Gossip

Stagestruck Am-drams Storm West End via Sky???

Amateur dramatic groups only have a few days left to apply for Sky Arts’ Stagestruck competition. To enter, they must record a five-minute performance from one of the audition plays – a selection of classics from Aeschylus to Wilde, including Chekhov, Ibsen and (of course) Shakespeare – and then upload the video with your application form on the Sky Arts website.

Eight groups deemed to display the most potential will be paired with a thespian mentor to develop their skills. Later rounds in the competition include a performances and masterclasses at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. The ultimate prize is the opportunity to perform a full-length play in the West End.

Sky Arts hasn’t yet revealed who’s on the mentoring team but, tantalisingly, promises that the actors are drawn “from the very cream of Britain’s stage elite … there is a Dame (not pantomime) a Tony and three Olivier Award winners in the mix”. The deadline for entries is next Monday 25 July. For more information log on to the Stagestruck website.