The Rose Bruford College TYA Centre, was established in 2011 by Jeremy Harrison. Building on the college’s legacy as a pioneer in this under-investigated area of theatre practice.

The Centre focuses its activity on three main areas:

Professional Practice – identifying, documenting and disseminating international best-practice and supporting the creation of new work.

Advocacy – making the argument for TYA to be recognised as a world-class sector characterised by inclusive, innovative and ethically-robust approaches to creating work collaboratively and responsively with children and young people.

Pedagogy - creating and disseminating ground-breaking training methodologies for students, emergent and mid-career artists.

Underpinning this work is the ambition to define TYA as an arts practice, outside (or perhaps alongside) the Applied Theatre framing that so often dominates discourse in this area. The output of the Centre and its research suggest a hybrid approach to creative processes, that seek to balance the sensibilities and skills of the adult-artist, with the perspective and creative voice of children and young people. A world where outcomes are shaped in the liminal space between artist and audience.

Output and resources of the centre include: 

Dream: the joy of creating

The Centre’s flagship artist development programme, identifying, documenting and sharing international best practice in the theatre for young audiences sector.

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Acting Like Children

A research project examining the performance of children by adult artists, with contributions from Polka Theatre (London), Actoin Transport Theatre (Ellesmere Port), Traveling Light (Bristol), Jo Belloli, Sally Cookson, David Harradine and Vicky Ireland. Including When Acting Like Children Becomes Acting for Children, written by Jeremy Harrison and presented at Which Way TYA?, NYU Steinhardt 2012.

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On The Edge of Training

An international  research project exploring how artists are prepared, supported and trained for work within the TYA sector. Part of On The Edge, the ASSITEJ International Artistic Gathering, Birmingham 2016.

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Creating with the Cart/Sensory LAB

An annual event in collaboration with award-winning theatre company Oily Cart, documenting and sharing multi-sensory theatre approaches for audiences with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

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Primary Shakespeare Company

Special Schools Project

As Special Schools Advisor to the Primary Shakespeare Company, Jeremy Harrison has been creating and developing whole-school approaches that engage special school pupils in performance-based work inspired by Shakespeare’s plays. Including Our Island. 

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IIAN Champions Project

This unique collaboration with the International Inclusive Arts Network, is an ongoing project mapping global practice in inclusive and accessible theatre practice across the globe. 

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The TYA Centre Archive

A range of resources housed at Rose Bruford College including:

Theatre Centre Archive
Noel Greig Archive
Pam Schweitzrt Theatre-in-Education Archive
The Cockpit Theatre Archive
SCYPT Journals Archive

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