Top Gs Like Me is a new play by Samson Hawkins which premieres at Royal and Derngate, Northampton in February 2026. Susan Elkin chats to Anna Simpson about the workshops and CPD sessions they are coordinating with the production.
“We are very proud of Samson. He’s a local playwright who has been working dramaturgically with Jesse Jones for three years to develop this play”, says Anna Simpson, Schools and Young People’s Associate at Royal and Derngate. Top Gs Like Me is directed by Jesse, who is Royal and Derngate’s artistic director. The production asks big questions of the online space and how it influences young minds, and will see the Derngate auditorium transformed into a replica skatepark.
At a time when the national conversation turns more and more to how we understand and protect our children online, the theatre is staging the production with an ambition that thousands of young people will see it, with specific initiatives to target the student population.
Through the associated activities on offer, education providers can enable their students to engage in greater depth with the important themes of the play and also to further develop their creative skills.
The play, which runs for 90-minutes without interval, explores toxic masculinity, issues of consent and misogyny and could hardly be more timely. It uses a cast of four professional actors and an ensemble of young local actors who have come mostly through Royal and Derngate’s Young Company, which Anna runs and sometimes directs. These young actors are there to represent Ryan’s online world.
We’re in the same world as Netflix’s Adolescence, but this is less dark
“Top Gs Like Me presents Ryan, who is charismatic and likeable, being gradually sucked in to an online world which effectively grooms him into extreme misogyny”, says Anna. “But he’s also vulnerable because there are family problems and he needs support. We’re in the same world as Netflix’s Adolescence, but this is less dark and because it’s open ended there’s lots of scope for discussion.”
Anna continues: “That is why we are presenting four workshops for schools and a CPD weekend for teachers, youth workers and parents.” She is hoping these events will attract concerned, interested people from all over the Midlands and beyond as well as from the local schools with which the theatre is already partnered.
The offer for schools includes a workshop called “Reframing Masculinity” led by Nathaniel Cole, researcher writer and facilitator. The idea is to reflect on, dissect and move away from traditional rigid rules of masculinity.
Samson Hawkins leads a session entitled “Nailing the Narrative”, which is linked to the devising strand of GCSE drama. The artists SUEDE and Dpendz host a workshop which explores the issues in relation to street art and graffiti, while South West Grid for Learning (SWGfL) focuses on online safety.
Any of these four workshops can run as standalones or be delivered in expanded series form. There’s a lot of negotiable flexibility, because Anna and her colleagues are keen to reach, and meet the needs of, as many young people as possible, as well as the adults who work with them.
The other big event relating to Top Gs Like Me is the conference for Teachers, Parents and Practitioners on 17 and 18 January, which is supported by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. The cost is £150 (including lunch both days). Royal and Derngate’s existing Education Partners receive one free place per institution.
On the Saturday all the delegates will work together in sessions on online safety with SWGfL and there’s an evening lecture on online misogyny by Laura Bates, who is an award-winning writer and activist. Then on the second day the conference will divide into two groups and alternate between Safeguarding Training with Smart Horizons and a session with Nathan Cole, who will be there with an adult version of his school’s workshop. A presentation by Smartphone Free Childhood is also in the mix. That’s a parent-led organisation which strives to bring parents and education leaders together to highlight the impact of Smartphones and to start conversations about possible solutions. “We’re working in smaller groups on the Sunday because we find that it enables better, more useful discussions” explains Anna, who has been in her current post for a year having previously worked as a freelance theatre director.
These issues are very important, and we all have to face them head on
“These issues are very important, and we all have to face them head on” she says. “And I am really pleased that we’ve managed to wrap such a rich offering of education and training around Top Gs Like Me. We’re all hoping that many people will come and learn with us.”
Anna is part of a team of four working in education, training and participation at Royal and Derngate and anything relating to schools and young people falls to her. “As well as managing the Young Company, I liaise with schools and work on the development of creative wrap round” she says. “And having been freelance for 14 years it’s fascinating now to be rooted in one place and see how it works from the inside” says Anna, adding that Top Gs Like Me is her first major project at Royal and Derngate.
Additionally, Royal & Derngate has launched a new Education Partnership programme. By becoming an Education Partner, schools and colleges can save money and receive exclusive offers. Benefits also include free workshops, backstage tours and talks. More information about all these opportunities can be found on the website at:
www.royalandderngate.co.uk/top-gs-workshops-and-education or by emailing getinvolved@royalandderngate.co.uk
Top Gs Like Me opens on 20 February and runs at Royal and Derngate until 07 March 2026. Part of the Made in Northampton season, it is sponsored locally by Michael Jones Jeweller.
Box office 01604 624811
royalandderngate.co.uk/whats-on/top-gs-like-me/
For further information about education work relating to Top Gs Like Me see:
royalandderngate.co.uk/get-involved/top-gs-workshops-and-education/