A ST NEOTS school boy is set for stage stardom after a successful first round audition for a West End musical.

A ST NEOTS school boy is set for stage stardom after a successful first round audition for a West End musical.

Oliver Rowland, of Eynesbury Manor, St Neots competed against hundreds of other young hopefuls for the starring role in the forthcoming production of Matilda at London’s Cambridge Theatre.

To prepare him for the part the 10-year-old starred last week in the Touring Big Top Company’s production of Spectacular! Spectacular! in St Neots where he performed two Billy Elliot numbers.

Group dance captain, Chloe Taylor, told The Hunts Post: “The boys all came with a raw talent but not a lot of technique, and of course Billy Elliot has to be a technical dancer with the wow factor.

“They have been in rehearsals for the role for just over 5 months and their transformation and understanding of dance in that time has been incredible.”

Oliver, who attends Eynesbury Primary School, is now waiting to be recalled for the second round of Matilda auditions, and has his sights firmly set on a career on the stage.

“It’s amazing, I love it,” he told The Hunts Post.

“I just love expressing myself through dance and I definitely want to be a dancer when I grow up.”

His mother, Susie, 40, added: “It’s all been so exciting.

“We want to give Oli every opportunity that we can to succeed because we feel that he has got something special.

“We’d also like to say how grateful we are to Tom Langdale, of Bodyworks Dance Studios for everything he’s done for us.”