Hairspray in Horsham - Lizzie Alderton's first leading lady role

“I joined the company in 2016. I moved to Horsham. I come originally from Croydon and I've never taken part in amateur theatre before but it was something that I always studied at school and college. I haven't done any since I was really young but I work with children and that's always been my passion but I found going into adulthood that I had an absence of performing. I just knew that I wanted to do it and so I looked for an amateur group and this was the one that came up first. When I joined I was back-stage at first. I was quite nervous about appearing on the stage for a while.”

But the company supported her; the opportunities have come; and now she is Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray.

“I just think that there are so many components that make it such a fantastic show. With the music you just can't help moving and dancing around, and the dance numbers are also so great because the music is so amazing. It really gets you moving but also you've got this lovely empowering story.

“Tracy is one of those roles that has been on my bucket list since I was very young. I saw the film when I was much younger in the cinema with my grandma and I remember falling in love with Tracy and falling in love with the film. She is such an endearing character. She starts out quite naive but she is just always so positive and lovely. I'm a very positive person myself. I'm just one of those people that always likes to make other people smile. Embodying someone on the stage like that is just really putting a magnifying glass on myself! She really is such a joy to play. She's so upbeat and so positive all the time but she really does go on a journey. She starts off very naive and then she comes across the racial segregation and that really brings her down to earth, learning that there are a group of people that are seen as a minority and are treated with disrespect because of that. But she just does not see why that should be happening. She sees it as wrong and she hopes to show that it is wrong. She's strong but you also see quite a sensitive side to her as well. She has got a love interest, but there are villains as well, and they look down on people of colour but they also look down on Tracy herself. She has to be strong.”

The company also includes: Corny Collins - Billy Humphreys; Edna Turnblad - Martin Bracewell; Penny Pingleton – Maisy Sinclair; Velma Von Tussle – Stacey James; Amber Von Tussle – Natalie Davies; Link Larkin – Dominic Batchelor; Motormouth Maybelle – Claude East; Wilbur Turnblad – Chris Dale; Seaweed J Stubbs – Miles Mader; Little Inez – Kellsie and Aaliyah; Prudy Pingleton – Debbie Henshall; Mr Pinky/Harriman Spritzer – Chris Hampton; Gym Teacher – Kate Fields; and Matron – Cheryl Hacker.

Tickets from the venue.