"Annual Showcase 2022" by Nottingham Arts Theatre Youth Group.

Nottingham Arts Theatre.

This is the sort of theatre event where I feel a little bit guilty because I don't get to name check all 56 performers. On the other hand, this is the sort of theatre event that I love because, in a way, it's like talent-spotting as there are so many potential little stars on show, some I've seen before, others are new faces.

Like many other drama groups who have separate youth groups, their aim is to create a love for performing, and for theatre. This works in the drama group's favour as, hopefully, the members of the youth group then move up the ranks and start to perform and stay with that society.

Of course there are many benefits to the young person as well. Confidence, community and courage among the things that they develop, as well as a love for the stage, and what goes into making a performance. All of the performers tonight have shown they have all of the above. I certainly could not do what you did tonight.

There were times of blind panic when lines were forgotten, but the panic only showed in their eyes, not in their position on stage and that was overcome and normal service was resumed. Again, I have so much admiration for you for doing that. I have experienced that moment where your mouth goes dry, your legs are shaking and you wanted the floor to open up and swallow you in front of an audience and I know it's not nice. Thankfully I got through it and so did the young person tonight, and exited the stage to a massive round of applause.

Tonight was all about showcasing talent with songs and excerpts from productions as well as a couple of brilliant mime sets, dance numbers, poetry, group numbers and comedy.

What a wonderful way to start an evening with a song called "Hello" from "The Book Of Mormon", a musical that I have yet to see but know I am going to love.

I absolutely loved the "Toy Story" extract, performed by Fergus Hillery and Teddy Hunt, who really performed the piece with a lovely feel for the comedy in the extract.

Talking of comedy, two extracts from two of my favourite John Godber plays "Shakers", featuring Chloe Chapman, Freya Rhodes, Hattie and Laura Atkinson and in Act two, "Bouncers" featuring Billy Kielty, Jack Symington, Louis Elliment and Oliver Sheard were right up my street.

The comedy poem "The Crocodile and The Dentist" also highlighted what comic, as well as poetry skills the younger members, Charlie Barr, Darcy Barr, Elizabeth Kenny, Patrick Brannigan - as the dentist - and Stella Walker owned.

There was a lot of stuff that I had not heard before tonight, included a devised scene about interviewing for villains for a security vacancy which was great fun. Alex Passam, Charles Beckett - who I've seen before and have mentioned his natural ability in the past, Daisy Hillery, Edie McKenzie, Josh Barrington and Violet Boyd took part in this little gem.

Another wonderfully funny sketch was a devised piece about "Little Red Riding Hood" and featured Abigail McGregor, Alex Walker and Ella-Rose Hill.

Florence Everitt gave a lovely rendition of "Home" from "Wonderland", Freya Rhodes delivered one of my favourite songs from "Jamie" in "It Means Beautiful" while Charlie and Darcy Barr delighted everyone with "Perfect Nanny" from "Mary Poppins".

Being a big fan of the scores by Jason Robert-Brown, I was very pleased to see "The Lamest Place On Earth" from the musical "13" sung by Sara Nicholls. Oh, and being a lifelong fan of "Bugsy Malone", Alex Passam, Charles Beckett, Jasper Duff, Josh Barrington, Mack Afzal and Zilpha Chisolm made my night with "Bad Guys"

Act two opened with the title song from "Everybody's Talking About Jamie" after closing Act One with "High School Hop" from "Grease". Another rousing closing at the end of the show was "One Day More", of course from "Les Mis". I also loved the other "Les Mis" track performed tonight which was "Little People".

There was also a mix of two gorgeous songs from modern musicals in "Found/Tonight", performed by Group 3. I returned home and found the Ben Platt and Lin-Manual Miranda version and immediately downloaded it. I always seem to find at least one thing from every showcase I am invited to that I have not discovered before and end up adding to my collection when I get home, and this is the one for tonight.

As with the amount of performers, I can't mention all of the pieces done tonight, 38 of them, but shows like these boost the confidence of the young people. At one stage the mic was left open and a young girl could be heard saying how well they had done after she came off stage, and I must agree with her. 

It also gives people like myself, who loves the theatre a chance to see the up and coming stars of the local drama scene. But not just local stages. Several young performers I have spotted over the last twenty years have gone on to perform in the West End and then toured the UK and performed on bigger stages, so you never know where your first teetering steps into drama may lead. 

Of course I must also mention the people behind all of this who spent many, many hours working with the young people and putting it all together. Jessica Royce, Tia Elvidge, Eleanor Carty, Jonah Williams, Chloe Chapman, Ava Barratt, Amy Rogers-Gee, Marie Rogers. Peter Hodgkinson (Sound) and Nick Morris (Lighting) plus all of the chaperones and backstage support, again too many to mention.

Every young performer tonight can feel very proud of themselves, as proud as their parents obviously feel because they all smashed it. Keep at it and I hope to name check many of the people from tonight in other productions over the coming years.