By Aneira Evans

A trip to the theatre is a dying tradition that is mainly experienced by older generations; this, frankly, is a scandal. Theatre can be enjoyable for people of all ages and the experience of a great play can stay with you forever.

Recently I visited the Apollo theatre in London as a part of a school trip to watch ‘Wicked’ the musical; a play exploring the life of the ‘Wicked Witch of the West’, and an unusual friendship shared between her and the ‘Good Witch of the South’ before Dorothy came along. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, the musical has moments of hilarity, anger and absolute beauty. The entire production was breath taking, from set-design to vocals, every aspect of the musical was beyond compare. Not only was the plot of the production touching and exciting, but also the composition within the production was incredible. The West End musical broke box-office records for having the biggest West End opening, as it made £100,000 within the first hour of selling tickets, this is no surprise as the musical is home to the iconic song ‘Defying Gravity’ and other brilliant songs such as ‘Popular’ and ‘No One Mourns The Wicked’.

However, it is not necessary to travel to London to watch a great play or musical. There are many fantastic theatre companies all over Birmingham, to name a few: The Hippodrome, The Rep and the Crescent (which are all located in the town centre). All of these theatres always have a great production on, and to order tickets is simple, as they all have easy-to-access websites.

Neither is it necessary to only experience theatre only from the audience’s perspective. In fact, I much more recommend being a part of the production itself! If you are a keen performer, and enjoy singing, acting or dancing, then there are many youth theatres around Birmingham that are more than worth joining, and that would love to help you. Being a part of a theatre company is like being a part of a big family, but without the fights over the remote (for the most part). Joining a youth theatre is a great way of making new friends, whilst gaining confidence, and a sense of discipline. However, if you don’t feel like performing is your area, then don’t rule theatre out completely. Performers are just the face of a performance; there is a whole body of people behind a production, and many different roles for anyone to play. So, if you fancy yourself as a director, set designer, writer or even a costume designer, your work could be used and much appreciated within a production.

‘Wicked: The musical’ Starring Rachel Tucker as Elphaba, is currently being shown at the Apollo Theatre in London, and tickets can be bought at the Apollo theatre website.

Youth theatre Companies around Birmingham are:

The Young rep: www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/participate/youngpeople

The Young crescent Theatre: www.crescent-theatre.co.uk/index.htm

Stage Coach:  www.stagecoach.co.uk/index.php?ppc=1&gclid=COyJwp7ubacCFRRC4Qod9/w5ag