National Youth Theatre (NYT) in rep at Ambassadors to Nov 2014

The National Youth Theatre (NYT) has announced a new Rep Company for 15 young actors, who will perform three shows in repertoire at London's Ambassadors Theatre from 17 Sep to 26 Nov 2014.

The three shows to be performed in repertoire at the Ambassadors theatre are:

Selfie, written by Peter Morris and directed by Paul Roseby. A radical re-telling of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray': The story of eternal youth, self-obsession and self-destruction will be set in a decadent future of advancing technology where a female 'Dorian' has to choose between artifice and reality.

Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, adapted and directed by Ed Hughes, setting it in the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires in 1910-14, in the build-up to the First World War. The play features scenic design by James Button, music by Jim Hustwitt and movement by Andrea Pelaez. Interestingly, Shakespeare's 'Scottish play' will begin previews on the day after Scotland votes in the independence referendum.

Private Peaceful, adapted for the stage by Simon Reade from the novel by Michael Morpurgo and directed by Paul Hart. It relives the life of Private Tommo Peaceful, a young First World War soldier awaiting the firing squad at dawn. Inspired by the many soldiers court-martialled and shot for cowardice during the Great War, this is Simon Reade's rarely-performed ensemble version of Michael Morpurgo's award-winning book.

Paul Roseby, Artistic Director of the National Youth Theatre, released the following statement: "The Rep company was established to provide an exciting, exacting and affordable West End boot camp for talented young actors, at a time when the value of higher education is being questioned by young people around the UK. To see the first company achieve such success so soon after leaving is testament to their own ability, but also to the invaluable experience they received on stage in the West End for 10 weeks with the National Youth Theatre. I call on commercial venues and producers to work with us to build on this success and launch the careers of more young acting and backstage talent."