ALTON’S Strictly Showtime stage school are deep in rehearsals for three full-scale performances of the colourful musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Starting tomorrow (Saturday) at the Alton Maltings Centre, the performances will feature casts of more than thirty seven to 12 year olds in each performance (more than 100 over all) singing and dancing their way through Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s popular numbers.

Teacher Heather Davies said: “The children are so excited about the forthcoming performances and I know they will do us proud. They have worked extremely hard over the last two terms to produce a level of performance which you would normally expect from much older children.”

Strictly Showtime veterans Patrick Page and William Morrish star as Joseph in two of the performances, while the third features Oscar Watkins in the lead role. Patrick has previously appeared as Dandy Dan (Bugsy Malone) and as Oliver, while Oscar has starred as Bill Sikes (Oliver). William has had many roles with the group, including the Scarecrow in The Wizard Of Oz and Fat Sam (Bugsy Malone).

Strictly Showtime is expanding rapidly. As well as thriving in Alton, it has launched new classes in Fleet and has enjoyed a successful year with several students landing professional roles, including Grace Savery in Oliver at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury, Berkshire.

Classes are held weekly for age groups four to seven and seven to 12 and this term has seen the start of classes for students aged 11 to 16. The older age group will be staging The Apprentice – The Musical, written especially for the group and containing chart and musical hits from the last 30 years.

Meanwhile children aged four to seven will be staging their own mini-pantomime version of Cinderella in early December.

Performances of Joseph will take place on November 28, December 3, and December 5, starting at 7.30pm. Tickets, priced £9, are available online at strictlyshowtime.co.uk, via e-mail at [email protected], or by calling 01420 88480 or 07875 764688.