Students show a few signs of Madness on the stage
Two youngsters will take centre stage for the forthcoming YMCA production of the Madness musical Our House later this month.
YMCA Productions will perform the musical featuring a host of Madness songs with a cast of 50, from Thursday April 9 to Saturday April 11.
Taking the starring roles will be Miles Horsham-Batley as Joe Casey and Stacey Bolton as Sarah, his girlfriend.
Sixteen-year-old Miles is a Scarborough College student who first came to prominence at theYMCA when he was the Sheriff of Nottingham in the panto Robin Hood earlier this year.
His first taste of theatre came just last year when he played the part of Bill Sykes in a college production of Oliver!
He has been a member of the Stephen Joseph Theatre Rounders and Pauline Quirke Academy Scarborough.
“I was cast as the Sheriff in the recent YMCA production of Robin Hood, which was a great experience to play the villain and I’m now looking forward to the contrast of playing the leading male in a musical,” he said.
“It’s a completely new challenge for me to do a musical. I’m incredibly excited to undertake the role and I absolutely love the show!”
Stacy is studying Musical Theatre at Westwood Yorkshire Coast College and first performed in 2013 as a dancer in the YMCA production of Grease.
Last year, she got her first lead role when she played Serena in a Graham School production of Fame at the Stephen Joseph Theatre.
“Our House is a great show, and we’ve recently just rehearsed my favourite scene. It’s coming along really nicely and I can’t wait to get it on the stage,” she said.
The show is being directed by James Aconley and choreographed by Julie Nockels and Joanne Hall of the Rowlies Academy of Dance.
James said: “Miles and Stacy have taken to the roles really, really well and overall the whole cast is doing a fantastic job and the show is coming along very well. It looks like being a real winner.”
Rehearsals started in January and the show is being sponsored by local Chartered Accountants, Tax and Business Advisors Lloyd Dowson, which has offices in Scarborough and Bridlington.
Our House is a musical with music and lyrics by Madness and script by playwright Tim Firth, who started his career at the Stephen Joseph Theatre and penned the stage hit Calendar Girls.
Described as A London Love Story, the musical features hit songs, including Our House, Baggy Trousers, Driving In My Car, It Must Be Love, My Girl and many more.
The story follows Joe Casey who, on the night of his 16th birthday, makes a deci- sion that will change his life.
Trying to impress the girl of his dreams, Joe breaks into a building development, but things take a turn for the worse as the police arrive.