Longfield Hall was home to the first Black-led theatre company to receive Arts Council Funding. Over the years, lots of theatre companies have come through our doors, to use the hall for rehearsal space and to showcase their work. Our Youth Programme - launched in January 2022 – is drama and performance based. With funding from the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit, the hall was able to appoint a Youth Programme Manager, with the programme’s focus on engaging local young people at risk of becoming involved with crime and Serious Youth Violence through drama and performance opportunities. We offer free weekly drama classes for young people aged 6-16, an activity called PLAY IN A DAY! in the half-term weeks, and PLAY IN A WEEK! over the Easter and summer holidays. As well as aiming to divert young people away from crime and violence we also work to build their confidence, promote healthy relationships with their peers, and develop their confidence through drama and performance skills all while being creative and having fun.

In December 2023 we formed Longfield Hall's first Young Company providing young people with an interest in careers in the arts with access to specialist workshops and theatre trips. We work closely with local schools to organise in-school workshops linked to the curriculum, and use these channels for referrals to our youth programme so that the free places on our projects go to the young people who need them most. We are committed to keeping our projects free so that finances are not a barrier to accessing our services.