Acting-up for Mary Poppins

These are the young hopefuls set to become the toast of theatreland as
the stars of Sir Cameron 'musical Mary Poppins. As any fan of the original 1964 Disney classic knows, Julie Andrews’s magical nanny only had to cope with two children — Jane and Michael Banks.

Even a woman of her considerable talents might have been stretched by a brood such as the one pictured.

Sir Cameron does not plan to change the original story but has had to recruit an extensive company of juvenile actors, rather than just two, because of child labour laws.

Each boy-girl pair will appear in the show under strict rotation so that they are not overworked. They will act alongside Laura Michelle Kelly as Mary, and Gavin Lee as chimney sweep Bert.

Jo Hawes, who has been in charge of selecting and looking after the children, said: “Under the law, no child under 16 can do a six-day week. The law is tight and, I think, rightfully so.”

To win their parts the children had to compete in auditions against 1,250
others.

Despite their tender years, some are already showbusiness veterans. Poppy Lee Friar, nine, from Southwark has already appeared in two blockbusters — Les Misérables and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But first night will be a huge moment
for Harry Stott, eight, from Henley-on-Thames.

To date the highlight of his career is playing one of the pirates in an amateur local production of Peter Pan. “I’m nervous and excited,” he said.

Ms Hawes, who set up the nationwide auditions, said: “We need children of a particular type, for instance Michael has to be small and very young but very good at singing and moving, and they have to be cast as a pair.

“There are loads of considerations so you need to try a lot of children out to see if they are up to the standard this show demands.”

The £9 million show opens at Prince Edward Theatre in Old Compton Street in December. If successful it is likely to open on Broadway and then across the world.