Theatre Centre

Theatre Centre is a UK-based theatre company touring new plays for young audiences aged 4 to 18. Founded in 1953 by Brian Way, the company has developed plays by writers including Lisa Evans, Noël Greig, Mike Kenny, Bryony Lavery, Leo Butler, Brendan Murray, Philip Osment, Manjinder Virk, Roy Williams and Benjamin Zephaniah. Theatre Centre is a member of Theatre for Young Audiences UK (TYA-UK), a network for makers and promoters of professional theatre for young audiences.Brian Way and Margaret Faulkes founded Theatre Centre in 1953. When they produced a shortened version of Dorothy L. Sayers’ The Man Born To Be King, the production inspired Sayers to donate £200 to help establish the company. The company's "initial aim was to provide a place where unemployed actors might meet and practise their art", Laurence Harbottle (of Harbottle & Lewis) reported in 2006. "What it became was the launch pad for educational theatre in schools - and what Brian became, in the next half century, was the seminal influence on that movement, worldwide.” Many of Theatre Centre’s early plays were written by Brian Way himself. Way believed plays should be written for a specific age group., and "argued that the quality of performance deteriorates" when audience numbers increase. Theatre Centre productions were “presented informally on the floor of the school hall, in the round.” Today, Theatre Centre shows tour to schools and venues around the country and the company has a focus on writers creating “exciting work for young audiences.” Theatre Centre is a registered charity and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.

Theatre Centre administrates two prizes for writers, the Brian Way Award for Best New Play (formerly The Children’s Award, established by Arts Council England) and the Adrienne Benham Award. The Brian Way Award is presented annually to the writer of a play for young people which has been professionally produced, and the Adrienne Benham Award to a writer who wishes to write a play for young people but who hasn’t previously done so. Winners of the Brian Way Award for Best New Play: