Playmakers Youth Theatre wowed audiences at the Theatre Royal Winchester last month with their captivating annual showcase.

The event, themed "Look Back, Look Forward and Look Up", saw students from grades 4 through to 11 creatively explore topics such as loss, reunion, and female history through a series of original pieces.

Prominent among the presentations was "Doreen’s Story", a poignant drama about a 75-year-old woman coming to terms with the loss of her lifelong friend, Maggie. A riveting World War Two narrative, "The Unexpected Journey", followed young evacuee Tommy's trek from Winchester to Portsmouth.

"Behind the Curtain", another attention-grabbing piece, guided audience members around the theatre's hidden corners and secrets.

The South Wonston Drama Club contributed a heartfelt piece celebrating significant women in history, while also presenting aspirational vision boards.

Following the stint, group leaders are excitedly awaiting the summer term projects, which started in mid-April. These will be showcased at Hat Fair - the UK’s longest-running festival of Outdoor Arts, taking place this summer from July 5-7. Playmakers Youth Theatre, committed to developing young talents, offers members the opportunity to work alongside professionals.

Playmakers Youth Theatre producer, Shian Hunter, said: "This year we had more participants and we challenged them to do bigger shows. We combined both musical theatre groups to create a bigger show, which was really exciting and created a really supportive group. The drama and theatre groups did amazing and they created shows with purpose, up to 30 minutes long, which is incredible for young people.

"We wanted to up our game and show how much young people can do and I’m really happy and couldn’t be prouder as it’s such a hard feat to create your own, original work."

Musical theatre director, Joey Warne, said: "It was the first time an original musical had been written for the Youth Theatre and the large cast rose to the challenge and showed brilliant skills and responsibility to adapt and change as the show was developed. Writing and creating new work is no easy challenge."

The theatre also provides free taster sessions and financial support to budding thespians. Additional details can be found at playmakers.org.uk/young-people/youth-theatre.