Theatre Preview: Summer On Stage

FROM Lyceum Youth Theatre cast member to TV star in just five years, the journey Sam Heughan has taken since appearing in a LYT production of Macbeth at the Grindlay Street theatre back in 2008.

Heughan has been cast as the lead in new STARZ drama series Outlander.

Next week, with the return of Summer On Stage, there’s a chance for more young hopefuls to follow his path when the Lyceum Youth Theatre offers the opportunity for 100 young people from across Scotland to work towards two exciting shows on the Lyceum stage.

LYT producer John Glancy explains, “Summer On Stage gives some of Scotland’s best young theatre makers the opportunity to perform on one of its greatest stages.

“This year’s programme goes from the surreal and gruesome to the current and political with two new shows.”

The first, 7 Billion Others and Me, gives an insight into what its like to live in a small country as part of an ever expanding world population.

The second, Shock-Headed Peter brings some of the most gory and deliciously gruesome children’s stories of the 19th century kicking and screaming into the 21st. Originally written in 1845, Shock-headed Peter is a picture book that tells cautionary tales about people who don’t brush their hair, who suck their thumbs, who play with matches, who bully others and other terrible things.

Summer On Stage will culminate in a two-night run on the Lyceum stage, when the double bill of plays will be performed. Who knows, you might spot the next Sam Heughan.

• Summer On Stage. Royal Lyceum, Grindlay Street, next Friday & Saturday, 7.30pm, £8.50, 0131-248 4848