Young star has his big break in Brassed Off

Alex Hogg, 11, Brownhills, is one of three actors playing the character Craig in the first in-house production at the theatre for 40 years.

It was more than luck when he was offered the role on his birthday after auditioning a few weeks earlier.

His mother, Pam Hogg, 49, said: "Alex cried with excitement that he would be appearing in a professional performance and has since told us it was the best birthday present ever."

He has has high aspirations to get into acting since he was a young age and is heading down the right path. At only four-years-old, he joined an acting school and got his first public performance at The Sandwell Show but before that he was an A-List celebrity at home.

She said: "Since a very early age, he has been performing little shows in the living room, singing and dancing around."

At six-years-old he moved on to the Razzamataz Theatre school appearing in annual shows. He has previously starred as Fagin and Mr Bumble in Oliver Twist at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

From the start of 2017, he has started Amplify Talent Performance Coaching based in Aldridge, took an IDTA Musical Theatre exam and achieved a pass with Honours to go with his existing LAMDA pass and distinction exams in Acting.

During his time with Amplify, he appeared in the role as Peter in their production of Narnia.

She said: "As parents we are really proud of Alex’s achievements and know this is a major learning experience in a large scale Theatre production that he thoroughly enjoys and we are glad he is getting the chance to sparkle and shine with rewards for all his effort and hard work." hes been rhearsing

Now he will be performing alongside the likes of Hi-de-Hi! star Jeffrey Holland who will play Danny. Other cast members include professional and local amateur actors Christopher Connel as Phil, Miriam Grace Edwards as Sandra, Ash Matthews as Shane, Clara Darcy as Gloria and Eddy Massarella as Andy.

Director Gareth Tudor Price brought the story to life about a pit band going for glory in a national brass band competition.

The show starts on Wednesday (23 aug) with his first performance is on Friday. Brassed Off runs at the Grand until September 2 and tickets are available at www.grandtheatre.co.uk