Stage school set to wow crowds

Oakengates Theatre will be full to the rafters for a showcase of local talent this weekend - and that’s just on the stage!About 140 performers aged from three to 21 will take to the stage today and tomorrow for the Carmichael School of Theatre Arts bi-annual show.

The only time they will all be on the stage together is for the spectacular finale as there is just too little space for so many people to dance together.

The Telford-based school relocated to The Depot on Holyhead Road in Oakengates two and a half years ago because it had outgrown its former home, but the number of young people wanting to get involved in performing arts has mushroomed even since then.

The school now has about 500 students on its books at sites in Telford and Shrewsbury, with a record number also choosing to get involved with this yearâs show.

The Pincipal Nicola Carmichael-Phillips said: “In previous years we have always put on a full classical ballet but that just wasn’t possible this time - the number of dancers who wanted to be involved meant that, even after splitting them into groups, there was not enough room on stage for the elaborate scenery we have used in the past.

“This year we are including excerpts of classical ballets alongside tap and modern dancing, singing and drama.

“It will be a different sort of show to those we have done in the past but I can promise it will still be spectacular.”

The show will feature songs from classic musicals like Singinâ in the Rain and Les Miserables, excerpts from the ballets Sleeping Beauty and A Midsummer Night’s Dream and dancing to more modern pop and hip songs.

A massive investment in new costumes means it will be visually stunning, and the show will also be raising money for charity.

Proceeds will go to the fundraising efforts of Julie Davis of Berrington, mum of senior dancer Louise, who is walking part of the Great Wall of China in September for the Marie Curie Cancer Care cahrity.

Earlier today hundreds of older people from residential homes and groups across the borough saw the show free at the final dress rehearsal, before shows at 5pm today and tomorrow at 11am and 3pm.

Tickets cost £9 from the box office. Tel: 01952 382382.

Rehearsing for the finale are, back from left: Lucy Ferguson, Grace McKee, Laura Houlston; front, Ursula Kelly, Harriet Watkins, Kimberley Wells and Kayleigh Wild.

Picture by Russell Davies.