Our Generation

Alecky Blythe's engrossing verbatim play tells the stories of a generation. Created from five years of interviews with twelve young people from across the UK, Our Generation is a captivating portrait of their teenage years as they journey into adulthood.

Often too extraordinary to be fiction, this funny and moving play is for anyone who is – or has ever been – a teenager.

It was co-produced by the National Theatre, London, and Chichester Festival Theatre, and first performed in the Dorfman auditorium of the National Theatre in February 2022 before transferring to the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in April of that year, in a production directed by Daniel Evans.

Note for performers: the original audio recordings, which were used in rehearsal by the cast of the first professional production, are available to be used by other theatre companies performing the play. For more information, contact the Performing Rights Manager.

Author's note on casting: 'The play was created from interviews with children, parents and teachers from a broad demographic. Amateur companies should make their best effort to meet the casting requirements set out in the published playscript. I will leave it up to the judgement and sensitivity of those in charge as to whether it's appropriate for an actor to be cast in a part for which they are not an exact physical match, due to the lack of diversity within the group. I appreciate that perhaps the intended casting can only truly be achieved in professional productions when a wider pool of actors can be drawn from. However it's important that these issues are thought through carefully and discussed within the company before embarking on the project.'