Young stars required for Bognor panto

Mad Acts is seeking new members to fill roles in Aladrella in the next few months.

The story is a homemade combination of Aladdin and Cinderella and will enable the Mad Acts members to enjoy taking to the stage.

Leader Carole Kotin said: “Anyone who joins us now will definitely get a part in Aladrella. It can be a speaking part or a non-speaking part depending on what they want.

“Children gain such a lot of confidence from being with us. I’ve see shy children really enjoy themselves once they see they can perform.

“We don’t force them to do anything. It’s up to them whether they want to be in the limelight or if they are happy to be in the chorus.”

Mad Acts meets at 4.30pm on Fridays in the Methodist Church Hall in the High Street, opposite Iceland. Membership costs £1 a week.It has been going for about ten years and caters for children aged seven to 16.

“We’ve got about 15-20 members at the moment but we have been up to 40,” said Carole. “We have been done a lot of shows. There have been two at the Alexandra Theatre: Pirates of Penzance and Olivia, the female version of Oliver! We mainly stage musical theatre shows but we’ve also staged a lot of pantos and straight dramas.”

Carole’s assistant is her daughter, Kim, who is trained in drama and works for the National Youth Theatre.