Young Company

Ages: S1+

Entry by audition

We are a contemporary performance company made up of an ensemble of performers aged 12+, working collaboratively with professional artists. Founded by Lyra's Artistic Director Jo Timmins, the Company is currently under the direction of Lyra's Engagement Artist and Dance Artist Natalia Barua with musician Caitlin Mulgrew. Together, we work side-by-side to make original and dynamic dance theatre productions with live music.

Artistic integrity is at the centre of the Company's ambition - we believe in processes and productions that are approached with vigour and vision, blurring the lines between the youth and professional performance sector.

Our works explore diverse ideas and concepts which the young people are supported to interrogate - ideas which ask questions about the world we live in, our experience in it and our visions for the future.

We meet for weekly training and rehearsals, working towards a biannual production. As well as making new work, the Company build their skills and creative practice through guest workshops, exchanges and and mentoring from the creative team. Our current production is That Feeling When.

Past productions include Sampler, This Way Up, and Wild Heart.

How can you become a Lyra Young Company member?

Many of our current members took part in Lyra's Young Artists programme and have since auditioned for the Young Company. The rest of the company were recruited through an audition process facilitated in collaboration with local community partners and high schools.

Auditions are held annually in January.

Young Company is led by Lyra's Engagement Artist Natalia Barua natalia@lyra.co.uk

Young Company Members

Hanna

My name is Hanna. The main thing I do is dancing and drama. I have been a Young Artist at Lyra since I was 8-years old and have performed in many different productions over the past 5 years. I joined the Young Company ensemble in 2022.

Credits: Lots and not lots by Greg Sinclair, How to be a Superhero by Holly Irving, Field: something for the future now by Curious Seed, Lyra barrier reef by Bridie Gane, 2020 Vision by Elspeth Chapman, Slumbering Deep by Natalia Barua, And It goes Dark by Eoin MacKenzie

Manal

My name is Manal, I have been with Lyra Young Company since 2019 as well as being a young artist in different projects at Lyra. I have been dancing since a young age and have performed in lots of different shows now with Lyra. My main role in Lyra Young Company is a dancer and actor. I also take part in many after school dance and acting classes and I am taking dance as a subject in high school. My goal is to experience a variety of dance styles and to be able to dance with different people across different dance studios and to be able to take my dance skills to another level.

Credits: Lots and not lots by Greg Sinclair, How to be a Superhero by Holly Irving, When the time comes by Craig McCorquodale, Wild Heart by Lyra Young Company, Slumbering Deep by Natalia Barua

Lucy

Hi, my name is Lucy, I have 5 people in my family and I have brown hair and brown eyes. I am a dancer and musician at Lyra Young Company. What I would love to be is an actor and my main dream job is to be a lawyer. I really, really want to learn ventriloquism. I’ve been with Lyra Young Company since 2019. Just to let you know I love the spotlight. Check some credits down below to check what shows I've been in.

Credits: Lots and not lots by Greg Sinclair, How to be a Superhero by Holly Irving, Lyra Barrier Reef by Bridie Gane, 2020 Vision by Elspeth Chapman, Wild Heart by Lyra Young Company, Slumbering Deep by Natalia Barua

Tommy

I’m Tommy. I’m an actor and dancer in Lyra Young Company. Primarily I am more of an actor. With Lyra I have been in a few shows such as ‘We are all just little creatures’ which was a collaboration with Curious Seed and Lung Ha. I’ve been with Lyra Young Company since 2019.

Credits: Field: something for the future now by Curious Seed, 2020 Vision by Elspeth Chapman, Music Box by Daniel Padden, Wild Heart by Lyra Young Company, We are all just little creatures by Curious Seed, Lung Ha and Lyra

Samuel

Hi, I’m Samuel. I like sports and dancing. I feel excited when I dance and I want to make the audience feel good. I joined Young Company in 2022. When I’m in Young Company I want to learn to be comfortable around people and make a show that inspires people.

Chloe

Hi, I'm Chloe and I’m a musician and dancer. I enjoy writing my own music and performing in front of an audience. I joined Young Company in 2022 with an ambition to develop my music skills. I was a Young Artist in Saturday Dance previously and made a dance film and it was awesome.

Grace

Hi, my name is Grace. I have been in Young Company for A LONG time. I’ve been part of many shows since 2016. My debut show with Lyra was ‘Sampler’ and I got to say “my name is Grace” a lot in that show. It’s been said that I am a triple threat – I have experience in Acting, Dancing and Singing. My current aspiration is to make my own show one day. I hope being part of young company, as a young leader, will give me transferable skills that can help me with a future career in medicine.

Credits: Wild Heart by Lyra Young Company, Slumbering Deep by Natalia Barua, This Way Up by Lyra Young Company, Sampler by Lyra Young Company.

Dawid

I’m Dawid and I’m a musician with Lyra Young Company. My ambition as an artist is to compose music for animated shorts and acting productions and at Lyra Young Company I want to work on composing in general.

Credits: Bridging in Harmony by Maire-Gabrielle Koumenda, Music Box by Daniel Padden, Project Podcast by Luci Holland and Rachel Timney Stewart

Aiden

My name is Aiden and I can do dance, drama, acting, music, juggling, comedy and I can spin a basketball on my finger. I’ve been a Lyra Young Company artist since 2019.

Credits: How to be a Superhero by Holly Irving, Field: something for the future now by Curious Seed, Wild Heart by Lyra Young Company, Slumbering Deep by Natalia Barua, We are all just little creatures by Curious Seed, Lung Ha and Lyra

Nadia

My name is Nadia, I’ve been in Young Company since 2019. I mainly do dance, drama and acting. My ambitions are to perform in different shows, be in movies and be a part of a professional company. Also, to be a millionaire.

Credits: Lots and not lots by Greg Sinclair, How to be a Superhero by Holly Irving, Field: something for the future now by Curious Seed, Lyra Barrier Reef by Bridie Gane , 2020 Vision by Elspeth Chapman, Wild Heart by Lyra Young Company, Slumbering Deep by Natalia Barua, And It goes Dark by Eoin MacKenzie, We are all just little creatures by Curious Seed, Lung Ha and Lyra

Lexi

Hi! My name is Lexi. I’m a musician in Lyra’s Young Company. I’m learning to play flute and keyboard. One day I’d like to learn to play guitar. I really like coming to Lyra it gets me out of the house and it’s nice to be here.

Danny

Hello, I’m Danny. I’m good with music and also I like drawing and arts in general. I’m great at electric dance music – I can always find the beat. I joined Young Company in 2023, I want to learn more about how to present stuff like shows and create performances.

Arthur

Hi, it’s Arthur – of course! I think that I’m good at instruments like drums and piano, in Lyra I’d like to try to be more confident in making shows. I want to inspire more people to join Lyra, make theatre and share their voice. My motto is ‘Dream big and never go small.‘

Young Company Team

Natalia Barua - Director / Choreographer

Natalia is a dance artist and choreographer working predominantly in video dance, interdisciplinary performance and participation. She has worked in participation for over 10 years as a practitioner, facilitator and producer, designing, leading and supporting community-focused and professional projects. Natalia has developed and delivered high-quality dance projects with vulnerable young people, for adults experiencing mental health issues, worked for charities such as Mencap and NACRO, in primary, secondary and SEN schools across England and Scotland, facilitated social development programmes in deprived communities and has been employed by leading dance organisations including East London Dance, English National Ballet School, YDance and Pavilion Dance South West. She co-directed Diverse Dance, an inclusive dance company in London from 2013-2017, presenting work at venues such as Siobhan Davies Dance Studios, Big Dance Bus and Southbank Centre (Unlimited Festival).

Natalia's video dance productions have been awarded at and screened at festivals worldwide and installed at venues throughout the UK. In 2020 Natalia was commissioned by Lyra's Young Artists for the creation of a video-performance-installation, Slumbering Deep.

Caitlin Mulgrew - Composer / Sound Designer

Caitlin has been working in community music settings for over 10 years and has worked with National Theatre of Scotland, Lyra, St Andrews Voices Festival, LimeLight and Drake Music Scotland amongst many others. Most recently she has moved into composition and Sound Design for performance. She is passionate about equality in music and believes that everyone should be given the platform to perform, compose and experiment.

Jo Sharp - Engagement Facilitator

Jo is a Performance Maker and Facilitator who works with young people to make original performance. Since graduating from Contemporary Performance Practice at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2016 she has worked across Scotland and beyond. In 2016 Jo received the Avrom Greenbaum Players Award for Direction. In 2017 Jo was awarded the Saltire Emerging Directors award from Youth Theatre Arts Scotland. In 2022 Jo travelled to Belgium with the BUZZ network, an international programme designed to share practice between youth theatre leaders across Europe. Jo has worked as a Director and Facilitator with people of all ages in a range of settings including theatres, community spaces, schools and prisons. Previous collaborations include the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, HMP Low Moss, Falkirk Community Trust, Lyceum Youth Theatre, Macrobert Arts Centre, Perth Horsecross Theatre, Youth Theatre Arts Scotland and Children’s Parliament.

Anna Plasberg-Hill - Producer

Anna has been working with Lyra since 2018 and is delighted to be producing the Young Company's work.

She studied Drama, Applied Theatre and Education at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (2012), and subsequently went on to train in Physical Theatre at St Mary’s University College (2013). She has over 10 years of experience working as a practitioner, project coordinator and producer in a range of arts and engagement contexts, particularly focusing on projects with children, young people and communities. She has worked with a number of organisations including Catherine Wheels Theatre Company, Children’s Parliament, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, Aberdeen Performing Arts, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, Kulturmanagement Solingen (Germany) and the National Theatre of Scotland.