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.