ArtsEd Day School Pupils Achieve Lead Roles in the West End

08.06.2016

Current Year 8 pupil Zoe Brough is performing in the much anticipated play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre London. Having recently appeared as Blousey in Bugsy Malone at the Hammersmith Lyric and received an Olivier Award nomination in 2015 for her portrayal of Iris in The Nether, Zoe is no stranger to the stage. JK Rowling’s play picks up Harry’s story 19 years on, but the storyline has been kept firmly under wraps. “It has been tricky keeping everything a secret, but rehearsals have been so much fun. I really get on with the other children in the show, it’s like a big family.” Zoe shares her role with two other girls ensuring she is able to keep up with her school work whilst taking on this fantastic opportunity.

{image2}Aimée Fisher joined ArtsEd as a Sixth Form student and progressed to the Musical Theatre degree course. On completing her degree training earlier this year Aimée went straight into rehearsals for the West End’s Les Misérables. Performing in such a prestigious show is a fantastic achievement for any musical theatre performer, but it is particularly special to Aimée who has been dreaming of joining this show since she was 10 years old:

“My mum recently found an old notebook of mine from when I was little, I had written out my dreams for growing up which included joining ArtsEd and performing on stage in Les Misérables. I've always been encouraged by my parents to 'Dare to dream it and work to achieve it’. ArtsEd gave me every opportunity and encouragement to strive to improve through hard work and determination. I will always be grateful for my five years at ArtsEd; the preparation and confidence it gave me to step out into the professional world of theatre.”

Day School and Sixth Form alumnus Thomas Dennis is the youngest actor to take on the lead role of Christopher in the West End’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Even more impressive when he’s had no formal training:

“I remember putting on The Fall of the House of Usher with my Year 10 classmates, it’s actually quite a challenging play. Doing the whole show, going through the rehearsal process, performing on stage, that’s how I learnt, you just can’t do it in the classroom.”

{image3}Before completing his Sixth Form studies Thomas toured Chalk Farm to Edinburgh, London, New York and Brazil. In the run up to his final A Level exams in 2015 Thomas played Michael Darling in Peter Pan at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. He was brought back down to earth (literally!) with a History A Level exam the morning after the production’s final performance, an experience that has helped him to relate to his new West End role. “My character Christopher goes on a massive journey that turns his world upside down, but at the end he still manages to sit his exams. It’s like what I went through, I was squeezing in revision around rehearsals and performances. It was a hectic time but I’m so grateful that the school didn’t make me choose between performing or my studies – they made it possible to do both.” 

If you would like to learn more about the ArtsEd Day School and Sixth Form, join us at one of our open evenings. Tuesday 27 September 6pm for Sixth Form or Wednesday 28 September 6pm for the Day School (Yrs 7-11). Explore the website to find out more about the Day School and Sixth Form.