STOKE YOUTH MUSICAL THEATRE COMPANY
here are very few members of the theatre
going public of North Staffordshire who
haven’t seen either the film or stage show
of ‘The Sound of Music’.
Very popular with local amateur operatic
societies for many years, Rogers and
Hammerstein’s final collaboration has become
the world’s most famous musical with its host
of immortal songs which are still as popular
today as they were when the film premiered in
1965.
It is little wonder then that Stoke Youth
Musical Theatre Company has chosen the stage
show for its spring production at the Mitchell
Arts Centre in Hanley. Directed by Paul Deakin,
the show will feature the very cream of young
talent in this first local youth production for
many years.
Stone-based Paul returns to his roots for this
exciting new production, describing his
excitement at being commissioned to direct the
show as ’feeling like coming home to where it all
started’. And having played a number of roles as
a young performer with SYMTC, he is well
qualified to do so.
As a child, Paul was also an active member
of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.
He graduated from the Liverpool Institute for
the Performing Arts (LIPA) in 2000 and is now
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32 February/March 2014
involved with numerous local and national
theatre companies. He has particularly close
links with the Reveal Theatre Company in
Stoke-on-Trent and also works as a freelance
theatre practitioner in several local schools.
Paul is a versatile and experienced actor and
has played a wide variety of roles in the theatre,
in film and on the radio. He is an accomplished
director of both stage and film and has also
written several plays and documentaries.
The Sound of Music tells the story of a young
postulant (Maria) who is too high-spirited for
the religious life and is dispatched to serve as
governess for the seven children of a widowed
naval Captain. Her growing rapport with the
youngsters, coupled with her generosity of
spirit, gradually captures the heart of the stern
Captain and they get married.
On returning from their honeymoon they
discover that Austria has been invaded by the
Nazis, who demand the Captain's immediate
service in their navy. The family’s narrow escape
over the mountains to Switzerland on the eve of
World War II provides one of the most thrilling
and inspirational finales ever presented in the
musical theatre.
Playing Maria, the role made famous by
Julie Andrews, is 18-year-old Jordan Hazrati
who started dancing at the age of two and began