NODA awards success for Grace

Grace Smith wins Best Young Performer 2025

We are also absolutely thrilled to announce that Rising Stars member Grace Smith has been announced as Best Youth Performer 2025 in NODA East District 5.
Her portrayal of Sheherazade in ‘Arabian Nights’ wowed the audiences and we are delighted that her outstanding performance has been recognised in a particularly competitive year.

Grace will be presented with her award at the Annual NODA East Awards in March.

The nomination of Best Youth Production 2025 in District 5 for ‘Arabian Nights’ and Grace’s Best Youth Performer 2025 award are a testament to the talent and hard work of all our young cast, the production and technical teams and to everyone involved with Rising Stars so we hope you are all as absolutely delighted as we are.

Congratulations Grace.

Rising Stars nominated for prestigious NODA award

Arabian Nights nominated for Best Youth Production 2025

We are delighted to announce that Rising Stars’ production of ‘Arabian Nights’ in March last year has been nominated for an award by the National Operatic & Dramatic Association (NODA). We are on the shortlist for ‘Best Youth Production 2025’ in District 5

NODA are such experts in amateur theatrical productions that to be recognised by them in any capacity is a real achievement. The overall winner won’t be announced until the NODA East Gala Awards Ceremony in March but just being nominated means that ‘Arabian Nights’ was one of the best youth productions in the area.

Congratulations to everyone involved. You should all be incredibly proud of yourselves for putting on such an amazing show.

Auditions slots available NOW for The Lightning Thief

Book your audition slot now

We are now taking bookings for audition slots for The Lightning Thief.

Cast auditions will be on Friday 3rd September (evening) and Sunday 5th October (daytime).

To book your place, please complete and return an Application to Audition form (available from our downloads page) by 4pm on Sunday 28th September.

Audition rehearsals start on Friday 19th September from 7-9pm in Blyburgate Hall, Beccles for anyone who would like to be in the cast as a principal and/or a company member.

Full details of Pre-audition rehearsals

Friday 19th September, 7pm – 9pm
Company & principal singing audition practice / guidance

Sunday 21st September, 2pm – 4pm
Company & principal acting & music workshop

Friday 26th September, 7pm – 9pm
Movement workshop
Company audition practice / guidance

Sunday 28th September, 2pm – 4pm
Company & principal audition workshop (opportunity for principal audition practise)

All rehearsals are in Blyburgate Hall, Beccles.

Don’t panic if you can’t attend all the pre-audition rehearsals as the character descriptions and audition requirements are detailed in The Lightning Thief Cast Information (available from our downloads page)
We look forward to meeting you at a rehearsal and hope you take advantage of this opportunity to perform with our friendly and talented group.

The Lightning Thief – information evening

Are you in school year 7 or above and love to sing, act, dance and perform?

Want to be part of the wildest, most electrifying youth theatre adventure of the year?

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.

To be performed in Beccles Public Hall on the 19th – 21st March 2026

Rising Stars is looking for enthusiastic and talented singers, dancers and actors (especially boys!) to take on gods & monsters in this rock-and-roll musical.

Percy Jackson was just a regular kid – until he discovered he’s a demigod! Now he’s on an epic quest to find Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt, clear his name, and stop a war between the gods. Along with his friends Annabeth and Grover, Percy battles monsters, dodges traps, and finds the hero inside himself.

Every hero has to start somewhere… and your journey begins here!

Join us for our Information Evening at 7pm on Friday 12th September in Blyburgate Hall, Beccles

✨ Meet the production team
✨ Discover the story, the songs, and the monsters
✨ Learn exactly how YOU can audition and become a hero on stage!

To join us on our quest you will need to:

  • Be a student in Year 7 or above (max age 19)
  • Book an audition slot by completing an Application to Audition form (available on the 12th or afterwards the downloads page)
  • Attend the auditions on Friday 3rd October (evening) and Sunday 5th October (from 10am).

These are open auditions. ALL roles and ensemble are available for casting.

The first step of every hero’s adventure is showing up… will you?

Rising Stars’ next production will be…

Rising Stars are delighted to announce that their next production will be…

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.

What if you found out you’re the child of a Greek god?

Percy Jackson was just a regular kid – until he discovered he’s a demigod!

Now he’s on an epic quest to find Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt, clear his name, and stop a war between the gods. Along with his friends Annabeth and Grover, Percy battles monsters, dodges traps, and finds the hero inside himself.

Adventure. Friendship. Rock music. And lots of monsters.

Follow us on Instagram or Facebook to be the first to hear about our open auditions.

Back in Time competition – answers

To celebrate 15 amazing years of Rising Stars, we hid an eclectic collection of mysterious costumes and props throughout ‘Back in Time’ and ran a competition to see which of our Rising Stars supporters and ex-members could spot the most.

How did you get on? Did you spot them all – and remember which shows they originally appeared in?

We awarded one point for each item you spotted and another for naming the correct show. The maximum score was 100 points.

View all the answers here

The winner scored 49/100 and will be contacted by email.

Thank you to everyone who took part. We hoped you enjoyed the nostalgic trip down memory lane as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

It’s competition time!

Calling all Rising Stars supporters and ex-members – we’ve got a fun challenge for you!

To celebrate 15 amazing years of Rising Stars, we’ve hidden props from past productions throughout ‘Back in Time’.

Can you spot them all – and remember which shows they originally appeared in?

There will be a prize for the most correct answers.

Competition entry forms will be waiting on your theatre seat.

Buy your tickets in person from the Beccles Public Hall Box Office (open Mon-Sat 10am-3pm) or online from the link below.

Buy tickets now

Tickets on sale NOW for Back in Time

Tickets are now on sale for Rising Stars’ production of ‘Back in Time’ which will hit the stage at Beccles Public Hall & Theatre on Thursday 17th & Friday 18th 2025.

Join the award-winning Rising Stars as they take you on a magical journey ‘Back in Time’ through the decades in this juke box musical. This heart-warming story will have your toes tapping with music, characters and dance styles from the past to the present day whilst showcasing the very best of local, young talent in musical theatre.

‘Back in Time’ is the next fully staged show in an ever-growing line of successful musical productions by the Beccles-based musical theatre group, whose previous credits have included Arabian Nights, Peter Pan & The Addams Family. Although the majority of the cast are under 18, they pride themselves on bringing the high quality and professionalism that you would expect of any theatre company to all of their performances.

Tickets for ‘Back in Time‘ are priced at £13 for adults and £10 for under 18s and can be purchased online at any time from the Beccles Public Hall Box Office using this link.

BUY TICKETS NOW

Tickets can also be purchased by visiting Beccles Public Hall Box Office in person or by telephoning 01502 770060. The Box Office is open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 3pm and accepts both debit and credit cards.

For more information please Contact Us

Back in Time – information evening

A crowd of potential cast members attended the Back in Time information afternoon Friday 25th April to find out more about the show, meet the production team and get more details about how to audition.

Don’t worry if you couldn’t come along as you haven’t missed out on the chance of being in this exciting production.

All the Cast information that was discussed at the meeting, plus the Application to Audition form can be obtained from our Downloads page.

There will be a pre-audition rehearsal on Sunday afternoon (27th April) from 2-4pm in Blyburgate Hall, Beccles for anyone who would like to be in the cast of Back in Time. A music & movement workshop will be held on Friday 2nd May.

Completed Application to Audition forms must be returned by Friday 2nd May and auditions will be held on Sunday 4th May.

Please contact us if you have any questions or require any more information. Don’t miss this opportunity to perform with our friendly and talented group.

Information evening for Summer 2025 production

Are you 8 to 19 years old and can sing, dance or act? (or know someone who is)
Now is your opportunity to show the world what you can do!

It’s your time to shine as WLOG Rising Stars begin their search for the cast of their next production Back in Time which will be performed in Beccles Public Hall & Theatre on the 17th & 18th July 2025.

Following the success of their recent production of ‘Arabian Nights’, Rising Stars is looking for enthusiastic singers, actors, dancers and musicians in school year 3 or above to travel through the decades in this juke box musical.

Written specially for Rising Stars, this heart-warming story will have your toes tapping with music, characters and dance styles from the past to the present day whilst showcasing the very best of local, young talent in musical theatre.

All existing members and anyone considering joining Rising Stars are invited to an Information Evening at 7pm on Friday 25th April in Blyburgate Hall in Beccles, where there will be the opportunity to find out more about the show, meet the production team and get more details about how to audition to be in the show as a singer, dancer, actor or instrumentalist.

For more information on how to get involved with this exciting and talented group, come along to the Information evening or Contact Us

We look forward to seeing you on the 25th.

IMPORTANT – If you can’t make it to the Information Evening but are still interested in being involved with the show, just contact us and we’ll make sure all the information given out on the night is emailed to you.

1 2 3 … 10