Young Bridport performer Iris Stephens is fundraising for travel and tuition costs after securing a place in London's West End Musical Theatre weekend training programme.

West End Musical Theatre (WEMT) is one of the UK's leading and most sought-after weekend training programmes for young performers, with places being extremely limited.

Iris, who has performed locally with Bridport Young Performers, secured a place on the programme after a successful audition, having initially applied without even telling her parents.

She is now preparing to head to London for training in singing, dancing, acting and musical theatre with leading names in the industry.

The programme will be run over 10 weekends, and Iris has launched an online fundraising campaign to help her cover tuition fees and travel costs.

She said: "I'm so excited and grateful that I have been awarded a place in this amazing school, this is a huge opportunity for me that will get me closer to my dream of working in musical theatre."

You can contribute to Iris' fundraising appeal at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-iris-go-to-west-end-musical-theatre

Bridport Young Performers has been selected as one of Bridport Co-op's Local Causes, with Co-op members helping to pay for rehearsal spaces, costumes and sets for future productions. 

You can find out more about how Co-op is supporting Bridport Young Performers here.

More details are also available by visiting the Bridport Young Performers Facebook page or email [email protected]

When Co-op Members buy selected Co-op products and services, 2p for every £1 goes into their Co-op Membership account, and the same amount is given to support community organisations and local causes, such as Bridport Young Performers.

For more details, visit https://www.coop.co.uk/membership