A YOUNG actress from north Durham is performing in a show selected for a run in America.

Billie Aken-Tyers, from Castleside, near Consett, in County Durham, is playing Rosetta in The Commedia Rapunzel.

It was at the New York City Fringe Festival over the summer and has been chosen for a run at the Soho Playhouse, off Broadway, this autumn.

Earlier in the year, the 22-year-old former CBS Musical and Stage Society actress had to stand in after an actress took ill and had to learn the part in half-an-hour.

Miss Aken-Tyers ended up with a full time part in Robin Hood The Musical after standing in at Royal Theatre McDade at Scranton at short notice.

She said: “It was maybe the most nerve-wracking thing I’ve ever done.

“It was the incarnation of every actor’s nightmare, going onstage and not knowing what comes next. Genuinely, there were moments when I had no idea, I think it was sheer adrenaline that got me through.

“I studied the script the best I could, the choreographer took me through the blocking and from there it was go time.”

Miss Aken-Tyers has been living across the Atlantic after graduating from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.

She added: “I intend on staying in the States for the near future. I have been so lucky that I have constantly been working in some capacity since graduation.

“I have several projects lined up in the next few months and I am hopefully starting to produce a play in the autumn.

“My dream was to be a working actor and I am slowly but surely making that dream come true.”