A Sudbury student who followed in the footsteps of celebrity performers Jessie J, Matt Lucas, Sheridan Smith and Jude Law by landing a leading role in a National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) production has won a national award.
Performing arts student Laura Barnard, 18, who attended Ormiston Sudbury Academy was picked from around 2,000 hopefuls who auditioned to be part of what Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber describes as “the finest youth music theatre in the world”.
The teenager, from Glemsford, was cast in the lead role of Eliza in a new production entitled BRASS, which was commissioned to commemorate the anniversary of the First World War. It tells the story of a brass band in Leeds whose members go off to fight in the war, leaving the women to perpetuate the band. The show was staged at City Varieties Music Hall in Leeds.
And now the production has won a UK Theatre Award for ‘Best Musical Production’. Laura recently joined stars of the stage including dancer Wayne Sleep at an awards ceremony at London’s historic Guildhall. The UK Theatre Awards honour creative excellence and outstanding achievement both on and off stage.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here