Here's your annual chance to spot an up and coming star as the National Youth Theatre celebrates over 50 years of giving hopeful actors and backstage technicians the chance to show what they can do. You may not see a future Helen Mirren or Daniel Craig (both NYT alumni) but there's definitely a host of talent on display this year.
The London season kicks off promisingly with "Tory Boyz", set mainly behind the scenes in the present day House of Commons but flitting back to the 1950's to link the dilemma of dedicated gay researcher Sam with the restrained behaviour of Edward Heath (the famously unattached Conservative who became Prime Minister in 1970).
Questioning whether Sam can afford to openly acknowledge his sexuality and still climb the greasy political pole, James Graham's thoughtful, short new play offers some sparky dialogue and the young actors - especially Hamish McDougall's troubled Heath, recoiling from any feminine touch apart from his mother's, and Dan Ings' cocky Chief of Staff with a nasty, careerist streak – deliver them with commendably convincing assurance.
The girls get their turn in Jane Body's swift-paced "Out of Me" which begins with an arresting opening sequence showing four very different young women at the very moment their lives are about to change. Cheerful florist Alice (Rosie Sansom) finds herself flat on her back among the plants and sacks of seed; Antonia Thomas's aspirational Billie thinks (mistakenly) that she has everything under control; 16 year old bluestocking Ellen (Sita Thomas) gets uncharacteristically carried away at her university interview; and Charlie Russell's good time girl, Irish Eve, meets the man of her dreams – but only after she's become pregnant by someone else.
In short sharp, often overlapping scenes, their unwanted pregnancies progress from conception, through denial and the realisation that, one way or another, a choice has to be made. Funny, touching (and again performed to a very high standard) this new play with music – and its silent men hovering in the background - shows that even when abortion is legal, the decision to terminate is rarely an easy one.
Soho Theatre, Dean Street, W1 (020-7478 0100). In rep until Sep 13/ Sept 9. £20-£22.50
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