Preston and Chorley performing arts students are heading to Shaftesbury Theatre in London’s West End.

On Sunday 21 November, students from Stagecoach Chorley and Preston will take to the stage for a showcase performance.

The pandemic meant that the 2020 show had to be postponed, and many of the students missed out on performing on the world-famous stage, but now they will get their chance.

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Briony Tanner, Senior Marketing Executive at Stagecoach, said: “We are so excited to be able to hold this incredible event at the Shaftesbury Theatre again.

“We are so proud of the students, parents and teachers and all of the schools involved. Many are travelling many miles to London to take part. All of them have been rehearsing relentlessly to put on a fabulous show.

“It is such a pleasure to welcome everyone back through the doors to celebrate their hard work at the end of what has been a busy and sometimes a tough year.”

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The students will join others from across the UK, and for some, it will be their first time on the stage in two years.

For many of the further stage students, It will be the last Stagecoach performance before they graduate to pursue a career in performing arts and move to further education to study theatre and drama in 2022.

Earlier in 2021, Stagecoach students were the first to perform at Shaftesbury Theatre after 14 months. 160 students from 10 schools took part in the test event, which hailed the return of live theatre to stages across the UK.  

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Stagecoach Performing Arts recently reported a 50 per cent surge in new student enrolments as it reopened its schools across the UK and welcomed students back for the summer term.

They said they pride themselves on building ‘Creative Courage For Life’ among students, as children’s mental health, confidence and development has been affected by lockdown.

According to Stagecoach, performing arts helps fill a need for social interaction, and this need has contributed to the spike in enquiries and enrolments.

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32 schools are performing in the showcase, with many travelling hundreds of miles across the UK to join the Lancashire students on the iconic West End stage.

On the 14 November, they include:

• Ashby de la Zouch and Burton
• Bristol Keynsham
• Camberley
• Chingford
• Ealing
• Farnborough
• Greenwich and Blackheath,
• Loughton,
• Northampton,
• Putney
• Shirley
• Sidcup
• Southwell and Washington

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On 21 November, they include:

• Bridgend and Cowbridge
• Buckingham
• Chesterfield
• Chorley and Preston
• Chorleywood and Rickmansworth
• Colchester
• Farnham
• Haywards Heath
• Kidderminster
• Maidstone East
• Queens Park
• Richmond
• Trowbridge
• Tunbridge Wells and Otford
• Walsall
• Wolverhampton

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Stagecoach is the UK’s largest network of performing arts schools, with more than 2,000 extra-curricular schools worldwide. 

For more information about Stagecoach, visit – https://www.stagecoach.co.uk/ or call 01483 247404.

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