THE mum of a budding young Dunbar actress who swapped the classroom for the stage at a historic London theatre said her daughter “loved” the experience.

Lucy Kilfara, 12, was one of nearly 200 youngsters who thrilled an audience of more than 600 at London’s Her Majesty’s Theatre with one of the key roles in The Lazy Ace.

She was joined in the cast by Dunbar Primary School pupils Katie-Sue Reece-Heal and her sister Darcey Reece-Heal, as well as sisters Beth, Becca and Rachel Sangster, who were among 100 performers from Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife in the show.

The musical was performed for one day in the theatre, which has been the home of The Phantom of the Opera since it opened there in October 1986.

Lucy, who is in S1 at Dunbar Grammar School and is aiming to build a career as an actress, was watched joined by her parents, younger brother Christopher and her grandparents for the performance.

Mum Heather told the Courier: “She loved it. She was delighted the whole day and loved being in the dressing room where the professionals are when they are doing The Phantom of the Opera.

“She enjoyed the on-stage experience and hopefully it is the first of many.”

Musical comedy The Lazy Ace is set on the Las Vegas strip in the 1950s. Lucy starred as Angel Applewood, a young woman who moves to the city and works as a waitress at a casino while waiting to make it big. When the main singer is taken ill, Angel is asked to take to the stage and wows the audience with her performance of Let It Go.

Heather said: “She was not nervous. It amazes me – she was just quite happy to go out there.”

Lucy, who previously attended Dunbar Primary School, has attended the Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts in Edinburgh for the last two and a half years.

Heather added: “My husband Darren is very musical and has got a great singing voice and I did quite a bit of acting when I was younger but not to this level.”