Children's Franchise Hit the West End

Razzamataz Theatre Schools are celebrating their 10th birthday in style with an opportunity for their students to perform on a West End stage.

The childrens franchise came to national prominence when founder and director, Denise Hutton-Gosney, appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2007 and Duncan Bannatyne offered her the full investment.

Now a successful franchise business with almost 40 schools up and down the country, the show at Her Majesty’s, the West End theatre of the phenomenally successful musical, Phantom of the Opera, will feature 10 schools and around 300 students on Sunday 28th November.

“This will be an amazing experience for our students,” says Hutton-Gosney. “There are not many people who can say that they have performed on a West End stage and we are delighted to be able to offer this extraordinary opportunity.”

Since the Den, Razzamataz has become one of the top five part-time theatre schools in the UK, according to The Stage newspaper. The classes consist of an hour of dance, drama and singing and the curriculum covers the whole of the performing arts, from classic West End musical theatre to commercial street dance and hip hop.

As well as the opportunity to perform on a professional stage, one talented Razzamataz pupil will receive a potentially life-changing award. So committed are the Razzamataz team to the continued success of their pupils, they have just launched an award for one lucky stage school pupil. Razzamataz have set up a ‘Future Fund’, which will sponsor the career training of a young performer.

Many talented artists leave school or college with no means of taking their performance skills to a professional level because of lack of funding. Razzamataz students in their final year of school looking to progress their performing ambitions will be able to apply and audition for the funding.

“It is an incredible opportunity for our students and shows our commitment to facilitating them to continue training after they leave Razzamataz,” said Lynn Brownridge, a Razzamataz Principal who was the inspiration behind the Future Fund. “It is a privilege to be able to give a young talented performer this opportunity and help them to fulfill their dreams,” she added.

As one of the fastest growing theatre schools in the UK, Razzamataz is dedicated to working on making performance training accessible to young people all over the country. “As well as improving health and fitness, participation in theatre arts has been shown to benefit children in many different areas as they acquire life and performance skills. Theatre trained individuals are identified as having transferable skills such as good interviewing technique – massively important for older children in the job market which additionally teaches self-discipline and the ability to work as a team,” explained Hutton-Gosney.  

If you want to become part of the Razzamataz team, why not visit the Discovery Dens in Carlisle and Exeter every month, where you can meet the managing and associate directors to find out what is required of you to run a Razzamataz franchise.

This flexible and rewarding career is ideal for mums and ex-performers with families, so much so that Razzamataz are finalists in the ‘mum and working’ Awards judged by Sarah Beeny.

As well as the franchise opportunities available, Razzamataz is a thriving business with contracts with Thomson and First Choice Family Holidays and Carnival Cruise Lines. Duncan Bannatyne remains very much involved with Razzamataz with a further two-year commitment to the business.

In fact the latest project is Razz Xpress, a new family fitness service offered in Bannatynes Health Clubs. Currently available in Bannatynes in Ayr, Scotland, the service will be rolled out to further clubs over time.

Comments

[devon cottages]

It is important that children learn a drama course, makes them more outgoing and communicative, if It's in one of the best schools even better. Congratulations. Thanks for the info.