A student from Weston under Penyard is preparing for a special performance of Much Ado About Nothing at the prestigious Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire.

Eighteen-year-old Charlotte Hayman will be starring in the Shakespearean comedy at the performing arts school, playing the key role of Hero.

Charlotte and her fellow students at Tring Park will be using the stunning back lawn of the school’s Mansion House to put on an open-air performance of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. A former Rothschild mansion built to a design of Sir Christopher Wren in 1685, this beautiful heritage site will provide the perfect backdrop to this Shakespearean comedy performed by the students on Tring Park’s drama course.

Speaking about performing, Charlotte said: “It was an honour to be given the role of Hero in my final performance at Tring Park School. It is a part that is incredibly fulfilling and I have learnt a great deal from it. To perform in a Shakespearean play is a greatly rewarding experience especially at such a young age. I aspire to perform in many more Shakespeare plays to come as it is a dream of mine to perform in the RSC.

“Rehearsals are becoming more intense while the construction of the set is getting underway. The cast are all preparing for the performance while constantly having the support from two fabulous directors.

“My time at Tring has been exciting, unpredictable and one hell of a journey. It’s been an adventure and I have learnt so much from the teachers and the people around me. I have become a more independent and conscious person and cannot thank the school enough for everything it has done for me.

“Come September I will be attending Guildhall School of Music and Drama on their Preliminary Acting in the hope to gain a place on their 3 year BA Hons Acting Course.”

Theatre-goers are being invited to pitch up with a picnic and a blanket and watch the stars of the future perform their own interpretation of one of the Bard’s comedies.

Famous Tring Park alumni include: Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Lily James (Disney’s Cinderella, Downton Abbey and War and Peace), director and choreographer Drew McOnie, Jessica Brown-Findlay (Downton Abbey) and singer-songwriter Ella Henderson, who rose to fame on The X-Factor.

There will be three open-air performances of Much Ado About Nothing at Tring Park School on June 29th at 7.30 and 2.30pm and 7.30pm on June 30th. Tickets cost £10, accompanied children are free of charge.