Jessica shows star quality

TALENTED young actress Jessica Smith is firmly in the limelight after being selected for a national musical production.

Jessica, aged 17, who is in the Lower Sixth at Sir John Deane’s College, Northwich, beat off hundreds of young hopefuls to be chosen to be part of the National Youth Music Theatre.

She will now join a 35-strong cast who are preparing to stage The Dreaming, a musical written by the highly acclaimed composer and television presenter Howard Goodall and based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The show will be performed at the International Youth Arts Festival in London over the summer.

Jessica, who lives in Congleton and is a former pupil of Congleton High, will play the role of Charlotte (equivalent to Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and will be rehearsing over the next few months, as well as taking part in a residential workshop at Easter.

Tim Clark, performing arts tutor at Sir John Deane’s College, said: “Close to a thousand young people, aged 11 – 23, from around the country audition to be selected for one of the three shows that the NYMT put on each year.

“Jessica was picked after a very gruelling and highly competitive series of auditions…so it is an incredible achievement – well done Jessica!”