Camp Phoenix

2024

★★★★
“An essential firsthand guide to flaming youth”
The Guardian

What advice do teenagers wish they’d had when they were still kids? Camp Phoenix has been developed through conversations with 650 young people nationwide to find out. 9-year-olds shared their worries, and those aged 16+ responded with expert wisdom. Camp Phoenix shares that wisdom with honesty, hope, and humour. Camp Phoenix is a brand new show packed with adventure, new music, and vital life lessons, featuring a dynamic cast of professional performers and local young people.

Youthquake

2019 - 2020

A 360° PRODUCTION ABOUT BEING YOUNG AND CHANGING THE WORLD

★★★★★
“Totally irresistible and genuinely moving, whatever your age.”
Everything Theatre

Part show, part TED Talk and part party, Youthquake has been developed through conversations with 800 young people from across the country. This exhilarating production used their words and opinions to give a platform to a generation often left unheard. Featuring a mix of professional and local young performers, each performance became a metaphor for the cultural shift a Youthquake brings.

What Once Was Ours

2017

BEST PRODUCTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 13+ 
OFF WEST END AWARDS 2018

★★★★★
“Stuns the audience into silence”
LondonTheatre1

Created against the background of Brexit, What Once Was Ours was developed through direct contact with young people across the country and uses their words and opinions to explore how politics and national values impact on the complex lives of one family. This powerful production for young people asked why we’ve become so fearful of anyone who is different from us.

First Person

2017 - 2020

Two players enter the labyrinth of a virtual world and compete for the ultimate prize: happiness. The First Person to complete the game and find happiness is the winner! Made especially for public spaces and influenced by video games; First Person is a quirky fusion of fast paced narrative, physical theatre and silent disco technology. Grab your headphones, predict your winner and cheer them on to the finish line.

Thrive

2015 - 2017

Research suggests that half of the British population will experience one traumatic event in their lifetime. How do you think you would you cope if it happened to you?Developed in collaboration with Psychologists, Thrive is a life-affirming look at finding hope in the face of adversity. The Production surrounds the audience to portray the most challenging of emotions with courage and optimism.

Boy Meets Girl

2014 - 2016

Join Boy and Girl as they journey through the joy, hope and heartbreak of looking for love. Colourfully created for public spaces, Boy Meets Girl fuses an exciting mix of dance, theatre and silent disco technology.

Gatecrash

2013 - 2016

Zest Theatre’s groundbreaking, immersive production allows you to control the conversations you listen to through Silent Disco technology. Put on your headphones, step through Sam’s front door and Gatecrash the party.

Until It's Gone

2009 - 2020

Until It's Gone is a hard-hitting production based on the true-life stories of homeless young people. This exciting play and accompanying workshop gives young people the opportunity to explore a range of complex issues. 

The Forum

2022-2023

A place to chill, be heard, and imagine the future

Fuelled by the words of young people, The Forum is a pop-up town square colourfully created to gather people of all ages and be inspired by the next generation.

Sit for a moment or stay all day as you contemplate the ever-changing display of quotes from those aged under 19. Reflect, interact, or share your voice to inspire the community – it’s up to you. However you use The Forum, make sure you grab a refill from the Joy Dispenser before you leave!

Refresh Medway

2024

Sharing the wisdom of youth

Through 2023, Zest ran workshops across Medway for hundreds of children and young people aged 8-18 to create space for sharing everything that felt most important to them—from daily life to the big questions of the universe. Their words have now been turned into vibrant artworks, ready to be found across Medway - some remaining in pace for the next decade!

Refresh Mansfield

2023

Inspiring you to be you

In June 2023, Zest met 100 young people aged 10-15 in workshops to learn what it's like to be young in Mansfield. Powered by the participants, these conversations explored the challenges of being young and why being yourself can often be tricky. In October 2023, their words were turned into vibrant artworks, ready to be found on banners, flags, and digital screens across Mansfield.

Refresh SIRF

2023

Unleashing teenage truth

Back in September 2022, Zest Theatre gathered the inspirational words of 200 young people aged 11-18 from across the whole borough of Stockton-on-Tees. In summer 2023, Refresh SIRF turned their words into artworks flown from fourteen festival flags at the heart of Stockton International Riverside Festival!

Refresh Lincoln

2021

A city-wide installation

In March 2021, Zest Theatre led workshops with over 800 young people across Lincoln, cultivating over 600 quotes about any and everything – from daily life to the big questions of the universe. Later that sumer, those words were turned into vibrant artworks on windows, banners and billboards in every corner of Lincoln City Centre.

monolith

2021-2022

An audio adventure into eternity

Developed with young people from across the country, monolith is an audio-based experience that uses meditation and mindfulness to take you on an adventure just beyond your perception.

Close your eyes, use your imagination, and discover the wonders of the universe without moving a muscle.

Refresh Lincoln Audio Experience

2021 - Stream Now

Listen to the real words of real young people

The Refresh Lincoln Audio Experience fuses the voices of young people with an original score, using sounds recorded around Lincoln to bring the quotes to life.

Now, everyone can be a part of Refresh Lincoln wherever you are in the world.

Never Was a Normal

2021 - Stream Now

A music video to mark one year of lockdown in the UK

The young people from Future Proof joined forces with Zest to reflect on a full year of living through the pandemic. With lyrics and visuals inspired by their COVID experiences and released exactly one year since the start of the first lockdown, Never Was a Normal captures the resilience of Gen-Z in a world of uncertainty.

*untitled

2020 - Stream Now

ONCOMM NOMINEE 2020

Made remotely, and filmed entirely on young people’s phones, *untitled is a 21-minute visual EP, made up of music videos, monologues, poetry and conversation.

The piece explores the experiences of young people from across the country, what they need now and where they’re heading next.

Lost Village Festival

2015 - 2019

Lost Village in an immersive festival experience like no other.

From 2015, the Zest team created the narrative of the Lost Village - a continually evolving story that unfolds year on year. The forest is completely transformed with intricate set designs, decoration and installations, combined with a huge cast of characters, who play out the story of the Lost Village. 17,000 Festival-goers step into the story each year, interacting with characters and guiding events as they unfold. 

Cutting-edge music, incredible food, water-side relaxation, hilarious comedy and insightful talks and workshops all combine to create a totally incomparable experience...

2030

2017

In collaboration with North East Lincolnshire Council and CapeUK, 2030 was an innovative new project for Grimsby. In partnership with the Youth Offending Service, Zest worked intensively with young people to discover how they can face the future with creativity and self-belief. What could their life be like by 2030?

Summer Challenge

2012 - 2016

Zest's summer outreach programme gave young people 5 days to write, produce and perform their own productions ready for an invited audience. This process usually formed the first stage of R&D for our new shows where we tested concepts, starting points and ideas with our target age range.

Neon Youth Theatre

2008 - 2015

Neon was Zest's youth theatre programme for young people in Lincolnshire with 2 youth theatre groups across the county.
12 original, full productions were created by the groups over the 7 years that Neon ran.

Gallery37 Plus

2008 - 2009

Newark and Sherwood's Gallery 37 programme provided high quality arts activities for young people across the district. With a focus on those not in Education, Employment or training (NEET), Zest delivered a range of arts apprenticeships, short term projects and taster sessions.

Exploring the Future of Lincoln

2022

An ambitious research project

Between January and March 2022, Zest facilitated an ambitious new research project with over 1,000 young people across our home city to make space for them to share their vision for the future of Lincoln. We’re now working with partners across the city to implement the findings of this research and inform and shape future strategy for Lincoln over the next decade, including its future cultural provision!