C3 Festivals
Youth Voices from Islington
Theatre. Films. Talks. Podcasts.
We are thrilled to invite you to join us for our first ever C3 Festivals - a celebration of youth voices in Islington.
Over two weeks in April we will be presenting 17 new works co-created by Islington teenagers, across theatre, podcasts and films.
This year our young people are celebrating dreams, relationships, loss and joy exploring their navigation through teenagehood and an increasingly uncertain future - all while fighting for joy and dreams that transcend societal expectations and limitations.
This year we are also opening up new ways to get involved and be creative, through our taster drop ins for years 6s & 7s and a series of talks and workshops for adults to learn more about working with young people.
You will be able to listen to podcasts born from our Happiness and Black Girl Magic projects in local schools giving insight into what makes young people happy, frustrated and proud of who they are. Members of our Core Company speak directly to the Prime Minister through a podcast series called Dear Prime Minister and If I was in the Government sharing their thoughts directly with our nation’s leaders.
Read more below to find out more about the performances, films, podcasts and workshops on offer at C3 Festivals 2025 - we hope you join us!
Friday 11 - Sunday 20 April 2025
Capital City College, Holloway Centre, 444 Camden Rd, London N7 0SP
Whats on
Theatre.
Original first-draft plays co-created with members of our Core Company.
Films.
Co-created short films made with our company and with local schools.
Podcasts.
Giving insight into what makes young people happy, frustrated and proud of who they are.
Talks.
Online and in-person sessions for youth theatre practitioners through our Exchange programme.
Podcasts
As a part of our C3 Festivals 2025, we’ll be offering first listens of Monologues, collaborations and conversations.
These podcasts explore a range of ideas such as joy, friendship, navigating stereotypes, and self-care. Check back in soon to see how to listen to our podcasts during Festivals.
Read more about the podcasts below.
All Theatre performances at C3 Festivals are relaxed. To find out more about what that means, see our visual story.
Friday 11 April
#BlackIs Boys Archive (Film) 18:45 - 19:00
The Dream Lab (Theatre) 19:00 - 20:30
The Breaking Point (Theatre) 19:00 - 20:30
Saturday 12 April (Afternoon)
Aunty (Film) 14:45-15:00
Joylodge (Theatre) 15:00-16:30
The Dream Lab (Theatre) 15:00-16:30
Saturday 12 April (Evening)
CK All Around (Film) 17:45-18:00
The Breaking Point (Theatre) 18:00 - 19:30
Joylodge (Theatre) 18:00-19:30
Saturday 19 April (Afternoon)
The Forgotten Room (Film) 14:45-15:00
Level 7 (Theatre) 15:00-16:30
Someone to Somebody (Theatre) 15:00-16:30
Saturday 19 April (Evening)
#BlackIs I Love Yours and I Love Mine (Film) 17:45-18:00
How to Survive Year 7(Theatre) 18:00-19:30
Someone to Somebody (Theatre) 18:00 - 19:30
Finding C3 Festivals
All plays and films screenings will be at:
Capital City College, Holloway Centre, 444 Camden Rd, London N7 0SP.
The space is on the ground floor and wheelchair accessible.
Tube: Holloway Road (Piccadilly Line), Highbury & Islington (Victoria Line)
Buses: 4, 29, 43, 91, 153, 253, 254, 259, 271, 393
Our workshops will be at another space in Islington. You will recieve information about where these will be when you sign up.
Talks and Workshops
Curious about what it looks like to work in Youth Theatre behind the scenes? Company Three’s exchange program explores all aspects of Youth Theatre work in a series of workshops as a part of our Festivals 2025. Check out what we’ve got planned below.
Planning your first theatre workshop (online workshop)
With Mariana Aristizábal Pardo
Friday 11 April 11:00-12:00
Delivering your first creative workshop for young people, a community group or people who aren’t from a theatre background can be daunting. Mariana Aristizábal Pardo, C3’s Associate Director, will share tips and ideas to get you started, centering on understanding purpose and joy.
Pay what you decide £5 / £10
Building impactful connections in schools (online workshop)
Tuesday 15 April 11:00-12:00
Company Three have been working in primary and secondary schools in the local area for over a decade. In this online workshop, our Artistic Director Nuna Sandy will share best practices for building relationships with schools and ideas around programme offers exploring one off workshops, short projects and long term offers we call deep dives.
Pay what you decide £5 / £10
Introduction to Co-Creation with Company Three
Thursday 17 12:30 - 15:30 (in person)
We’re passionate about co-creation - pairing teenagers with professional artists and using our proven co-creation methodology to see our young people grow and self-express through theatre and film.
In this training course, we’ll share our approach and crucially explore how co-creation looks different with different ages and at different levels. We’ll then invite you to see it all in practice; to watch the dress rehearsal for two of our youth shows from our youngest and oldest groups, the bookends of Company Three.
£55 per person,
We want everyone to be able to come to our workshops. If you are unable to afford the full fee or experience barriers in accessing the theatre industry, please email Gabi (gabi@companythree.co.uk) to request a subsidised place.
The Machine: A Play in a Day (Taster Workshop)
Saturday, 19 April, 12:30 - 14:15
Are you (or do you know) a Year 6 or 7 in Islington who wants to join a fun drama workshop during the Easter holidays? Make new friends, flex your creative muscles and have fun in a relaxed and welcoming environment.
We’re going to make a play-in-a-day about making drama to make a machine that makes change. We’d love for you to join us!
First Draft plays
Joylodge. Bashiie’s Group
Saturday, 12th April.
Show 1: 15:00 - 16:30
Show 2: 18:00 - 19:30
Dream Lab. Yolanda’s Group
Friday, 11th April.
Show 1: 18:00 - 19:30
Saturday, 12th April.
Show 2: 15:00 - 16:30
The Breaking Point. Mariana’s Group
Friday, 11th April.
Show 1: 19:00 - 20:30
Saturday, 12th April.
Show 2: 18:00 - 19:30
In a pocket dimension made for teens, there is a wondrous place called Joylodge, a place where bright minds go to have fun and hang out with friends. Join us to experience some joy, fun times, and laughs in this epic C3 Panto!
”What do you want to do with your life?” It’s the question every young person faces—but is it ever that simple?
THE DREAM LAB fuses theatre, multimedia, and storytelling to explore ambition, uncertainty, and resilience. A bold journey where dreams take centre stage. Are you ready to take the leap?
What would you do if you didn't know what happened to your friend? THE BREAKING POINT is a story about discovery that becomes a journey of its own, finding something they weren't expecting: a sense of belonging.
Somebody to Someone.
Saturday, 19th April.
Show 1: 15:00 - 16:30
Show 2: 18:00 - 19;00
Some moments change everything. Others barely leave a trace.
Somebody to Someone is a play about connections, those we make, those we miss, and those that slip through our fingers. So, what if the moments we almost had are the ones that shape us the most?
Created by Mariana Aristizábal Pardo and the company.
How to Survive Year 7. 678s.
Saturday, 19th April.
Show 1: 18:00 - 19:30
Come on an induction tour of year 7 as we reminisce the horrors and great times of Secondary school! Beware of year 11s and dance with friends, either way, its going to be a year to remember!
Created by Bashiie Baptiste and the company
Level 7. 678s.
Saturday, 19th April.
Show 1: 15:00 - 16:30
Level 7 asks the question: what if starting secondary school was a video game? Challenges in this game include getting to the bus on time, making new friends and avoiding trouble. Players must use their courage and tenacity to compete against the school and figure out how to level up.
Created by Abi Glasser and the company
Short Films
Created with our Core Company and students of Beacon High School.
#BlackIs Boys Archive
Aunty.
#BlackIs I Love Yours and I Love Mine
Focuses on the stereotypes, images and expectations put on Black boys by not just non Black people but by the Black community too. We watch the boys unpack the layers as they grow to celebrate who they are.
Created by Nuna Sandy and the company
This fun, brave and loving short is our attempt to unpick what ‘Aunty’ really means. To find her in all her complexities and truths. To have the conversations we never have.
Created by Maa-Yarkor Addo and the company
Looking at colourism within the Black community and it’s origins being rooted in white supremacy culture. These girls explore in their own way how to pull out generational roots by understanding what it means and what it would do to truly embrace the phrase ‘Dividing and conquering is hard when I Love yours and I Love mine’.
Created by Nuna Sandyand the company.
CK All Around
A group of teenagers, an abandoned hall, and a name whispered five times into the darkness. It sounds like the kind of urban legend you’d hear at any school—just another ghost story to make Beacon High a little more interesting.
Directed by Nuna Sandy with Assistant Directors Abi Falase and James Kent
The Forgotten Room
What could go wrong if you open that door? A group of students find themselves in the forgotten rooms of the neglected wing of their school. Once there, they discover secrets far more chilling that they've imagined.
Directed by Mariana Aristizábal Pardo and the company
Podcasts
Created with students from Beacon High, Christ the King, Duncombe, Hungerford, Montem, Pakeman, and St Marks schools.
Black Girl Magic
Students from Beacon High School share honest conversations about friendship, passions, things they love about being Black, stereotypes that frustrate them, and selfcare tips on how best to look after yourself.
Happiness Project
Year 6s share what happiness means to them and what brings them joy. This beautiful, honest soundbite captures them talking about what brings them happiness as well as sharing their advice to adults listening on how to be happy.
C3 Festivals Team
Plays co-created and directed by: Abi Falase, Abi Glasser, Bashiie Baptiste, James Kent, Mariana Aristizábal Pardo, and Yolanda Mercy,.
Plays facilitated by: Abi Falase, Alphonso Brown, Audrey Corno, Bashiie Baptiste, Christian Alifoe, and Manny Brown.
Films co-created with the students of Beacon High, Nuna Sandy, Mariana Aristizábal Pardo and James Kent and directed by Nuna Sandy and Mariana Aristizábal Pardo; and created by Maa-Yakor Addo and Company Three.
Podcasts were created by students at Beacon High and Nuna Sandy, students from Christ the King, Duncombe, Hungerford, Montem, Pakeman, and St Marks.
General C3 Festivals Team:
Angie Peña-Arenas - Producer
bankiyan - Sound Designer
Corey Bovell - Production Manager
Delyth Evans - Set and Costume Designer
Jack D’Arcy - Sound Designer
Ren Liberta - Technician
Rosely Ng - Production Assistant
Rosie Yadid - Vocal Coach
Vivi Wei - Stage Manager
Company Three Team:
Nuna Sandy - Artistic Director and Co-CEO
Liz Arday - Executive Director and Co-CEO
Mariana Aristizábal Pardo - Associate Director
Angie Peña-Arenas - Producer (Core Company and Projects)
Gabi Spiro - Producer (Exchange and Relationships)
Bashiie Baptiste - Resident Artist
Yolanda Mercy - Resident Artist
Perihaan Khan - Administrator
Graphic Design by George Haverson
