For five years, Wonder Fools’s Positive Stories for Negative Times has quietly become one of the most ambitious youth theatre projects in the UK. What began during the uncertainty of the pandemic as a conversation about what theatre for young people could look like beyond lockdown has grown into an international movement, connecting more than 11,500 young people across schools, youth theatres and community groups around the world.
Now, as sign-ups open for Season 5, the project shows little sign of slowing down.
The appeal of Positive Stories for Negative Times lies in its simplicity. Young people aged between six and 25 are given access to brand new plays — entirely free of charge — alongside practical resources and creative support to stage the work themselves. Whether performed in classrooms, community halls or theatre spaces, the emphasis is firmly on participation, imagination and accessibility rather than polished perfection.
Over the years, the initiative has attracted an impressive roster of artists including Tim Crouch, Bryony Kimmings, Travis Alabanza and Ella Hickson. Season 5 continues that tradition with a line-up that blends established names with emerging voices from across theatre, television and performance.
Among this year’s commissioned writers is Greg McHugh, best known for creating Gary: Tank Commander, whose play Robbie-O and Jasmine explores the impact of anti-asylum protests on a young man drawn into a crowd. Maryam Hamidi brings archaeology and memory together in a classroom-set drama that asks whose stories survive history, while Johnny McKnight leans into supernatural comedy with Number 16, a ghostly thriller about the neighbours left behind after a family suddenly disappears.
Elsewhere, New York-based duo Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland offer an absurdist pirate adventure centred on belonging and friendship, while Ned Glasier’s participatory piece The Butterfly Tap focuses on teenage happiness and the importance of noticing joy in everyday life. Rounding out the programme is Alex Medland’s Staff Meals Not Allocated, a sharp workplace rebellion set inside a fast-food chain.
Taken together, the programme reflects many of the concerns shaping young people’s lives today — identity, protest, connection, work, belonging and happiness — but without losing a sense of playfulness. Pirates, ghosts and absurd comedy sit comfortably alongside political and social questions, making the season feel broad enough to meet young participants wherever they are creatively.
Artistic Director Robbie Gordon describes the scale of the project as something the company “still can’t quite believe”, particularly given its origins during Covid. But perhaps the most striking part of Positive Stories for Negative Times is not its growth, but its continued commitment to removing barriers to participation at a time when arts access for young people often feels increasingly limited.
Groups can take part through two different routes: a Scotland-based showcase programme developed with Wonder Fools throughout the year, or a more flexible international option allowing schools and organisations to stage the work independently on their own schedule. Both routes place young people at the centre of the creative process.
In a theatre landscape often dominated by funding challenges and shrinking opportunities for emerging artists, Positive Stories for Negative Times stands out for its optimism — not through easy positivity, but through actively giving young people the tools, stories and space to create something of their own.