Marking its 30th anniversary, National Theatre Connections 2025 draws together ten new plays for young people to perform, from some of the UK's most exciting and popular playwrights. These are plays for a generation of theatre-makers who want to ask questions, challenge assertions and test boundaries, and for those who love to invent and imagine a world of possibilities. The plays offer young performers an engaging and diverse range of material to perform, read or study. Wrestling with themes like the cost-of-living crisis, activism, neurodiversity, the point and pointlessness of regret, human rights, and loneliness, this collection lays bare a rich and complex terrain in which students can fully immerse themselves, explore and discover. This 2025 anthology represents the full set of ten plays offered by the National Theatre 2025 Festival, as well as comprehensive workshop notes that give insights and inspiration for building characters, running rehearsals and staging a production. Like candles on a 30th birthday cake, this collection is bright, striking and set to make a lasting impression – the culmination of the celebrations it also strikes a note of eager anticipation as the next chapter begins “The plays in the collection explore many themes ... meaning there is lots to work with in a huge variety of ways. The text contains detailed notes as well as rehearsal ideas and writers Q&As. You definitely need this in your classroom.” ― Drama and Theatre Alys Metcalf is a Welsh writer. She recently wrote the comedy Beginner's Guide to Line of Duty , voiced by Diane Morgan for BBC platforms. Her interactive story, The Act , was commissioned by BBC Taster. Her TV sitcom, The Home , was optioned by Hartswood Films and she has developed another sitcom and two shorts with Sharon Horgan's company, Merman. Her short film, Remnants , was screened at The Hackney Empire as part of the London Short Film Festival and won the main award for Best Film and Best Writing in the International 100 Hour Film Racing competition. Alys has also been part of the writers' room for BBC Radio Wales's topical comedy show, The Leak. In terms of theatre, Alys's new play (title TBA) has been taken on for a full 2021 run at The Rose Theatre, directed by Artistic Director, Christopher Haydon and produced by Francesca Moody Productions. Alys's other plays include five-star sell-out hit You Only Live Forever, at SOHO Theatre, Reel Life, at Ustinov Studio Theatre Royal Bath, and Unearthed , which was chosen as one of the Guardian Readers' Favourite plays of 2015 and enjoyed a successful UK tour, playing the Arcola, Hull Truck and Cheltenham Everyman theatres, amongst others. Paul Sirett is an award-winning playwright, dramaturg, musician and teacher. His theatrical works include the Olivier-nominated The Big Life (with Paul Joseph) at Theatre Royal Stratford East & West End, Rat Pack Confidential at Nottingham Playhouse & West End, and Come Dancing (with Ray Davies) at Stratford East. Other works include Bad Blood Blues (Theatrescience and Stratford East) and Worlds Apart (Stratford East), Reasons to be Cheerful (Graeae Theatre Company - published by Methuen Drama), and plays for Soho Theatre; Polka Theatre; Yellow Earth Theatre; Live Theatre, Newcastle; New Wolsey, Ipswich; Dukes, Lancaster; and the Edinburgh Fringe. Awards include, Best Off-West End Musical, Whatsonstage; Best Play, Pearson; Best Production, City Life; Best Writer & Best Play, New York International Radio Festival; and nominations for TMA, Evening Standard and Olivier awards. Paul has also worked extensively as a dramaturg for companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company, Soho Theatre, Ambassador Theatre Group, Trafalgar Entertainment, the Royal Court, and the National Theatre. He is currently an Associate Artist of Soho Theatre, Associate Fellow at the University of Warwick, Literary Associate at Trafalgar Entertainment, and Associate Teacher of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he teaches playwriting and dramaturgy. Danusia Samal is a London-born actress, writer and jazz singer. Busking It is inspired by her experience as a London Underground busker. Danusia is also a resident playwright with Tamasha. Other writing credits include Conditionally (Oxford School of Drama/ Soho Theatre), Langthorne Stories (Soho Theatre/ Waltham Forest), and Las Americas Above (Chaskis Theatre). Gary McNair is a multi-award-winning writer and performer from Glasgow who aims to challenge and entertain in equal measure. Previous shows include: Square Go , Jekyll and Hyde , Dear Billy , Donald Robertson is Not a Stand Up Comedian, A Gambler's Guide To Dying, Letters To Morrissey , and Locker Room Talk . He has three times won the Scotsman Fringe First Award and has toured the world with his plays. His work has been translated into multiple languages including Italian, Arabic and Japanese. May Sumbwanyambe is a librettist, radio