Four students from Queen’s College have gained places at the prestigious National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, whose alumni include Dame Helen Mirren, Daniel Craig, Colin Firth, Sir Ben Kingsley, Orlando Bloom, Sir Derek Jacobi, Hugh Bonneville and Matt Lucas.
India Lightwood (14), Katie Theobald (16), James Winter (16) and Hannah McLeod (18), all from Taunton, auditioned and took part in a group workshop in London to gain their highly competitive places. The students will go onto attend a two-week summer acting course at Trinity Laban to become a full National Youth Theatre members, lasting until they are 25 years of age.
This was a record-breaking year for the National Youth Theatre with the most applications ever being received in its 58 year history. Nearly 5,000 young people auditioned in 19 locations all over the UK and only 560 students in total were selected.
Said Queen’s College Head of Performing Arts, Steve Eaton Evans: “This is an almost unheard of achievement for four students to gain places in the National Youth Theatre. Even good actors often have to audition several times before they gain a place and the training that these students will receive is superb. I am so proud of them as all of them are really excellent performers in their own right.”