Graeme Armstrong’s acclaimed novel The Young Team is being adapted for the stage, with the production set to premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe next summer.
Leading Scottish playwright Kieran Hurley will adapt Armstrong’s award-winning debut novel for a new National Theatre of Scotland and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre co-production.
The Young Team will open in Edinburgh in August 2027 before transferring to the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London in September.
It will then return to Scotland for a run at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow in October.
The production will be directed by Rachel O’Riordan, the artistic director of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and former artistic director of Perth Theatre.
Set in Airdrie, The Young Team follows Azzy Williams as he grows up immersed in North Lanarkshire gang culture.
All Azzy has wanted since he was young is to become part of the Young Team Posse.
The gang offers excitement, friendship, alcohol and drugs, as well as the sense of belonging he craves.
As Azzy rises through the ranks, he is drawn deeper into a world where loyalty runs deep and walking away comes with consequences.
Armstrong’s novel was inspired by his own experiences growing up around gang culture in North Lanarkshire.
Hurley, whose work includes Beats, Mouthpiece, The Enemy and Square Go, said the story was as much about friendship and belonging as violence.
Kieran Hurley
He said: “I’m thrilled to be working with Rachel O’Riordan to create the stage adaptation of The Young Team for the National Theatre of Scotland and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.
“Graeme’s brilliant novel is a powerful example of the epic stories that unfold in ordinary people’s lives, and it has been an honour to be allowed to spend time living in its world.
“As well as an uncompromising and brutally honest account of violence and gang life, it’s really a wonderful story of young male friendship, its loyalty, rivalry, and surprising tenderness.
“I can’t wait to see Azzy Williams take over the theatre, bringing these uniquely Scottish voices to the stage, and for audiences to feel the pull of The Young Team: the love and allegiances that bind these boys together, and the damage and hurt they inflict and endure.
“I hope it will move and provoke and ultimately open a conversation about our young men and their vital, dangerous, and often unrequited search for recognition and belonging.”
Armstrong grew up in Airdrie and has spoken openly about his teenage years within North Lanarkshire’s gang culture and his struggles with addiction, alcohol and violence.
He later studied English at the University of Stirling before completing a master’s degree in creative writing and is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Strathclyde.
He also works with schools and prisons, speaking about gang culture, substance abuse, violence and recovery.
The Young Team was published by Picador in 2020 and went on to win a Betty Trask Award and Somerset Maugham Award as well as being named Scots Book o the Year in 2021.
Armstrong was named one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists in 2023.
He said: “I’m excited to see The Young Team adapted for stage and look forward to working with both Rachel and Kieran to bring the complex world of Scottish territorial violence to a new audience, particularly those who may have never seen their lives or communities depicted in a theatrical production before.”
O’Riordan said returning to work in Scotland was a “great privilege”.
She said: “I am so proud to be directing Kieran Hurley’s stage version of The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong.
“The novel is a cultural phenomenon – heartbreaking, vital and hilarious.
“Working in Scotland is a great privilege. I was the artistic director of Perth Theatre, during which time I loved working with Scottish artists, and engaging with the brilliant audiences.
“Partnering with National Theatre of Scotland on the stage adaptation of Graeme Armstrong’s blistering debut novel feels like a vital and exciting connection.
“Writer Kieran Hurley and I, with a tremendous creative team, will share this powerful story with audiences in both Scotland and London in a bold theatrical experience.”
The stage production comes as The Young Team is also being turned into a six-part BBC Scotland drama.
The television adaptation marks Armstrong’s scripted screen debut and is being produced by Synchronicity Films.
Filming is currently taking place in Scotland.
The Young Team will premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2027 before opening at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in September and the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow in October.