Peer Productions is an award-winning social change arts charity dedicated to educating and empowering children and young people through original plays, workshops and training, all utilizing our unique peer-led model.
We create original plays about mental health and consent, touring to over 15,000 young people each year. Our impactful productions tackle these issues in a compelling, compassionate, and accessible way, empowering young people to make positive life choices and to change the way they think about themselves and the world around them.
Our workshops and training reach hundreds of learning disabled and neurodivergent young people each year, as well as young people on free school meals, raising confidence, self-esteem and building important life skills for independence.
All our work is co-delivered by young people for young people, putting the ‘peer’ in Peer Productions.
Why the community needs us
Our work reflects the needs of young people today, responding to the challenges they say most impact their lives. Young people consistently highlight their mental health as a concern, telling us:
‘i get panic attacks a lot’
‘felt more lonely’
‘I worry more about things’
Young people have also told us about climate fears, academic anxiety, social media and aspects of identity and growing up, while Everyone’s Invited highlighted the ongoing prevalence of sexual harassment in schools. Many of the young people we see in our workshops are dealing with low self-esteem and confidence, as well as struggles navigating relationships and boundaries, especially online.
It is an incredibly difficult time to be a young person and, with your help, our work can give young people the tools and knowledge to navigate these challenges.
Our impact on the community
Our plays empower young people, giving them increased confidence and knowledge on key subjects and, crucially, ensuring they understand where and when help is available should they need it.
88% of young people who saw Losing It, our play about relationships came away with a strong understanding of consent, compared to just 53% before.
81% of young people who saw Masking, our play about mental health, said they better understood the different factors impacting mental health.
They said:
“It felt comforting knowing that I wasn’t going through it alone.”“Me and my friends left the hall feeling more safe and empowered.”
