British Youth Music Theatre to relocate to Leeds

British Youth Music Theatre (BYMT) will relocate its head office from South London to Leeds later this year as part of an Arts Council England programme, it has been announced.

Under ACE's Transfer Programme 18 National Portfolio Organisations and six Independent Sector Support Organisation (IPSO) are receiving funding from ACE for 2023/24 and 2024/25 and must establish a main and registered base elsewhere in England by no later than 31 October in order to be eligible for further funding for 2025/26.

BYMT said its decision to move to Leeds was taken following a rigorous feasibility study, adding that the city's location in the centre of the UK allows good access to partners in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales as well as across England.

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A smaller "satellite" production office will be maintained in London. The organisations said staff are looking forward to developing partnerships with schools, arts and community organisations in the Yorkshire region.

Emily Gray, Creative Director of BYMT said the move, which coincides with the organisation's 20th anniversary, provides a "wonderful opportunity to celebrate BYMT as a national company".

"Whilst we will maintain great relationships with our partners in London, such as Candoco Dance Company and Mountview, we are excited by new and developing conversations with Yorkshire-based arts and education organisations.

"BYMT engages with theatres, schools and freelance artists across the UK and will continue to seek out young people who want to explore the making of new collaborative work, enhance their performance skills, celebrate inclusive processes and shape the future of music theatre.”

Patsy Gilbert, Vice Principal of Leeds Conservatoire, said: “We are delighted to welcome British Youth Music Theatre here to Leeds. We have already established a great relationship as collaborators in new forms of musical theatre and we can’t wait to see them as part of our growing theatre community here in West Yorkshire.

"Our companies have shared values of equality of experience and opportunity in the arts, and we look forward to working together on these shared goals.”

The Transfer Programme was devised by ACE in response to the government’s Levelling Up agenda and following instruction from DCMS to reallocate 15% of the total investment to organisations outside the capital.

Deaf-led Independent Sector Support Organisation (IPSO) Stagetext, which was previously based in Southwark, became the first organisation to announce a move under the programme in September 2023, relocating to the Mercury Theatre in Colchester.