Taste of fame

The announcement by the Wyvern's general manager Ted Doan was cheered by the capacity audience that had given a standing ovation to the cast of Fame, the Youth Project's 10th anniversary production, at a gala performance on Saturday night.

The show was chosen by youngsters who took part in last year's Project, West Side Story.

The first show, Bugsy Malone, was staged in 1994 with a cast of about 80, and played for four performances.

It was followed by Annie, 42nd Street, My Fair Lady, Oliver, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Me and My Girl and Crazy for You.

Fame has a cast of 200, chosen from more than 380 hopefuls who auditioned. Some travelled from London, Bristol, Bath and Oxford in a bid to win places.

More than a dozen others worked backstage under supervision as lighting technicians and scene shifters.

The youngest performers in this year's show are just nine, and the oldest in their early 20s. Among them is Dan Donachy, who has played in all ten youth project productions.

Much of the show's creation was down to director and choreographer Pollyann Tanner, musical director Steve Hill and production manager and set designer David Wicks, the team who in only two weeks turned the young performers, some of whom had never been on a theatre stage before, into a company with near-professional standards.

Swindon mayor Derek Benfield, a guest of honour, said: "I have been to all of the shows and they get better all the time. I wouldn't have missed it."

Joan Cheshire, veteran personality on Swindon's amateur stage scene, described the show as a triumph. "Such energy and commitment," she added.

And Sheila Harrod, musical director of Swindon's Kentwood Choir, said she believed all the principals could do credit to a top West End show.

Project co-ordinator Nicki Western said the show, which runs until next Saturday, is a sell-out apart from Thursday's matinee.

The Wyvern Theatre can be contacted on 01793 524481.