Toonspeak Young People's Theatre

04/08/2026

We are recruiting for an Income Generation Lead to join Toonspeak’s Senior Management Team and drive fundraising to sustain our free, youth arts programmes.

Salary: £38,000
Contract: Permanent, 35 hours per week (flexible and hybrid working options available)
Location: Barmulloch, Glasgow (flexible/hybrid options)
Closing Date: Friday, 28th August 2026 at 17:00
Interview Date: 8th and 9th September 2026

Find out more information and details on how to apply on our website: https://www.toonspeak.co.uk/about/our-vacancies

22/07/2026

Building a More Inclusive Toonspeak 🌈

We're proud to be working towards LGBT Charter Bronze accreditation with LGBT Youth Scotland.

This process is helping us reflect on how we support LGBTQ+ young people across Toonspeak, and most importantly, it's giving young people a voice in how we drive these meaningful changes.

Read our latest article to hear from our LGBT Champions, Eilidh and Rebecca, about the journey so far and our ongoing commitment to creating a welcoming space for all young people.

Click the link to find out more 👇 https://www.toonspeak.co.uk/news/toonspeaks-journey-towards-the-lgbt-charter-bronze

We're proud to be working with LGBT Youth Scotland to achieve our LGBT Charter Bronze. Here’s an update from our LGBT Champions Eilidh and Rebecca about what the charter is, why it’s an important milestone for Toonspeak, and exactly what we’re doing to achieve it.

07/07/2026

🎭 It’s been another fantastic end to the year across our programmes, with the final weeks of term full of rehearsals and performances led by our brilliant young people. Swipe through the photos to see what they achieved.

🎉 From Inspire: Our youngest participants had the chance to share the performance skills they developed this year. Drama Toonies in Barmulloch created a movement‑based piece inspired by companies like Frantic Assembly and Forced Entertainment. In Townhead, each group adapted Julia Donaldson’s Zog in their own imaginative ways and shared their playful reinterpretations to friends and family.

🌟 From Transform: Theatre Maker Juniors, Seniors, and Phoenix Group all came together for this year’s Transform Showcase. Each group brought their absolute A-game and delivered a series of original performances that explored big ideas with ambitious concepts.

✨ From Progress: To round out a fantastic year that included a main‑stage performance at NFYT’s DramaCon, Young Company filmed a selection of their favourite devised pieces as a record of their work together. Then, they travelled up to Inverness for the National Festival of Youth Theatre, so expect a full dispatch from their trip soon.

A huge congratulations to every young person involved for your creativity and hard work, and a heartfelt thank you to Toonspeak’s Artists for everything you brought to the programme.

And we’re not slowing down for the holidays! Our Summer programme kicks off next week, so keep an eye on our socials to see what we’re getting up to next…

24/06/2026

It’s just a few days till our Transform Showcase!

Theatre Makers Seniors have been exploring big ideas this term to develop their final performance of the year. Now they’re getting ready to share J‑0‑7 (Redacted) at our Transform Showcase this weekend.

The group have created a look at a world where happiness can be bought, but with a strict set of terms and conditions. Expect this ambitious concept to be brought to life with a good dose of creativity and humour.

Roll on Saturday!

18/06/2026

After months of developing ideas and rehearsing, Theatre Makers Juniors are gearing up to perform their original play, A Bit Out There at our Transform Showcase next week.

The group have created a high-energy look at how complicated the world can feel from a young person’s point of view, exploring the overlap of power, politics, school and friendships through their own ideas and conversations. We can’t wait to see this performed in front of an audience very soon!

17/06/2026

We're launching our newsletter!

Toonspeak's first newsletter is nearly ready and we cannot wait to share it with you! Each edition will bring important news from our programmes and shine a light on the brilliant work our young people have been creating.

If you want to stay connected with everything happening across our organisation, sign up to our mailing list and get the first edition as soon as it lands! 👇
https://mailchi.mp/69337998f661/toonspeak-mailing-list-signup

05/06/2026

We’re on the lookout for 18-25 year olds to join our board!

It’s a fantastic way to build real experience in the arts, but you don’t need to take our word for it. Here’s what Hannah, one of our Young Board Directors, has to say:

“Being a Young Board Member is a great opportunity to give back and really help Toonspeak to help inspire other young people as they've inspired me. It's helped build my confidence and given me great insight into how things run behind the scenes. From sitting on hiring panels to looking at budgets, it's definitely helped in developing my employability and made me more knowledgeable when I go for interviews.”

If you’re aged 18–25 and want to support our free youth theatre programme while gaining experience of governance in the arts sector, we want to hear from you!

Click the link to find out more and how to apply 👇 https://www.toonspeak.co.uk/about/our-vacancies

04/06/2026

Countdown to our end of term sharing for Drama Toonies in Barmulloch ⏱️

Our Drama Toonies in Barmulloch have been taking inspiration from Frantic Assembly and Forced Entertainment as they build a movement based performance and explore physical storytelling. It has been wonderful to see our youngest youth theatre members growing in confidence and trying out new ideas.

We’re looking forward to seeing the finished pieces at the end of term.

02/06/2026

Phoenix Group have been busy rehearsing their adaptation of Metamorphosis, the classic story by Franz Kafka. They’re getting ready to share their version of this well‑known tale at our Transform Showcase at the end of term.

This week they were blocking movement for the performance. Our artists taped out the stage so everyone could practise moving through the space and build confidence in the choreography.

They’re learning new skills and having fun as they shape the final piece and we can’t wait to see it performed!

21/05/2026

🌟 The Toonspeak Team are wishing a huge thank you and warm goodbye to our brilliant Head of Operations. Eileen is moving on to an exciting new opportunity with previous project partners of Toonspeak and street performance specialists, Surge!

Eileen has played a huge part in keeping Toonspeak running smoothly and supporting the team behind the scenes. Her care and commitment have made a real difference to our work and to the young people we support.

Thank you for everything, Eileen!