New Views

1. Application and Payment

1.1    The deadline for applications to participate in the New Views 2025/26 cycle is  Monday, 9 June 2025 at 10am.

1.2    Once your school/college has been accepted onto New Views 2025/26, you will be invoiced for your fee. All invoices must be paid by 10am on Monday 15th September 2025.

1.3 If a school/college cancels their involvement in New Views before Monday 15th September, they will receive a full refund of their fee.  If a school/college cancels their involvement in New Views on or after Monday 15th September 2025 there will be no refund payable.

1.4 There is an additional fee of £40 for a school/college to bring a second group leader to attend in person at the Group Leader CPD day on Saturday 4th October, subject to the amount of group leaders the NT can accommodate. This sum is payable before the 4th October.

1.5    150 places are available for New Views 2025 – 2026.

1.6    If the NT receives more than 150 applications, it will select schools and colleges to ensure a balance of participating groups by age range, type of group, and geography, and between those who are new to New Views and those who have taken part before. The allocation of places is at the National Theatre’s discretion, and its decision is final.

Due to restrictions on capacity and resources we can only offer places to 150 New Views companies for the 2025/26 cycle. Every year we are significantly oversubscribed with applications; our policy is to prioritise state schools in order to reach young people who may not have previously had much opportunity to see, make, and take part in theatre, whilst reflecting the 7% of UK schools that are independent.

1.7    New Views groups will consist of young people aged between 14 and 19 years old, and up to 26 years old for groups with additional needs.  Teachers (“group leaders”) can work with a group size of up to 12 for New Views. Group leaders may choose to over-allocate places in their group to a maximum of 15 if they feel some dropout is likely.

Please note that the NT can only provide a maximum of 14 theatre tickets per group (up to 12 for participants, up to 2 for group leaders.)

1.8    You must provide one main group leader contact for your school/college, through whom all communication will be sent. You can also provide an additional contact for your school/college.

1.9    All schools and colleges who apply will be notified about whether their application has been successful by the end of June 2025.

1.10    Successful schools and colleges will be sent further information upon receipt of payment.

2. Handbooks

2.1    A Group Leader Handbook and a Participant Handbook will be available to download in August 2025. This access is for your school/college and New Views participants only and must not be passed on to any other person or organisation.

3. Group Leader CPD: Saturday 4th October 2025

3.1    Group leader attendance at either the in-person Group Leader CPD on Saturday 4th October 2025 or the online version on either the 27th September 2025 or the 11th October 2025 is mandatory.

3.2    If a group leader fails to attend both the in-person and the online Group Leader CPD days the NT may, at its discretion, terminate the involvement of that school/college in New Views 2025. In such circumstances, no refund shall be paid.

3.3    If you would like a second group leader from your school/college to attend the in-person CPD on the 4th October and we are able to accommodate this there is an additional fee of £40, payable before Saturday 4th October.

3.4    Each school/college will arrange and pay for travel and accommodation for their group leader to attend the CPD day.

4. Kick Off Workshops

4.1    As part of the application, each school/college will specify dates in October or November when a New Views Mentor Playwright could visit in-person to deliver a two hour Kick Off Workshop with the participants, which must be attended throughout by the group leader. Upon confirming successful applications by the end of June 2025, the NT will confirm these dates with the school/college.

4.2 The NT will attempt to schedule in-person Kick Off Workshops. If no Mentor Playwright can attend any school/college’s selected Kick Off Workshop dates, a suitable alternative date will be sought, and online delivery of the Workshop will be offered if no in-person alternative date can be found.

4.3 The NT will organise the Kick Off Workshops and the subsequent Mentor Playwright visit (the “Feedback Session”) with the school/college and the Mentor Playwright. The school/college is not responsible for communicating directly with the Mentor Playwright.

4.4 Schools/colleges must ensure the provision of an appropriate physical or online space for all workshops delivered in the schools/colleges.

5. Deadlines and Feedback Sessions

5.1 New Views provides two draft deadlines; one for the first draft, which is read and fed back on by the Mentor Playwrights, and one for the final draft.

5.2 The first deadline will be different across different schools/colleges, based on the scheduling of the Feedback Session. Once the Feedback Session is scheduled based on school/college availability, the first deadline will be set exactly two weeks before that date, so that the Mentor Playwright has time to read all submissions and prepare notes on each.

5.4 The deadline for final draft submissions is the same for all participating schools and colleges: Tuesday 31st March 2026.

5.5 Group leaders are responsible for submitting all participants’ plays before each deadline via the NT’s online portal. Group leaders should read all plays prior to submissions and are responsible for responding to any safeguarding concerns that may arise from themes or language in the texts.

5.6 Late submissions will not be accepted.

5.7 In order to be considered for programming at the New Views Festival at the National Theatre in Summer 2026, a play must have been submitted by the first deadline and again by the final deadline.

5.8 All Feedback Sessions must be attended by the group leader throughout. Mentor Playwrights will deliver feedback to each participant who submits their first draft by the first deadline. The NT will attempt to schedule Feedback Sessions in-person but can offer online Feedback Sessions if necessary.

5.9 Schools/colleges must ensure the provision of an appropriate physical or online space for all workshops delivered in the schools/colleges.

6. The New Views Festival

6.1    The New Views Festival will take place in June / July 2026.

6.2    The New Views Festival will present a selection of plays that are representative of the work written throughout the 25/26 New Views cycle. In April 2026 the NT will programme the Festival from all plays submitted by the final deadline (31st March 2026), inviting a small number of New Views participants to stage a rehearsed reading of their work at the National Theatre in collaboration with professional actors and directors. The invitation will be addressed to the participant but sent to the group leader.

6.3 Decisions about which work to programme at the Festival are at the National Theatre’s discretion, and the NT’s decisions are final. All participating schools and colleges will be informed of the work programmed at the Festival prior to the public announcement.

6.4    The NT will liaise directly with the group leader to discuss possible financial arrangements for participation in the Festival.

7. International Companies 

If your school or organisation is based outside the UK it will not be possible to provide you with a Kick Off Workshop, an in-person Feedback Session, or an invititation for participants to present their work as part of the New Views Festival.

8. Credits and Publicity 

8.1    You shall notify the NT (via newviews@nationaltheatre.org.uk) in good time prior to giving to the media any interview or press release with any reference to the NT or any part of New Views.

8.2    If requested by the NT, you shall allow the NT access to any rehearsed readings or performances you host of plays written during the New Views cycle for the purpose of photography or filming.

8.3    The NT shall have the right to take photos and make an audio-visual recording of any process or reading during the New Views 2025/26 cycle for archive purpose.

9. Data Protection 

9.1 In the course of delivering your services under this Agreement, you may come into contact with and use personal information about people including names and addresses, information about family circumstances, health and other private matters which will fall under Data Protection Legislation. At all times you should:

(a) use any such personal information only for the express purpose for which it was made available to you

(b) use all appropriate means to ensure that no such information is lost, destroyed or damaged or becomes available to any other person; and

(c) report to the NT immediately any loss, destruction, damage or misuse of which you become aware; and

(d) destroy or permanently delete all such information that has come into your possession as soon as the purpose for which it was made available to you has been fulfilled.

9.2 The NT has adopted a Data Protection Policy, for a copy please contact the Deputy Director of Learning (Operations) Virginia Leaver via vleaver@nationaltheatre.org.uk.

9.3 “Data Protection Legislation” means all applicable data protection and privacy legislation in force from time to time including without limitation the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2426) as amended, and all other legislation and regulatory requirements in force from time to time which apply to a party relating to the use of personal data.

9.4 “UK GDPR” means Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data as it forms part of the law of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland by virtue of section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act of 2018.

National Theatre Terms and Conditions 

By applying to take part in New Views you agree to these terms and conditions and also to the National Theatre’s general terms and conditions.