It’s nearly showtime for the children of Chetwynde Primary School who have been working hard on their production of Oliver Jr!

We suck in for a sneak peek at their first dress rehearsal on Friday and spoke to a couple of characters.

Their adaption of Charles Dickens's classic tale will be performed at 6pm on Wednesday July 3 and Thursday July 4.

There are 120 children taking part with the main cast being made up of Year Six pupils backed up by students from Year Five who dance and play gang members while Years Three and Four portray workhouse children and the choir.

A couple of roles are double cast so that everyone can show off their talent. The character of Oliver is shared by Dylan Meacock and Georgia Higham while Nancy is played by both Isabelle Tyson and Amelie Crabtree.

Other notable roles such as Fagin are played by Aarush Kondragunta, Bill Sikes is portrayed by Maxime Pacalin and Dodger is brought to life by Skyler Story.

The cast has been rehearsing since January at after-school sessions and also during Music lessons.

Isabelle, who played Nancy at the dress rehearsal, said she loves being a part of Oliver and that it is ‘really good fun’.

On stage, Nancy wears a red dress and black belt. Isabelle said she always feels happy to be on stage and that her favourite bit of the performance is singing It’s A Fine Life.

She said: “I love playing Nancy, we have some great costumes, except my gloves are really itchy!

“The most challenging bit is singing As Long As He Needs Me because it’s a very sad song that ends on a high note. Sometimes I struggle to sing the last word loud enough.”

The production has been jointly directed by Katherine Parkinson, Head of Performing Arts, and Year Six teacher Beckie Ripley.

On the night, Oliver will run for 90 minutes including a 20-minute interval.

Katherine Parkinson said: "The children have worked really hard over the last six months - especially Year Six who have risen to the challenge of playing adult characters. Mrs Ripley and I are really proud of them all.”

Some senior students have been on hand to help with scenery, props, hair and makeup.

When they’re not in costume, the cast has Oliver T-shirts which were created specially by Cumbria Embroidery. All of them have been personalised with their names on the back.

At the dress rehearsal, Oliver was played by Georgia, who said her favourite bit of the play was performing her solo of Where Is Love?

She said: “The most difficult bit to get right is all the timings for running on stage or starting your lines.

“I like performing because it makes you feel really special when people come to see you.”

Both girls are 11 years old and will be moving up into the secondary school after the summer.

Their first dress rehearsal was attended by primary students, a couple of classes from the senior school as well as members of staff.

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