22Nov 24

Kingsley Players Youth Theatre wins national award for ‘A Monster Calls’

Kingsley Players’ award-winning Youth Theatre has received national recognition from the president of the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA) for its production of ‘A Monster Calls’ in March.

The group beat off strong competition from 182 theatre productions across the country, witnessed by the 2023/24 NODA president Christine Hunter Hughes during her year in office, to be awarded one of only ten commendation certificates.

Their adaptation of Patrick Ness’s bestselling novel ‘A Monster Calls’ told the moving story of a struggling 13-year-old boy, Conor, using live music, puppets, projection and the re-telling of haunting folk tales.

In her commendation, the president praised the “difficult subject matter, presented well and confidently by this group of young people”.

She added: “Thanks for inviting me to witness such a wonderful production, which made me tingle.”

Youth Theatre leader Jake Powell was delighted to see the group’s hard work and creativity rewarded. He said: “I was beyond thrilled to see our production of ‘A Monster Calls’ receive this national recognition. It was a hard-hitting production that our members performed with dignity to such a high standard. I am incredibly proud of what KPYT have achieved since we were formed in 2016.”

The cast included: Joseph Tomlinson, Iona Anstice, Izzy Porter, Kate Burge, Joel Haslam, Finley Savage, Teigan Withey, Edith Banks, Ellie Usher, Evie James, Ivy Hall and James Stratton.

Recent Cheshire Theatre Guild awards for the production include Best Youth Production, Adjudicator’s Award for Overall Excellence, Best Lighting and Sound, Best Young Male Actor (Joseph Tomlinson) and Best Young Female Actor (Iona Anstice).

Kingsley Youth Theatre is kindly sponsored by Forresters, Kingsley Parish Council, Frodsham and Helsby Rotary.