IT was a dream come true for five youngsters who spent last week with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

After two gruelling auditions and speedy rehearsals the youngsters' hard work paid off as they joined the actors in North Yorkshire on the first leg of an international tour.

The sports hall at the Hambleton Leisure Centre, in Northallerton, was transformed into a theatre to seat more than 500 people.

First on stage was eight-year-old Jonathan Harrison, of Bishop Auckland, who was Martius, Coriolanus's son in Coriolanus.

Nicholas Sellers of Appleton Wiske, Elliott Francis, of Ingleby Barwick, Bret Upton and Saffron Johnson, both from Newton Aycliffe, had their 15 minutes of fame in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

After the last performance on Saturday evening centre staff and RSC crews worked through the night to load up five articulated lorries with all the equipment. By 6.30am on Sunday it was business as usual and the RSC was on its way to Warrington.

Nicholas was recovering after his week on stage.

He said: "I am very tired but I wish it was still going on, I thought it was absolutely brilliant."

Mum, Angela said: "It was a wonderful experience for all of the family and we were immensely proud of Nicholas.

"I think he is a little bit flat at the moment, it is an anticlimax for him now it is all over."

All five youngsters were coached over three days by RSC assistant director Samantha Potter.

She said: "They have been wonderful, they absorb it all so quickly."

Marion Johnson was one of the mothers filled with pride when she watched her daughter in the production.

She said: "Saffron takes it all in her stride. She loves to perform and she loves an audience."