The Young Rep Acting School

Happy 16th Birthday to the last of our Class of ‘26… Our very own Dungeon Master and chief of Middle Earth, Marcus!

As you can see from the selection of pics, Marcus has very much grown up through Scarlet Theatre and The Young Rep and we couldn’t be prouder of the insanely tall young man who towers over us today!

Marcus has always embraced every single opportunity at The Young Rep… From summer acting workshops, to production seasons, to the array of genres, themes and conventions we cover through class work; he has the ability to throw his entire being into every challenge, lesson and performance.

His energy and effort are second to none, which not only makes him a fantastic young actor, but also an incredible role model for his younger peers.

Marcus is a talented and gracious young actor who has played some superb roles in his time at The Young Rep, but we particularly love Marcus’ skill when it comes to comedy, where he is an absolute natural (and it’s a blummin’ hard genre to master!)

There is no doubt that Marcus has a bright future ahead of him and we can’t wait to see him flourish in his next chapter!

We hope you’ve had a brilliant week of birthday celebrations, DM! 🥳

“Nuzdigid? Nuzdi gast?” 🧌

Karenann Hood

Don’t mind us, we’ll just be here celebrating 100% DISTINCTIONS for our students’ summer LAMDA acting examinations 😎✌️⭐️

Congratulations to our mega-watt students on their super results… We’re very, VERY proud of you!

“Watch for the dickie bird!”⭐️



Thank you to Young Rep alum Benjamin Scott for the snap!

It’s not too late to join us for this year’s Summer Acting Workshops, A CARNIVAL OF CURIOSITIES…

As a theatre company, we have taken creative projects - from Shakespeare to
educational productions on internet safety and climate change – into schools
across the counties.

We have welcomed hundreds of students and teachers to The Rep Theatre in Stoke-
on-Trent every two years for our seasonal production of Charles Dickens’ classic
novella, A Christmas Carol…

But one of our favourite dates in the calendar is our blockbuster Summer Workshops
which we’ve been delivering every year for over a decade!

We have had the BEST time exploring some of the greatest stories and scripts across
the years, and this year we’ve decided to explore the imagination of one of Film’s
most innovative directors – Tim Burton.

From alien invasions with Martians and their giant brains (who have an unexpected
reaction to country music!) in Mars Attacks! to a peculiar world of extraordinary
children for an adventure full of fantasy and courage in Miss Peregrine’s Home for
Peculiar Children. We then dive head-first down the rabbit hole into Wonderland for
a game of croquet with The Queen of Hearts and an unbirthday party with a curious
hat seller in Alice in Wonderland, before heading to suburban America for a close
shave with Edward Scissorhands. We’ll be exploring the world of ‘The Recently
Deceased’ by entering the graveyard and summoning the ‘help’ of some guy in a
very cool suit called Beetlejuice all before undertaking a police investigation in the
quaint little town of Sleepy Hollow.

A CARNIVAL OF CURIOSITIES
Acting Workshops
Ages 10 - 18
Monday 27th - Thursday 30th July
The Rep Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent

email: [email protected] for more details and an application pack

We’re all mad here 🙂🙃

Happy Sweet Sixteenth Birthday to the first of our Class of ‘26… Izzy! 🥳

Izzy actually turned 16 a couple of weeks ago, whilst our parent company, Scarlet Theatre, were slap-bang in the midst of their big triple-bill production week. In fact, Izzy spent her sweet 16th on stage with us in the Opening Night of Mona Lisa Smile - what an empowering story to have been sharing on her 16th birthday!

Izzy has had one of the biggest transformations in the history of our acting school… From a shy young girl with very little acting/performing experience to one of our most dedicated, most hard-working and most passionate young actors to date.

Izzy has always embraced every role and every opportunity that she has been given at The Young Rep and that is exactly why she has blossomed into a talented and wonderfully humble performer. Her performance credits at The Young Rep include, Martha Cratchit in Twisted Tales, The White Witch in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe and more recently, Bobbie in The Railway Children. She also has numerous credits with our parent company, Scarlet Theatre, including a stunning performance of Nicky in our 2025/2026 productions of Shakers.

Her attendance, motivation and effort towards classes is one of the best examples we’ve ever seen and this level of commitment and discipline is no doubt one of the reasons why this young starlet has developed to such an extent.

We will miss Izzy’s dedication and undeniable love for acting, but are looking forward to watching her soar in her next chapter at LiPA Performing Arts College in Liverpool on their Acting course! (Congratulations on securing one of their highly sought-after places!)

Happy Sweet Sixteenth, Izzy! 🥳🎭


Steven K. Beattie

“Calling London…”
We were flying the flag for the United Kingdom on Saturday in our pre-Eurovision life-size ‘game’ of Monopoly…🇬🇧🎶

Standby for a photo and lesson overview dump!

The sun may be shining outside, but the skies are turning a dark shade of Burton this summer! 🌚

Step into a world where the strange is beautiful, the eerie is enchanting, and the extraordinary is just the beginning...

Scarlet Theatre’s 2026 Summer Acting Workshops will feature scripts from across the weird and whimsical wonderland of Tim Burton and his catalogue of curious and fantastical film creations.
Including, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Mars Attacks! Sleepy Hollow, Mrs Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, Alice In Wonderland and more!

Our acting workshops, inspired by the whimsical and gothic spirit of Tim Burton, invite aspiring young actors aged 10 - 18, of to explore their imaginations and take on characters that live on the edge of reality.

Dive into Burton’s offbeat humour and emotionally rich storytelling as we challenge you to stretch your creativity and sharpen your stagecraft in the most unexpected ways!

Dare to be different this summer.

*There are a limited number of places available at our Summer Workshops… We keep our numbers capped to ensure the BEST experience for our young performers.

A CARNIVAL OF CURIOSITIES
27 - 30 July
Aged 10 - 18
The Rep Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent

Contact: [email protected] for an application pack and further details
🌚🦓♥️🎬🎩🎈♠️🐦‍⬛🌹🗝️🐜♣️🩸🐈‍⬛🕷️🕶️🍄♟️

Happy Birthday, Boss! 🪶🥳

In celebration of the Bard’s birthday, we’re throwing it back 6 years to one of our filming sessions during THAT summer of 2020 when WE KEPT ACTING!

So much respect for ShakesyP🤘
We definitely wouldn’t be where we are now without his influence!

We spent a lovely time on stage in The Railway Children with our friends at Stoke Rep Theatre Players last week!

There is so, SO much hard work that goes on behind the scenes that is easy to forget about when experiencing a theatre production and The Railway Children was no exception… And if ever there was a process where the ‘Iceberg Theory’ was relevant, it would be this one!

Not only did we have to combine the students’ usual skills term of learning and development with blocking and rehearsals for this collaborative production, but we also had to create and develop a cohesive fusion between the adults and our team of young actors.

We’re so grateful for all the wonderful praise and feedback that our young actors have received for their performances last week (and for the staging/direction of the production!) But it’s the students’ backstage etiquette, camaraderie, on-stage discipline and humility that we are most proud of. All of the things that lie beneath the surface of the water…🧊🌊
This was a team achievement and nothing less!

Thank you to those members of The Rep Theatre who showed particular kindness and generosity to our students across the week - with your words and treats! We appreciate you so much!

Thank you to Nicci for your assistance on the production and stepping-in to replace a cast member on stage, to Natalie for enduring the exhausting performance licence application process and to the unsung heroes - our marvellous chaperones - who ensure the safety and wellbeing of the students backstage. I’m not sure they anticipated their new-found fame as TikTok stars, but as long as it doesn’t go to their heads, I think we’ll be ok 😉

We hope you enjoyed the ‘tip of our iceberg’ - that’s all we ask from you! We’ll keep doing all we can to bring our version of what ‘best’ looks like 🤘

Now… Did somebody say, MidSummER MadNeSs? 😜🥳



Photography by Ben Scott & LK Harvey

❤️