An 11-year-old actress from Hitchin spent her Christmas holidays treading the boards at Shakespeare’s Globe in London.
Rosie Hostler was taking part in an alternative Christmas show called Apocalypse Meow, at the indoor Sam Wanamaker Playhouse inside the Globe complex on Thames’ south bank.
The show, led by Australian cabaret performer Meow Meow, features just four actors – with Rosie playing three characters.
Rosie told the Comet it had been amazing to perform at the Globe, and that the team there had made her first experience of acting in London very special.
“My favourite experience of being in the show was performing with Meow Meow, who was very funny and kind to me,” she said.
“I loved learning from the team and working with them – many of them have performed in West End shows like Matilda and Chicago, and I enjoyed meeting all the people involved in putting the show together.
“I love the opportunity to be on stage because the process is so exciting and creative, and I can use my emotions through acting.”
Rosie, who is in Year 7 at Hitchin’s Priory School, has always loved musical theatre since she first took in a West End show at the age of six.
She attends Emil Dale’s School of Performing Arts, where she learns dance, singing and acting on Sundays and musical theatre on Mondays.
Emil Dale’s full-time students put on shows at Hitchin’s Factory Playhouse, which is owned by EDSA, and last year Rosie played young Cosette in their production of Les Misérables.
Rosie joined EDSA’s linked talent agency Dale Hammond Associates in August, and in October she was invited to audition for Apocalypse Meow: Crisis is Born. She sent an audition self-tape before meeting Meow Meow and the casting director in London.
The performances at the Globe took place from December 20 to New Year’s Eve.
“My previous school, Ickleford, was very supportive of me when I was in Les Misérables, and The Priory School has been very supportive,” said Rosie.
“One of my teachers even came all the way to London to watch me perform, which made my day.
“I’m so grateful for the experience and I have loved every minute. I would like to continue performing and developing my skills as a performer.”
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