Hundreds of youngsters star in Aylesbury show

Almost 100 young people will take to the Waterside Theatre stage for a production of Whistle Down The Wind in the summer.
Whistle Down the WindWhistle Down the Wind
Whistle Down the Wind

The musical, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman, is based on the book of the same title by Mary Hayley Bell, which was produced as a movie in the hands of Richard Attenborough.

The musical is set in a small, deeply religious town in Louisiana during the 1950s.

A poor farming family led by father Boone and his three children, Swallow, Brat and Poor Baby have recently buried their mother and they are still struggling with the grief. As Christmas approaches the family cannot afford any presents or luxuries and the three children are desperate to find something to hold on to and believe in.

One day they find a stranger injured and hiding in their run-down barn. Unknown to the children The Man is probably an escaped convict, but Swallow seizes on the idea that he is Jesus and the rumour quickly spreads amongst the children of the town.

The 95 local juniors in the cast are from towns and villages including Aylesbury, Bicester, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Buckingham, Leighton Buzzard, Winslow, Milton Keynes and Tring.

They will share the stage with an adult cast including students from several performing arts schools and colleges.

The audition process for the local children, which took place earlier this year, included singing, dancing and acting.

The amateur youth production of Whistle Down The Wind is a collaboration between the Waterside Theatre and Vivo D’Arte with their second Stage Experience and is funded by Aylesbury Vale District Council.

The cast will have their time to shine following a week and a half of intensive rehearsals prior to the show being performed on the main stage at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury at 7pm from Thursday, August 16, through to Saturday, August 18, with an additional 2pm matinee on the Saturday.

A live orchestra will accompany the performance.

Tickets cost from £16.90. Box office 0844 871 7607 or book online at www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury