in which they look up to her. Whenever there’s a task to do, she really contributes. She genuinely wants to be involved, she throws herself into things, and she always wants to find a way to make it her own.”
“I have watched Mabel grow leaps and bounds the past year with her confidence and willingness to try anything we throw at her. She puts her heart and soul into all the classes with a big smile thrown in and her confidence the past year has just grown immensely.” - Tania, NSY Tutor
Past Bridget Casse Winners 2010 - 2023:
“What lovely memories I have been blessed with in such a special place. It was over 10 years ago now that I first joined NSY in Dracula Spectacular, and would do anything to do it all over again! Next Stage really did shape me into the young adult I am now. I can not be more grateful for the hard work the Mission Theatre team has put in for so many years, creating beautiful performances that I could not be more proud to have been a part of. The personal tight knit friendships formed across all ages and the belief/trust we all had in each other truly developed hundreds of confident and caring young people, equipping them for life beyond education. Next Stage at The Mission Theatre provided this platform for us, a safe space of support and love, where we could truly be our authentic selves, knowing we would be accepted. I still giggle to myself at the games, the laughs and pure effervescence joy that developed show after show.”
- Amberley Couchman, ex Youther
Image > Amberley Couchman as Wendy in Peter Pan (2015)
