Bucks and Herts Stagecoach students take to the West End stage today
Student will perform at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London today
Stagecoach students from Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire schools will perform today.
Stagecoach students from the age of 8 to 18 will be the first to perform on Shaftesbury Theatre's stage since the first lockdown in 2020.
160 students from 11 schools across the country will perform a variety of plays after months of rehearsals.
The Stagecoach schools participating in the event include Putney, Dulwich, Henley and Marlow, Twickenham and Teddington, Fulham, Godalming, Chorleywood and Rickmansworth, Epsom, Buckingham and Colchester.
A virtual audience will be tuning in via Zoom to watch the students' performances from Back to the Future, Bring it On! and even a song that was devised, arranged and brought to life over lockdown by Stagecoach Fulham's students and principal.
This will be the first time that anyone has performed at the legendary London theatre venue in 14 months, and students at Stagecoach, the world's leading network of extra-curricular performing arts schools for children, will be showcasing a variety of performances during the test event which hails the return of live theatre to stages across the UK.
The event will take place having been granted the use of Society Of London Theatre & UK Theatre's 'See It Safely' mark. The mark certifies that the theatre is complying with the latest Government and industry COVID-19 guidelines. All theatre staff are tested to ensure a safe working environment for performers, production crews and our audiences.
One of the students said, "Looking forward to finally performing on stage again, with the Stagecoach family by my side."
Another student said, "I'm super excited to perform in London! It's my final year at stagecoach before I go to university and this will be such a special send off"
Saskia Baylis, administrator at Shaftesbury Theatre, said: "The Shaftesbury Theatre is very pleased to be hosting Stagecoach, who we have a longstanding relationship with, for this event. The Shaftesbury team is very excited to be reopening the Theatre after being dark for 14 months, and it will be particularly wonderful to have groups of talented students in the building again, excited about getting to perform on a West End stage."