Budding stage stars fom a Newcastle performing arts school are enjoying the spotlight this week after being picked to join the cast of An Inspector Calls at the Theatre Royal.
The three young talents - eight-year-old Alex Milner; Lizzie Devine, aged 11, and Cameron Laidler who's 12 - are all members of Stagecoach Newcastle which was approached by the visiting theatre company on the look-out for budding actors to fill the roles of children who feature in the play's street scenes.
And, after starting rehearsals at the city theatre on Monday, the chosen three made their debut on Tuesday night - and are now well in their stride with performances of the Priestley classic set to take them through until Saturday. This is Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry's award-winning National Theatre production of the period mystery which revolves around the arrival of an inspector at the home of the wealthy Birling family where investigations into an apparant death unearth some dark secrets.
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The three youngsters are on stage at the very start of each performance, opening the show and appearing in street scenes where action outside the family home includes falling rain which adds to the atmosphere of the impressive set. While first-night nerves could be expected, they all rose to the occasion and are thoroughly enjoying their experience, including the chance to learn from the professionals at work.
Angela Salkeld, principal of Stagecoach Newcastle which has bases at Newcastle High School for Girls, Great Park Community Centre and the sports facility at Kenton School, is hugely proud of how they are dealing with their roles in the play whose run is attracting a lot of interest from schools where pupils are studying An Inspector Calls as part of the curriculum.
"They've been brilliant, absolutely spot-on," she said. "They open the show then have their own physical theatre pieces at the beginning with the inspector." Then when not on stage, the three - dressed in their period costumes - can watch and learn from backstage, she adds.
She said the cast and production company have been very welcoming to the youngsters who have received gifts including 'lucky' old pennies, signed posters and free tickets for their families to see the show. Some of their parents were in the first night audience, with others to follow suit.
The week's commitment means a couple of afternoons off school for the trio, to accomodate the show's matinees, and some catching-up of school work. Lizzie, from Newcastle, said: "I'm very tired already!" But she is loving the chance to have a taste of what she calls "a dream job".
She enjoys watching the actors in action and learning more about the industry and says of that first night: "When I walked out on stage I was definitely more excited than nervous."
She and Alex, who's from Heddon-on-the-Wall in Northumberland, have both been members of Stagecoach Newcastle for around four years, appearing in its shows, and Cameron has been enrolled for seven. He's from Gateshead and has had main theatre experience before, appearing in The Sound of Music at The Customs House in South Shields.
He said of opening night: "It was my first time doing a big performance at the Theatre Royal and it was really fun." Stagecoach teaches acting, singing and dancing and Cameron, who says he'd like to go on to work in the industry, added: "It was interesting doing a play without any songs and with special effects like rain dripping over you."
Alex, who is currently more interested in becoming a train driver and in subjects such as mechanical engineering, likes the elaborate set for the play, saying: "I like all the buildings". And he said he had no nerves stepping out on stage in front of the audience.
Lizzie is the only one of the three who has been on stage at the Theatre Royal before when, through a similar recruitment process involving Stagecoach, she joined performers in a show featuring Strictly Come Dancing's Brendan Cole which took place just before lockdown happened.
The pandemic has had a huge effect on Stagecoach with the theatre school suffering a drop-off of around 50% of its young members, said Angela who, while chaperoning the children to the Theatre Royal, found herself greeted at the stage door by a former pupil now working there while completing her masters degree.
Watching Alex, Lizzie and Cameron in action on the first night felt "overly proud and quite emotional" she says - "as I didn't think we'd ever get back in to theatre." She added: "All kids lost a lot of confidence through lockdown and, bit by bit, the shows they do at school build the confidence back up. Getting back into a theatre is a big jump; a big ask for the kids."
An Inspector Calls runs at the Theatre Royal until Saturday. For ticket information see here.
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