All the world’s a stage for Zoe
Starlet will perform with Royal Shakespeare Company
A 13- year- old Paisley girl is to share the stage with one of the world’s finest theatre troupes.
Paisley Grammar School pupil Zoe McInnes will be one of the chorus in The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Romeo and Juliet.
The young actress is no stranger to the stage, having been in a number of shows over the years, but her new role will be a real taste of the big time.
Zoe said: “I’ve been doing the theatre since I was four.
“I’ve performed in London and done TV.
“I performed with my last theatre school – Razzamatazz in Paisley – in London in the West End.
“I was 11 when I did that. “I’m interested in singing and dancing and acting.”
Zoe got the role in the RSC’s production of the tragic love story through her music school Perform, which is at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow.
“I heard about the auditions through them and signed up for it through them,” she said.
“For the audition we had to write a script on why we wanted to do it, and act it out a bit. It’s a great opportunity,
“I’m not sure what Romeo and Juliet is about but I can learn while I’m there.”
And Zoe hopes her appearance in the production will be the first steps towards an acting career.
She said: “I want to go to the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow.”
Zoe’s mum Leanne, 37, is thrilled at her daughter’s brush with the big time.
She said: “I’m very proud because there were only 25 children that got picked to do the audition.
“We were led to believe that if she got picked then it was a really big endorsement that she’s really talented.”
Erica Whyman, the production’s director, brought her production of A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream: A Play for the Nation to Glasgow in 2016, and it involved a number of local school children.
She said: “We were bowled over by the impact the production had on the young people who took part and those who came to watch.
“I want to build on that positive experience, as we stage Romeo and Juliet, opening up a dialogue with young people in schools in ways we have never before been able to do.
“By inviting these young people to join us on stage I want to celebrate the diverse talent of the UK and highlight the revolutionary heart of this most timeless love story.”
Alison Cowan, creative learning and community partnerships manager at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow, said: “It was an honour to have the opportunity to invite our Young Theatre Royal participants to audition to be part of the cast in the RSC’s Romeo and Juliet. I’m confident that this will be a very enriching experience as they take part in the telling of this classic tale alongside one of the UK’s most prestigious theatre companies.”
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Romeo and Juliet will be at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow, from Tuesday, March 19, to Saturday, March 23, at various times and prices.
For tickets, visit www. atgtickets.com/glasgow 0844 871 7647. Calls cost up to 7 pence per minute plus your phone company’s access charge.