We love to hear about the many performing experiences of our Speech and Drama students, and we are delighted to share the success of two talented Year 7 students.

We are so proud of Mia Thacker and Nyah Wooding, who were selected to perform in a musical called Across The Line on Sunday 3 March at His Majesty’s Theatre, home to The Phantom of the Opera.

The musical was written especially for the Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts (PQA), a performing arts school that both girls attend each week. It tells the story of The Voyagers, a group of people living underground in Tunnel Town. They survive on the dark and cold platforms where trains once ran, spending their days dreaming of the lives they had before. The Voyagers decide to escape and find a way back above ground, encountering many adventures along the way as they make it Across the Line.

Mia reflected: “It was such an amazing experience! I loved being on stage and finally performing after months of rehearsals, bringing everything together to show the audience what we had worked on. It was so exciting getting ready in our costumes, being mic’d up, going through the sound and tech checks, the final performance run, and then the show! Performing at His Majesty’s Theatre, the home of The Phantom of the Opera, was like a dream come true for me. Seeing backstage, the sets, and all the famous props, it really was the most memorable day and night!”

Nyah added: “Going on a West End stage was a dream come true. Performing in front of more than 1,000 people was epic! It was also really exciting being in the dressing room of one of the main dancers from The Phantom Of The Opera. The experience was made more joyful because I was with my PQA besties including Mia! I just wish we did the show more than once. Across The Line will be a West End Show experience I’ll never forget.”