The Company of Teens will be performing The School Film by Patrick Marber as part of National Theatre Connections – a nationwide celebration of new plays for young people.

They are the youth section of the Company of Ten, theatre organisations based in St Albans Abbey Theatre where performances will take place at the end of this month.

The School Film is one of 10 brand new plays written especially for Connections by a selection of the best playwriting talent in the UK. 

In the play a school assemble in the hall to watch 'the school film' which turns out to be an old British classic from the 1940s, in black and white no less. As the young viewers absorb the adventures of the characters in the old story they begin to discover what their own expectations might be.

In National Theatre Connections plays are commissioned for and about young people, from some of the best contemporary playwrights, and performed by schools and youth theatres all over the UK and Ireland. Connections is produced by the National Theatre, supported by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation and by a number of individuals, trusts and foundations.

Rufus Norris, director of the National Theatre, says: “Connections is at the heart of the National Theatre's work for young people and one of the most exciting and important projects we do. We think it's vital that young people, wherever they are in the country and whatever their future path, have a chance to get involved in theatre.”

All the companies will transfer their production to one of 28 Connections Partner Theatres across the UK. The Company of Teens will be performing at The Royal & Derngate Theatre, Northampton on Saturday, May 6.

Abbey Theatre, Westminster Lodge, Holywell Hill, St Albans, AL1 2DL, Wednesday, March 22 and Thursday, March 23. Details: 01727 857861,