The Theatre School of Henfield Theatre Company was born 2 years ago and has continued to grow in size. This summer is seeing something a little different with Mandy Ainsworth, who runs the theatre school, directing the children in a production of ‘Olivia – the Musical’.
‘Olivia – the Musical’ tells a story based on a female Oliver Twist! The show traces the steps of Olivia (played by Paisley Roworth), who goes from being a downtrodden orphan to a star of the stage. Intertwined in this, are other musicals along the way. She is befriended by Eliza Doolittle (Soriya Allen) and, after a series of adventures, becomes a singer in a new Gilbert and Sullivan show, thanks to the unlikely assistance of a very colourful Fagin (Joseph Smith-Barry) and The Artful Dodger (Lonnie Tai Chidlow). There are also strong roles for Annie (played by Flori Goodchild), Scrooge and Shakespeare (Bertie Salvage) and Miss Honey (Holly Maccabe), amongst others.
Director, Mandy Ainsworth, stated, “this feel-good show abounds with Malcolm Sircom's well-known wit and humour, both in the script and the songs which are catchy and full of gusto. There are some lovely solos, some quite challenging melodies, but also some powerful ensemble numbers. I am hugely proud of all that these child have achieved.
Our theatre school production will be open to the public on 17 and 18 October 2025 at The Henfield Hall at 6pm. Tickets can be purchased via our website. at a cost of just £5 to reflect this is a theatre school production, and not a full-scale HTC performance.