LITTLE LEADING LADIES

Romme Williams and Tahlae Colson have returned home after eight months on the road performing in Matilda: The Musical.

WHEN Romme Williams and Tahlae Colson spent eight months on the road performing in Matilda: The Musical, their biggest challenge wasn’t remembering dance routines — it was their height.

Gold Coast-based best friends Romme, 11, and Tahlae, 12, sang and danced for audiences in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland in the musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda, but their contracts came with a catch.

“We weren’t allowed to get any taller,” Tahlae said.

“They measured our height every week ... in Perth six kids were cut because they were too tall.”

Skiing, jumping on trampolines and posing for photos with fans were also on the blacklist.

Instead, the life of a kid actor on a national tour involved late nights, sleep-ins and plenty of time spent homeschooling.

For producers, a show with youngsters requires additional infrastructure, like tutors and “child wranglers’’ who act as guardians from the moment a child actor steps through the stage door.

The pair, who dance at Sheridan’s Studio 1 at Ashmore, were both cast as alternates for the character Alice, meaning they never went on stage at the same time.

“Because we were playing the same person we never actually got to do a show together,” Romme said.

“But we’re best friends and we couldn’t believe that we were both cast.

“When we left school to go into six weeks of rehearsals (in late 2016) I was only nine.

“When we went interstate my mum couldn’t come with me because she couldn’t leave her job, so I missed her a lot, but it was a lot of fun being with all the kids.”

Tahlae’s mum Jaime Colson left her teaching job at Coomera Anglican College so she could join her daughter on the road for the year.

“They took really good care of the kids,” Ms Colson said.

“They were treated like they were there to do a job. It was hard work, but because we were all staying in apartments (together) the kids had a blast.”

A musical theatre gig also comes with a decent pay cheque. Child actors can net thousands of dollars in just a single week.

“Tahlae won’t be touching it (her money) until she’s a bit older,” Ms Colson laughed.

Picture: INSTAGRAM Tahlae poses before a show poster at one of the theatres where Matilda was staged.

Picture: INSTAGRAM Tahlae is a picture of concentration during her performance in Matilda.

The girls were both cast as alternates for the character of Alice.

Pictures: MIKE BATTERHAM Dancers Tahlae Colson, 12, of Hope Island, and Romme Williams, 11, of Ocean Shores, had a busy schedule to maintain during their eight-month national tour with Matilda.