Platform Papers 54: Young People and the Arts

Expectations around theatre for young people are too prescribed today. Adults have long-held views on what works are appropriate and yet among all this concern for young people's creativity, it is not acknowledged as art. For the young people who work in the sector, the word 'value' is clouded by precedent: we struggle to be heard. In a startling expose of a system in serious need of reconstruction, Giles calls for a review of the accepted attitudes, and the embrace of a different paradigm that places young people at the centre of change. We must un-learn the past hierarchies, empower the engagement of children as a legitimate collaboration, and recognise the power of instinctive play and imagination as intelligent modes of exploration.

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