Children from across the county will “give a little love” when they perform a local drama group’s first ever musical next week, with a live performance of Bugsy Malone at The Brunton.
Youth acting group Drama Mill auditioned 50 children for the show, and now has a cast of 27 children from North Berwick, Aberlady, Gullane, Cockenzie and Haddington, aged from eight to 11.
Linda Kearsley Ross, Drama Mill director, said that the performance – the group’s first foray into musical theatre – was “ambitious” but that the children had loved taking on the roles of 1920s New York gangsters.
County children to star in Bugsy Malone
She added: “Bugsy Malone was our first choice of play.
“Drama facilitators Claudia Overton and Stephanie Wynne and I have all taken part in productions when we were at school and have fond memories of performing this play.
“It’s ambitious to do it with such a young cast (generally it’s performed by children in high school or from P7 up) but our fabulous talented group have risen to the task.
“This is the first time we have performed at The Brunton and we are so excited to give our youngsters the opportunity to perform on a professional stage.”
The cast will perform the famous musical numbers accompanied by a live nine-piece band, whose members are all volunteering their time and talent.
Teacher Mhairi McCall coaches the young Bugsy Malone cast
And the production will emulate the original 1976 film, starring Jodie Foster, by using splurge guns and foam pies.
Linda said: “There is something really fun about playing gangsters and molls, and using splurge to take people down rather than bullets.
“Some people criticised that the ending is really abrupt, i.e. that they all become friends and sing a song, but I don’t think children question the ending – they believe bad people can become good people and that, as the words say, ‘if you give a little love then it all comes back to you’.”
Tickets can be bought via 0131 653 5245 or thebrunton.co.uk/en-GB/shows/bugsy%20malone/events - Bugsy Malone is on at The Brunton on March 29/30.
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