Students from Sandwell borough were put through their paces on Saturday when the cast of Dick Whittington dropped in on Shirelands Stage School to treat participants to an acting masterclass.

Professional actors, Taofique Folarin (Babby The Tabby) and James Titchener (Dance Captain) paid a special visit to Shirelands Collegiate Academy to help celebrate the launch of their new Saturday School which consists of three regular groups with an age range of 6-18 years.

Kicking off the session was James Titchener with a physical warm-up worthy of any West End production. As well as being a member of the Dick Whittington ensemble, James is also Dance Captain on the show – the member of the company who maintains the artistic standard of all choreography and movement in a show – who was previously seen at Birmingham Hippodrome starring in the hit UK touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS.

This was followed by a vocal masterclass from our very own ‘Brummie’ cat, Taofique Folarin. Born and raised in Wolverhampton, Taofique began his acting career at the National Youth Music Theatre before going on to attend The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.

Before heading back to the theatre to prepare for their afternoon matinee performance, there was just enough time to take questions from the group about life as a professional actor, how to combat nerves on stage and to share some top tips about getting into the industry.

This particular Hippodrome CREATIVE project has been developed in partnership with the Shirelands Extended Schools Partnership, offering out-of-school participatory performing arts activity for young people drawn from Shireland Academy, feeder schools and the surrounding areas.

All sessions are subsidised to ensure this low cost activity reaches young people in the local community.

We can’t wait to hear more from our new Saturday School in the coming months. Look out for future appearances from the group here at Birmingham Hippodrome and in community venues near YOU!