A five-year-old schoolgirl, described as a ‘born performer’, has begun her journey to stardom by performing in the musical ‘Waitress’.
Louisa Howcroft, who turned five in March, played Lulu in the musical at the Liverpool Empire Theatre from May 9 to 14. It was the Warrington schoolgirl’s first audition and first stage role ever.
She acted in both evening and afternoon performances at the theatre, which has a capacity of 2,350, and was even asked to sign autographs at the stage door. Louisa’s dad, Phil, said: “We’re still emotional about it, especially when we see her on stage.
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“You always think your own children are doing well but I think she’s absolutely smashing it.”
Her mum, Diane, added: “People always say that she’s a born performer. She’s always dancing around and performing at home. She just loves life.”
Louisa first went to the audition just with the intention of getting some experience. The budding stage performer goes to dance classes at Danceworkz Studioz in St Helens and was recommended to try out for the role by teacher Keeley Jackson, who has performed in Wicked on the West End.
Her parents were stunned when she was offered the role on April 7. They said Louisa was “really, really excited” and is very calm on stage, despite performing in front of such a large audience.
Diane and Phil added that the performances went very well and Louisa enjoyed “every second” of her experience being in the show, from getting ready in the dressing room to waiting to go onstage.
Diane said: “I was so nervous the first time. I just thought, `’What if she comes out and freezes?’”. But Phil added that Louisa “did perfectly”.
Waitress tells the rags-to-riches story of Jenna Hunterson, who unexpectedly becomes pregnant while with her abusive husband. At the end of the musical, she has baby Lulu and opens a shop called Lulu’s pies.
In her role as Lulu, Louisa came on stage at the end of the performance to say a couple of lines and appear in the show’s finale with the other actors.
The production of Waitress is touring the country and offers local prospective actors the chance to play Lulu for the nights in their area. Louisa shared the Liverpool performances with Imogen Hollingsworth.
