ABERLADY actress Hannah Collins has set her sights on London’s West End, after tasting success in the starring role of an Edinburgh production.

Hannah appeared in Spring Awakening, at Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre, as the MGA Academy of Performing Arts put on its summer production.

And Hannah, the daughter of former Celtic, Hibs and Scotland footballer John Collins, has revealed she is aiming for a career on the stage after tasting success as a leading lady.

The 19-year-old, who is currently studying acting at the Edinburgh-based performing arts academy, made her name playing the lead female role of Yvonne in a production of Sunshine On Leith at last year’s Edinburgh International Fringe Festival.

Now she has won accolades again in the lead role of Spring Awakening, a risque rock musical, set in Germany.

Hannah said: “The feeling you get when performing on stage made me realise that this was the career I wanted to do.

“In Spring Awakening, I had to find the correct emotions to portray my characters in dance.

“The audience’s response was incredible.” Spring Awakening, which opened on Broadway in 2006, explores themes of youthful revolt, sexuality and morality. MGA’s production of the musical, which was directed by Andrew Gowland, aimed to introduce the future stars of the stage to Scottish audiences.

The MGA Academy was founded 10 years ago by Mr Gowland and Murray Grant to give Scottish talent the opportunity to obtain accredited SQA training at an equivalent level offered by established London colleges.

West End star Fergal McGoff (Mamma Mia, The Bodyguard) and Rebecca Stenhouse, who is currently portraying female lead Elle Woods in Legally Blonde in America, represent just a couple of success stories from The MGA Academy.

Marcella Macdonald, Principal of The MGA Academy, said: “We are very proud of Hannah and her outstanding contribution to our production of Spring Awakening.

“The cast were a credit to themselves and the wealth of learning they have undertaken at The MGA Academy.

“We give students extra tools to add to their CV that will allow them to succeed in a range of disciplines when they graduate, and, in this show, they all strongly reflected their growth and improvement as performers.” Hannah now has ambitions of emulating her idol, actress Dame Judy Dench.

She said: “My dream is to be in the West End, but I am also very interested in screen acting. I have learned so much at The MGA Academy and the teachers are so professional – they have all been in the industry and pass their knowledge onto us.”