A scene from Intermission’s Much Ado About Nothing – Remixed

“JULIUS Caesar is a story about knife crime,” says Darren Raymond, artistic director of Intermission Youth Theatre.

He draws a striking parallel between Shakespeare’s tragedy and the all-too-familiar realities faced by many young Londoners.

“It’s about this emperor who gets stabbed to death by his mates in the back because they thought one person was becoming too powerful. And you see that a lot in postcode rivalry, happening in our capital too often,” Darren explained.

This approach – using Shakespeare to tackle modern issues – is at the heart of Intermission Youth Theatre’s work. Founded in 2008 by Darren, the organisation offers free theatrical training to disadvantaged young people across London, creating a safe, creative space with positive role models.

In their first year, when they were based at St Saviour’s Church, Knightsbridge, they had four participants. Sixteen years on, they have 45 – so many, in fact, that their 2024 production has two casts that alternate each performance.

This year’s production, Much Ado About Nothing – Remixed, is at the Collective Theatre in Finsbury Park. Written by Darren, it is set on the party island of Messina, and blends Shake­spearean and contemporary language.

This, Darren said, is a way of getting young people “hooked” on Shakespeare by allowing them to bring their experiences to what is being made. “It makes it more accessible”, he told Review. “We use Shakespeare as a springboard to encourage others to tell their own stories.”

The script is based on actors’ improvisations that Darren builds into the story. He started this approach with Julius Caesar, aiming to engage young people by improvising around the characters in more relatable settings.

“I started exploring these situations with the young people, bringing in newspaper articles and improvising using the characters from Caesar. And they were hooked. They were engaged in this story now. But I didn’t want to lose the work they’d done. Their stories were just as important as Shakespeare’s. And so, from the improvisations, I started writing and mixing it with Shakespeare.”

Though theatre is its central vehicle, Intermission is about much more than putting on a play. “We’re not interested in how good people are as actors,” Darren said. “For us, the mission is about empowering young people to be the best versions of themselves.”

Nana Antwi, youth programmes manager and this year’s director, echoed this: “We’ve got young people that have toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company, been on the main stage at the Globe, but we’ve also got an equally successful story where there’s somebody right now who’s driving an Amazon van and supporting their family.”

The young people involved clearly feel this support. Latoya Markson, who plays Beatrice, found out about Intermission through a friend who graduated from the programme. “It’s a family here”, she said. “A lot of us don’t have support systems,” Genevieve Bevins, who plays Hero, added, “but the facilitators, like Nana and Darren, they all provide this space where it’s like, ‘OK, cool, we see you’re struggling with this, come talk to me’.”

Fawaz Adekunle, who plays Leon and also discovered Intermission through a friend, said how much it meant to him that his friends came to watch him.

He said: “I even invited my boys last Friday, they came to watch. They were like, I’m proud of you, cause we’ve grew up together, you’ve come a long way. And them guys, they don’t do acting. They just like football.”

This kind of audience development is something that Darren is particularly proud of at Intermission.

“Our audiences are very diverse and you are getting a lot of first-time theatre­goers,” he said. “They’re seeing young people from a demographic that doesn’t normally have that experience or that access or that opportunity. Hopefully that gives a springboard for them to say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know theatre was like this’”.

The Intermission team is now looking for a permanent base, as they had to leave St Saviour’s in 2019.

“Having our own home is what we really want and what we really need to continue this work and grow this work”, Nana said.

Darren added: “One of the things about Intermission was it was a home, a refuge, and you can’t put a time on when a young person is going to need support or just going to rock up.”

The success of Intermission Youth Theatre is a testament to the importance of comm­unity. It’s a place where young people are seen, heard, and supported – on stage and off.

• Much Ado About Nothing – Remixed runs until December 7 at Collective Theatre, Hornsey Road Baths, 2 Tiltman Place, N7. https://intermissionyouththeatre.co.uk/