Let's Perform plays

The National Theatre has developed a portfolio of eight plays with songs and music commissioned for KS1 and KS2 children to perform.

Each play comes with resources that will introduce the play to your students, deepen their understanding of the story and engage them through activities connected to key areas of the primary curriculum.

Read a summary of our available Let’s Perform plays

How it works

Let’s Perform play scripts are available free of charge to UK state schools. When you buy a play text you will receive:

Script – a digital download of the script for the chosen play (with notes to support you with the rehearsal process).
Music – a link to download the music relating to your script including:

Backing tracks for songs with guide vocal
Backing tracks for songs with no vocal
Music score for piano (with guitar chords) for the songs
Underscore music and relevant sound effects

Teachers Toolkit – a creative learning toolkit to help introduce children to the world of theatre, the play, and how to involve children in the production process.
Let’s Perform Director’s Guide – created by specialists in making theatre with young people.

Order your Let’s Perform play text now

A line of primary-aged children of various heights with their arms round each other — Photograph by Ellie Kurttz

Let’s Perform samples

Please take a look at two Let’s Perform samples to download

Script excerpt – Nursery Revolution by Daffyd James

Creative learning toolkit – Let’s Explore Emil & the Detectives by Erich Kästner (Adapted for young actors by Carl Miller)

Three children wearing homemade party hats and school uniforms are crafting paper hats in a wood-panelled room. They appear engaged and cheerful, focused on their creative activity. — Photograph by Emma Hare

What teachers say:

The scripts and accompanying resources are excellent value for money and far superior to anything else on the market.

The children have learned to work together as a team with a real consideration for each other. They have been very focused and have become notably better at problem-solving within the group.

This was the perfect performance project to celebrate their time at primary school and prepare them for the step up to secondary school.

Our funders

The Mohn Westlake Foundation supports nationwide Learning programmes for young people.

The Hearn Foundation is the Principal Funder of the Primary Schools Programme.

The Primary Schools Programme is supported by The Mohn Westlake Foundation, Buffini Chao Foundation, The Charity of Sir Richard Whittington, Charlotte & Simon Warshaw, The Archie Sherman Charitable Trust and The Derrill Allatt Foundation.

Nationwide learning is supported by Buffini Chao Foundation, Clore Duffield Foundation, Crevan O’Grady & Jane McClenahan, MFPA Trust Fund for the Training of Disabled Children in the Arts, The Kartik Foundation, Behrens Foundation, Marlow Trust, Cleopatra Trust, and The Andor Charitable Trust.

Find out more about supporting our work