Drama Group
New Centre Stage
Based in The David Brown Centre, at the heart of Netherton’s Marion Square, and part of our South Hub. Sessions are run from a fully equipped studio theatre which has an audience capacity of 90.
We focus on drama, musical theatre, therapeutic drama, issue-based drama, creative dance, partnership work, community projects, communication skills, and building confidence and self-esteem.
Learn A Little More About
New Centre Stage
What We Offer
At A
Glance
Book Your Tickets
Read Some Testimonials
Take A Little Look
Get In Contact
Get It Touch
0151 705 1841
Reserve Your Tickets Today
Please let us know how many tickets you would like to reserve and the date of the show you would like to attend.
New Centre Stage at a Glance
Based in The David Brown Centre, at the heart of Netherton’s Marion Square, and part of our South Hub. Sessions are run from a fully equipped studio theatre which has an audience capacity of 90.
We focus on drama, musical theatre, therapeutic drama, issue-based drama, creative dance, partnership work, community projects, communication skills, and building confidence and self-esteem.
Our staff team provides our performers with the support they need to develop new skills by taking part in a variety of artistic activities.
New Centre Stage is open Monday – Friday from 10am – 4pm
What We Offer
We pride ourselves on having friendly, approachable, and professional relationships with group members, their
carers and families.
We aim to support people
to achieve their individual goals and ambitions, while encouraging diversity and ensuring our service is inclusive to all.
Throughout the year, there are many opportunities for performers to showcase their talents and skills by taking part in our regular productions, community projects, and partnership work.
If you are interested in performing arts or want to develop your communication skills and confidence and make friends, we would love to hear from you.
New Centre Stage 2022 – 2023
2022-2023 were massive years for NCS in getting some sense of the norm back after a bumpy road thanks to COVID times. NCS has supported people in regaining their skills in performing arts and building confidence that has been lost during the times of lockdown.
Vicky & Denise (Staff at NCS)
“It’s an honour to work at New Centre Stage and to be involved in the Journey from people first joining the team to achieving their goals at such high standards. The people we work with never cease to amaze us, it’s such a privilege to work with such talented people. The feedback we receive on evaluation forms and from parents and carers speaks volumes. Our biggest reward is when we see the look on people’s faces when they receive a standing ovation at performances. Makes all the hard work worth it.
Summer Showcase – 2023: Blood Brothers
June 2022 At New Centre Stage
New Centre Stage performed at The Arden Festival, this was a time for the group to reconnect with friends and other community groups for the first thing in such a long time. It was a breath of fresh air to see the group happy to be performing again in front of a busy audience.
Liz said, “I enjoyed performing in the park”. Liz performed alongside Emma and Andrea a musical theatre piece from Shrek which they had been working on with the support of staff at NCS. One of Liz’s goals this year was to perform a leading role in a show working and building her skills in working with others on stage. It is safe to say that Liz really challenged herself and without a doubt this goal was successfully achieved. It was so nice to have the support from Parents and carers on the day of The Arden Fest.
July 2022- NCS- A Night at the Musicals
Emma’s words-I love going to Drama. I love the musicals; I love all of them they are my favourite. The rest of the group were in agreement with Emma so the summer show 2022 had to be A Night at the Musical. Emma said, “My family are so proud of me. I love working with the staff at drama”.
September 2022-Fabric of Life Project
Some clothing is much more powerful than just items of cloth – they can be treasures we associate with people and places in our lifetime.
In August NCS took part in The Fabric of Life workshop led by two Professional Actors/Drama Practitioners.
The group brought in some of their most treasured items including jewellery, photos, clothing & ornaments. The group shared lots of lovely stories of why these items are important and what they mean to them.
The actors will return to NCS in October to perform a play they have written including the stories shared by all.
Kathy shared with us a ring that she wears every day which is really important to her and has been passed down to her through generations. Kathy really enjoyed the workshop, and it was a nice way for people to find out things that they didn’t know about each other and what is important to them. Drama is a safe space for people to talk about their feelings and to feel that they are listened to. The workshop was a lovely way for us to achieve this. (We have video evidence of the play performed by Fabric of Life containing people’s stories)
David- “My photos make me happy”. David’s carer Sheila said that for David his photos are his memories and when they go away on holiday David has to specially select which of his photos he wants to take with him.
October-In Another Place
Marie- “I like to come to NCS as I love to work on community projects. I performed in the Narnia Experience with In Another Place in October. I played the part of a tree spirit and we performed a dance routine which I enjoyed. I even got to wear a lovely costume” The group were supported by two staff members and attended three performances per week over October.
Autumn Showcase – 2023: This Is Halloween
December 2022-The Miracle of Christmas
January 2023- NCS Setting Goals & Team Project Planning- This year the team were all involved in setting their own personal goals which they wanted to work on at NCS. The group also took part in the annual project plan. NCS prides itself in being ‘Together as one’ from the sessions we run here at NCS to shows and community projects. It’s very much led by the team as everyone’s ideas are important. Sessions are differentiated to suit everyone’s various needs and abilities.
John set himself a goal this goal:
“To keep focused when performing in front of a live audience”
This has been evidenced through John’s leading role as Mickey in Blood Brothers this year. John was dedicated to the role and was keen to develop his skills at every session he attended, taking part in lots of research to understand the character and the journey of Mickey as he transitioned through different ages. (Evidence of this can be provided through the live performance and the filming)
John said, “I loved playing the role of Mickey, I really worked hard to focus and not get distracted when I’m on stage. The staff worked with me and helped me every week. They told me how proud they are of me for performing to such a high standard”.
Vicky Webb “I played Mrs. Johnson. I had lots of songs to learn, I didn’t learn them all, but I learned a lot of them. I’m very proud of myself.”
June 2023
June was a big month for NCS having the opportunity to collaborate with other community projects. Our first stop was working with Kings School of Dance at Greenbank High School performing an extract from The Wizard of Oz and a sequence of dances from the famous musical AIDA with music written and composed by Elton John and Tim Rice. The event saw other adult performing arts groups come together to work alongside each other. It truly was a celebration of talent.
Another event which took place in June was The Annual Arden Festival at Botanic Gardens which has always been a fantastic day. We’ve performed at the festival three times now but we’ve always showcased a selection of dance pieces. This time we changed things up a little and had a member of the group perform some live music which was appreciated by all. In addition to this, we performed a beautiful creative dance using scarves and a lively number for the musical grease. It’s so important for NCS to continue to challenge ourselves and have goals to reach.
August 2023-Blood Brothers
Gina Carer “How fab was Blood Brothers. The staff are amazing, the students are amazing. We love our son going there and he loves going there. Blood Brothers, we all said it was amazing and we’d love to see it again. Fantastic. Everyone works so hard to produce such wonderful and inspirational performances. The performance was fantastic as always, such a talented group of actors.”
Harriet said “I loved wearing the red dress and playing Maralyn Monroe, I want to do it again. Oh, yesssss please”