Our offer for Primary aged children is designed to promote a life long love of theatre and the arts. Our friendly and knowledgeable box office team are always happy to advise schools and teachers on booking school trips to one of our family friendly productions. We have an extensive team of experienced creative practitioners ready to deliver a workshop or project designed just for you and your educational setting.
SECONDARY
We are passionate about continuing to promote the magic of theatre as children progress into Secondary education. In addition to the above, we also have an extensive offer to promote a love of learning in a range of subjects, using the performing arts as a powerful tool to develop transferable skills that shape wellrounded learners and young adults. We are also able to deliver workshops and projects focused on performing arts subjects at examination level or around one of our productions. More information can be found in this brochure or by visiting our website.
Photo
Here are some of our most popular workshops. Get in touch to find out more, make a booking or ask a question. Have an idea for a workshop? Let us know. We love a creative challenge!
Shakespeare Workshops
Our playful Shakespeare Workshop is designed to encourage young people to be excited by Shakespeare’s stories.
This lively session will break down some of the barriers around the language and relate it to the universal human condition. We explore insults, heartbreak, deceit, death and disguise as students explore the world and characters from the greatest playwright of all time!
Make sense of these classic plays in a fun, supportive and inclusive environment. Who knows, there might also be a wig or two!
Let us know if you are studying a particular text, and we can design the workshop to fit this.
Focus: Literacy and Drama
For: KS3 & KS4
Cost: £165+VAT for up to 30 students
Commedia Dell‘arte
Commedia started in 16th Century Venice, but its characters and style are easily recognisable in TV and film today. We offer one-off two hour workshops and 6 week projects, exploring the history of the form, the “commedia family” and their physicality and characteristics. Working with a trained Commedia practitioner, students will develop scenes and practice clowning and slapstick.
Focus: English, Storytelling and Drama
For: KS1 to KS4
Cost: 1 week - £165+VAT for up to 30 students 6 weeks - £650+VAT for up to 30 students
Play in a Day
Become a Playmaker for the day and treat your school to a unique theatre experience based on a story of your choosing.
Led by a Mercury teaching artist, this workshop gives students a first-hand experience of a rehearsal and performance process packed into one fun-filled day!
Utilising drama games and activities that introduce your students to tried and tested storytelling techniques, the group will create an entire play, from concept to performance.
Each pupil will get a speaking part as a character or narrator, and all participants will be actively involved in the creation of the story.
Play in a Day is a workshop and performance opportunity for students from KS1 to KS3, and we are happy to tailor the story to fit your curriculum needs.
Focus: English, Storytelling and Literacy
For: KS1 to KS3
Cost: £370+VAT for up to 30 students
An Audience With...
Characters in the classroom!
A historical or fictional character will come in and lead a one-hour workshop. We are constantly looking to expand this offer, so if there is a character you would like your students to meet, please do get in touch. Recent workshops have included The Fairy Godmother and Guy Fawkes.
Focus: English, Storytelling and Literacy
For: KS1 to KS3
Cost: £220+VAT for up to 30 students
Further and Higher Education
If you teach in a Further or Higher education setting and would like a workshop or theatre experience, we invite you to get in touch so that we can discuss your needs in more detail. All of our secondary school workshops can also be adapted for FE and HE settings.
You may also find our Mercury Teachers Network a useful way to stay connected with other teachers, practitioners and lecturers as well as accessing press night tickets, pre and post show discussion events and CPD workshops that will directly enrich your own delivery and teaching practice. To find out more, please get in touch or click HERE to join.
Work Experience
We are proud to offer work experience placements at the Mercury Theatre as part of our ongoing commitment to supporting and nurturing young people. We are able to offer placements of 1 week to KS4 and KS5 learners in full time education. During the week we seek to offer a range of experiences to our placements and give them a taste of what working in a busy theatre is really like. If you are KS5 or above and would like to discuss a longer placement within a certain department to fulfil the requirements of a course or University assignment then please get in touch.
Please note, we receive lots of requests for work experience placements and can only allocate these on a first come first serve basis. We are also a working theatre and as such, work experience placements are not possible during very busy periods or when the theatre is dark/closed.
To find out more and to access our online application form, please visit mercurytheatre.co.uk/taking-part/education/work-experience/
GCSE, BTEC AND A-LEVEL ENRICHMENT: CPD For Teachers
Physical Theatre, KS4 & KS5
Led by an experienced industry artist, this full-day physical theatre workshop is designed for GCSE, A Level, IB and BTEC teachers. Focusing on the key elements of physical theatre, teachers are encouraged to engage in contact improvisation, biomechanics, Laban and contemporary exercises.
Exploring these elements will inspire teachers and enable them to facilitate devised physical theatre work for students in performance studies.
Devising Theatre, KS4 & KS5
With a starting point exploring structure, style and staging, this two-hour workshop will provide a wide variety of tools for teachers to use within the classroom. Working with one of our Mercury teaching artists, you will develop your skills and increase your confidence in devising theatre with your students.
Costs
Tailored session, delivered in school to multiple staff (max 20): £260 + VAT Open CPD event at the Mercury Theatre: £30 + VAT per teacher
Bespoke Offer
If there is another area of theatre or literacy that your staff would benefit from
Photo by
Photo by
Photo by David Ward
Careers in the Theatre
This half day visit to the theatre gives students the opportunity to hear from a range of creative professionals about their jobs and to be inspired to pursue a future in the creative industries.
This includes a backstage tour of the theatre, a practical workshop and an interactive Q&A with the Mercury team.
Our Industry Day provides a unique insight into careers in the theatre and the wider creative and cultural sector, it’s also a lot of fun!
Focus: Careers/Enrichment
For: KS1 to KS5
Cost: £220+VAT for up to 30 students
CLUBS AND PROJECTS
Designed with you. Delivered for you. Can’t see what you are looking for here? Get in touch and tell us more, we would love to hear from you!
After School Clubs
A 6-12-week project for a class-sized group to focus on one of our performing arts topics, including theatre, dance, singing, costume design, or podcasting and digital recording.
This bespoke series, led by industry professionals, offers participating young people the opportunity to learn new skills, explore creative expression, improve their communication and negotiating skills and work together as a team.
We encourage the development of vocabulary, speaking & listening, presentation skills, all through self-expression and imaginative play. The project culminates in a sharing of ideas or a short performance at school for family and friends.
Our After School clubs can be offered as an ongoing club for your students. We can help you address a particular issue in your school or develop something for an end of term sharing on a particular topic or theme.
Ideal for young people who wouldn’t necessarily be able to attend creative provision outside of school.
For: KS1-KS4
Capacity: 30 (we recommend no more than two consecutive year groups in any one club)
Cost: Varies depending on content, number of weeks, etc. Please contact us for more details.
Literacy Through Drama
Bring your set text to life through creative drama! Our Literacy Through Drama workshop offers a unique and sustained opportunity to bring literature to life for your English students in an exciting and creative way. Through a series of inventive once a week workshops led by a Mercury teaching artist, this workshop introduces students to drama techniques that support literacy skills and encourage creative learning.
Collaborating closely with teachers, our creative programme is designed to embed creative learning throughout the term. Alongside drama and literacy skills pupils will develop their communication, co-operation and confidence, supporting wider learning.
Focus: English and History
For: KS1 to KS4
Cost: 6 weeks - £650+VAT for up to 30 students 12 weeks - £1230+VAT for up to 30 students
Play in a Week
Working with a Mercury teaching artist, this project gives students a first-hand experience of a rehearsal and performance process. Utilising drama games and activities that introduce your students to tried and tested storytelling techniques, the group will create an entire play, from concept to performance.
Each pupil will get a speaking part as a character or narrator and all participants will be actively involved in the creation of the story. We are happy to tailor the story to fit you/your curriculum needs.
Focus: Literacy and Drama
For: KS1 to KS4
Cost: Varies depending on content, hours per session etc. Please contact us for more details.
Holiday Clubs
Holiday Clubs will be advertised via our Education newsletter and don't forget to follow our social media pages to keep up to date with our latest news. We are proud to offer a range of fully inclusive holiday clubs and theatre camps during School holidays. These holiday clubs are sometimes fully funded for children on free school meals. Please check our website or contact us to join the newsletter.
The Mercury Theatre has an inclusive ethos which is embedded within all of our work including our Education work. All of our workshops and practitioners use inclusive principles to ensure a positive and enjoyable experience for all. As a theatre we are proud to have accessible facilities throughout the building.
If you book a workshop, experience, trip or project with us we promise that we will do our best to make sure every aspect of your experience with us is truly inclusive. We welcome feedback and will always listen to this in order to respond effectively, we have an excellent reputation as an accessible Theatre and building and strive to make inclusivity central to our work.
SEND Holiday Club
Our regular holiday clubs for children and young people with SEND focus on a theme working with specialist practitioners. Each participant has the chance to earn an Arts Award certificate through taking part in a range of performing arts activities over three days.
To find out more, email taking.part@mercurytheatre.co.uk
RELAXED PERFORMANCES
We offer relaxed performances for many of our shows. These include a pre show talk, dimmed lights, reduced sound and an open house to leave if you need to.
If you would like to find out more about one of our shows before you come to the theatre just give our box office a call or pop in and they will be happy to arrange for a social story to be sent straight to your inbox. Alternatively, please email taking.part@mercurytheatre.co.uk to request one.
We also have a general social story for those who would like to find out more about visiting the Mercury in advance and what to expect. Please get in touch to request your copy of you would like one.
You can find more information about our on-site facilities and accessible performances on our website or by clicking HERE.
Photo by Will Green
Become an Education partner with the Mercury and let us design a year of performing arts activity at a discounted rate!
If you are looking at booking several workshops or projects with us you might be interested in becoming a Mercury Partner School or College.
Our Education Partners get a 10% discount when booking 5 or more activities and can also use the Mercury logo on their website for the duration of their partnership. In addition to the above, the lead teacher from any partner institution will also attract a free membership to be part of our Mercury Teachers Network giving them access to even more resources and benefits.
At present we have 2 education partnerships with local schools and colleges as follows:
Colchester Preparatory and High School (A Cognita School)
Lexden Primary School and Unit for Hearing Impaired Pupils
To find out more, please get in touch HERE.
Photo by Will Green
PRODUCTION SUPPORT FOR SCHOOLS
Planning a school production? Feeling overwhelmed?
Let us help you to make it happen!
We have many excellent practitioners, including industry professionals and trained teachers, on hand to help with your next school production.
We can help with the following areas:
Dance and movement direction
Acting skills and direction
Musical direction
Vocal work
Technical theatre support
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, then please get in touch so that we can put together a support package for you.
Availability: year-round, subject to practitioner availability. For: All key stages.
Cost: Please contact us for further details so we can provide a quote.
Photo byAlistair Muir
by Bea Maynard
Mercury
Teachers Network: Supporting you throughout the year
20% discount for all CPD workshops
20% off Industry Day workshops for your school
Access to exclusive Networking Events
Members only termly e-newsletter
Invitations to programme launches
Complimentary tickets to Mercury production press nights
Cost: £25 per teacher. See website for student teacher rates.
Photo
KS4 and KS5 Support workshops
We understand that teachers are more stretched than ever and that teaching a practical subject requires teachers to deliver practical content which can be a challenge. Let us take the strain by booking one of our support workshops. You choose the area you need support with, and we will tailor a workshop or series of workshops with a specialist practitioner who will visit your setting to deliver a dynamic workshop that meets their specific needs in relation to the course they are studying.
Below are some examples of the subjects we can help with:
English
Drama
Dance (New for 2026)
Musical Theatre
Performing Arts
We can also help with interview skills and use drama as an approach to a host of other areas and needs. If you have an idea or any questions, please get in touch.
Photo by Pamela Raith
TheatreFest
A performing arts festival for schools and colleges
TheatreFest (formerly known as DramaFest) is an annual festival designed for schools and colleges. TheatreFest has a different theme each year, usually based on a Mercury Production.
TheatreFest 2026 will take place on Tue 23 and Wed 24 June 2026 and will use our upcoming production of Caroline - A New Musical and the 1960s as a creative starting point.
Each participating school is entitled to a full package to support the development of their performance work, including 1-2 visits from a theatre professional to assist with artistic development and work with your students, remote support meetings with our Education Producer and the option to attend a CPD to kickstart the creative process.
Participation in the festival fosters respect, excitement, artistic development, teamwork, problem solving and a sense of community.
The cost for all of the above, plus the chance for your students to perform on our main stage to the public, is £150 + VAT. If you would like to enter two pieces, the cost is £200 +VAT.
We have an early bird discount of £135 + VAT/ £180 +VAT for schools that sign up by Sun 1 Mar 2026.
To book your space, please contact our Education Producer: lisa.warnock@mercurytheatre.co.uk. 18
Photo by Will Green
USEFUL INFORMATION
Education Packs
Throughout the year, we will provide education packs alongside our Mercury Productions. These will include detailed character breakdowns, show synopses, historical relevance, curriculum links and more. With every school booking, you will be provided a free PDF copy of our education pack.
If you are not planning to attend a production but would like to purchase a resource pack, then please get in touch. Resource packs will be priced according to the depth of content and usually costing between £25-£50 +VAT.
Hire our Spaces
We have an accessible rehearsal room, dance studio and creative learning space that can accommodate a number of activities, such as dance classes, group rehearsals and workshops. Our 98 seat Studio is an intimate space for small-scale school productions, while our 530 seat Theatre is perfect for largescale, end-of-term productions. We also have dynamic meeting spaces suitable for a range of activities, such as team away days, CPDs and conferences.
If you would like to enquire about booking our spaces, then please visit our website: mercurytheatre.co.uk/hire-us.
