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Case Study:

Angel Shed Theatre Company: Youth voices at centre stage

Since its founding in 2004, Angel Shed Theatre Company have been working from within Islington to engage youth in the performing arts boldly and inclusively. With no auditions and a membership structure that mitigates barriers to participation, Angel Shed have cemented themselves as a touchstone for children in the borough and beyond.

Published: 03 July 2023
5 minute read

Breaking walls and smashing barriers

Angel Shed bills itself as “a barrier-smashing Inclusive Performing Arts Charity” and focuses on accessibility and long-term engagement for children and young people in Islington and beyond. Close to three quarters of their Youth Theatre participants have been with the Company for over 4 years, with many having been involved for over 10.

Anyone can join Angel Shed, and the organisation have devised ways to reach groups traditionally at the highest risk of exclusion. For example, workshops are free to those who cannot afford them and Angel Shed never hold auditions for performances. In addition to showcasing young talent from within their space on Camden Road, they also go out into the community for street performances and other events. These efforts are particularly important given the alarming rates of deprivation in Islington: 40% of the borough’s children live in relative poverty, according to figures by London Metropolitan University’s London Met Lab.

A young person performs as part of Angel Shed's Music Collective in July 2022

How Angel Shed remain youth led

In 2021, Angel Shed received funding from the LHC to set up a Youth Board. The Board has placed member voices at the centre of the charity’s decision-making and unlocked opportunities for youth-led fundraising and events. The Board has 12 members pooled from each of Angel Shed’s youth membership groups (Youth Theatre 1, Youth Theatre 2, Music Collective, and the Dance Company). The first meeting was hosted in May 2021, and at it, Board members unanimously agreed on three initial priorities: Angel Shed’s workshops and performances; race and racial equality; and mental health.

Today, the Youth Board drives forward much of Angel Shed’s programme improvement work. As one participant noted, “If people in our membership groups have a problem, we can actually make a change to that. By the Youth Board coming together, things can actually happen.” Angel Shed staff act quickly on the Youth Board’s decisions; recent changes have included lengthening the research and development phase for projects and increasing young people’s involvement in backstage roles.

“If people in our membership groups have a problem, we can actually make a change to that. By the Youth Board coming together, things can actually happen.”

Youth Board participant

Board members also input into strategy around fundraising and marketing. In March 2022, they designed and led the first Angel Shed ‘Creativity Day’, which generated around £500 in revenue. Everything at the event was chosen and run by them, from the bake sale and raffle to live music and workshops. Now an annual event, the most recent Creativity Day was earlier in June [2023] and featured ping pong, live music, refreshments, and a charity shop!

In putting young people in the writers’ and directors’ chairs, Angel Shed enables its members to build critical skills and confidence. The charity also recognise—and act on—the importance of listening to this budding generation, who have so many crucial things to say about our future. “Young people can get involved in planning things for the future,” one participant notes—and by keeping youth voices at centre stage, Angel Shed Theatre Company harnesses the power of their insight, creativity, and optimism at a time when it is needed most.


Future work from budding creative minds

Later this summer, Angel Shed’s Children’s Theatre will perform their original work, The Last Piece of Earth. It explores the climate emergency through an intriguing theme: “Set in the future, the Earth is falling apart in the climate emergency. A group of astronauts venture to outer space to find a solution to save the planet, each holding onto their last piece of Earth.” True to Angel Shed’s mission, tickets are priced affordably at £8 or ‘pay what you can’.

Want to support Angel Shed’s work? Visit their website to see what’s on.

Performers in a previous show, "The Suits", which ran in December 2022