Ten magical years of Derby Youth Musical Theatre

 

Last year, 2023, marked a very special milestone in the history of Derby Youth Musical Theatre - our tenth anniversary.

DYMT was created to bring together young people in the region who were interested in musical theatre. In the intervening years, hundreds of young cast members have taken to the stage in ten magnificent productions. 

We have established ourselves as one of the leading youth musical theatre groups in the county with all our productions drawing great critical acclaim and excellent reviews from all those who have seen them. We are very proud of how much we have achieved both in terms of our productions and our reputation.

 

Our 2015 production of Phantom of the Opera gained a National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA) award for the best youth musical of the year and an Eagle Award, celebrating the wealth of amateur theatre in Derby and Derbyshire, in the category of Best Musical.

 

From the Guildhall to Derby Theatre

 

Our first four productions - Our House, Grease, The Phantom of the Opera and Guy and Dolls - were performed in Derby Guildhall and in 2017 we took the bold step of moving to the fabulous Derby Theatre for our fifth anniversary production, of West Side Story. This was followed in 2018 with Legally Blonde; both productions beating our previous attendance figures with full houses and received great public praise. The move to Derby Theatre was a great success!

In 2019 we took on the challenging production of the circus musical Barnum and this was performed to over 2,100 people. This was followed by Bring It On in 2021 and Crazy For You in 2022. Audiences said they were “dazzled by the dancing, loved the songs and were whooping and cheering on their feet”.

Our 2023 production of Nativity! was our biggest show yet, with six performances to a capacity audience of over 3,000, with a cast of 48 on stage each night, aged from 9 - 25.

 

We're always seeking new stars of the future

 

DYMT is open to young people between the ages of 13 - 21 at the time of our production. For members under 16 we have a fully qualified Youth Protection Officer who is very much involved in our productions and who attends our rehearsals and performances. We also have a number of qualified chaperones for those under 16.

We are always interested in any young person who would like to join us on stage and also back stage, helping us on the technical side of our productions, working alongside professional technicians at Derby Theatre.

 

Thank you for making it happen

We give our thanks to ten years of outstanding young people; we give our thanks to our outstanding production teams over the ten years and we give our sincere thanks to our audiences, for supporting us and allowing us to develop and grow since that first embryonic idea in 2013.

 

Do you want to join us on stage or back stage at Derby Theatre for our spectacular 2024 performance of The Phantom of the Opera? 

 

Find out about becoming a member of DYMT and auditioning for a part in The Phantom of the Opera, or supporting us as a trainee technician.