20 Stories High & Our Community

20 Stories High believe that “everybody’s got a story to tell… and their own way of telling it.”

We create bold, excellent theatre experiences with culturally diverse, working-class communities, emerging artists, and world-class professionals to tell stories that bring joy, empower, and enable social change. Our experiences happen in a wide variety of spaces: from theatres, schools and youth clubs to digital spaces, living rooms and doorsteps. Our heart is in Liverpool, but our reach is universal.

So far this year, we have been busy working on some amazing projects! We kicked things off with The Actors LAB, giving working-class, culturally diverse actors a paid chance to take bold, experimental work out to young audiences. Our Changemakers programme has been supporting young leaders who care about activism, creativity, and making real change in their communities. We held a screening of The Access Manifesto, a practical guide made by those with lived experience to help arts spaces become more accessible. We’ve also launched State of Mind for Leaders, a set of workshops to help people who look after others at work build healthier, more supportive workplaces.

And now, 20 Stories High are opening up! After nearly 20 years of creating bold and innovative theatre with and for young people aged 13-30, we are now developing plans to “Open Up” their age groups with a brand-new participation programme led by new Youth and Community Director Paislie Reid.

Community Company is a fun, welcoming space for adults (18+) to get creative with acting, singing, movement, and live music. An opportunity to play, connect, and help us make a brand new show!

We are also working on our brand new Youth Theatre show to be performed in July 2025, as part of the Cities Exchange, a new collaboration between Beyond Face, Company Three and Zoo Co Young Company. Over the upcoming months, we’ll be working in collaboration with four youth theatres to create four brand new plays from the same starting point. We will each use “cities” as our prompt: What are young people’s stories, experiences and perspectives about growing up in their city? We want to encapsulate the cities we live in through the eyes of our teenagers.

“We’ve been wanting to re-connect our youth theatre with other companies nationally for some time now and are so excited for the opportunity to do so on the Company Three Exchange. We’re looking forward to exploring the theme of cities with our group – exploring Liverpool’s heritage, history and community that we exist in – the opportunities, challenges and the stories. We’re also excited to hear and connect with other groups and investigate shared experiences!” – 20 Stories High