Bursary students take centre stage

Nestled in the countryside Westacre Theatre is a Norfolk gem.

Described by Sir Stephen Fry as ‘a rare and beautiful theatre’, this cherished community arts asset that has been operating from a former chapel for the past thirty-five years, is also unique in that it offers ten Bursary Students an amazing opportunity to perform in three productions during the summer.

Town and Around caught up with three of this year’s cohort ahead of the first night (tonight – 1^st August) of their production of the Three Musketeers, and with over thirty characters played by just six actors, it looks like the audience are in for a treat.

All the way from South Carolina, KJ Adams will be graduating in 2026 from the Drama Studio London where he’s on the MFA (Masters in Fine Art – Professional Acting) programme. He describes himself as a former American Football player turned theatre technician to actor. I’m looking forward to seeing him tackle his nine characters including a nun in the performance tonight!

Edie Milton Williams has just finished her degree at Leeds Conservatoire and will be moving back to London after the summer in Norfolk where she hopes to set up her own company. She too has many roles and some super-fast costume changes to navigate.

Rose Bruford in Sidcup is the next destination for Harry Corcoran who takes on the role of D'Artagnan (and random others – although he didn’t say which ones - we shall wait and see) in the production.

Director of Westacre Theatre, Sadie Grist, said: “As far as we are aware we are the only bursary scheme in the country, and it’s brilliant for us as we get young actors full of energy.

“We choose our summer shows based on the fact that we have younger people who can take on many parts; it’s so rare to get this experience and we are incredibly grateful for the support we get from the West Acre estate.”

With over 12,000 visitors a year including many school children it’s not surprising that the plans for the future of the venue are both exciting and ambitious. Currently operating for the Summer Season outdoors and for ten months of the year indoors in the 83 seater space, Sadie said she’d love to be able to have a Christmas bursary scheme and be able to put on bigger shows.

The ‘big move indoors’ begins on 26^th August after the last performance of the summer season of A Midsummer Night’s Dream which will be the final production for this year’s bursary students.

Sadie went on to say: “We are very hopeful that the Arts Council will look upon us fondly, as we have put in a grant funding bid for an up to 250 seat indoor theatre so we can also have larger touring companies coming here.”

The Three Musketeers runs until 9^th August with performances at 7.30pm and from 15^th to 25^th August it is A Midsummer Night’s Dream at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.

Tickets are from £12 and can be booked here: https://www.westacretheatre.com/shows

The Box Office telephone number is 01760 755 007