A TALENTED young North-East woman is appealing for help in achieving her dream of a career in musical theatre.

Becca Nesham, 23, who grew up in Hurworth-on-Tees, near Darlington, has been offered a place at the prestigious London School of Musical Theatre.

Former students include Emma Hatton, who recently completed a 19-month run as Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked.

However, the fees for the one-year course are £16,500, so Becca has embarked on a fundraising campaign to secure the coveted place.

So far, she has raised £10,500 – £3,500 through a scholarship, £4,000 through crowdfunding, and the rest through bursaries – but she still has £6,000 to go.

“It’s such a lot of money to find but a career in musical theatre has been my dream since I was a little girl,” said Becca, who was brought up by her grandmother, Jean Nesham.

“My Mum had me when she was very young, so I owe so much to my Grandma, and I want to make her proud of me.”

Becca, who attended Croft-on-Tees Primary School and Hurworth School, has been singing and dancing as long as she can remember and joined Darlington Arts Academy when she was eight.

She made her first appearance on stage in Hairspray shortly afterwards, and joined The Pauline Quirke Academy, in Darlington, after winning a one-year scholarship when she was 16. She loved it so much, she didn’t want to leave, so was allowed to continue as a teaching assistant.

Becca appeared in the Monty Python musical comedy, Spamalot, with Darlington Operatic Society, before graduating with a first-class degree in musical theatre from Newcastle College (University Centre), overcoming the challenges of studying during the pandemic.

Her first professional show was in The Snow Queen, with Northern Stage, in which she was the understudy for the starring role.

She is now working at The Juniper Tree bistro and cocktail bar, in Darlington Town Centre, to save as much money as possible ahead of the course starting in September.

“There’s a lot of talent in the North-East but it’s really hard to make it because the costs of going to London are so high. It’s going to be tough but not many get the opportunity of going to one of the best musical theatre schools in the country, so I’m determined to get there,” added Becca.

“There’s nothing that can replicate that feeling of excitement and happiness you get just before you go on stage to perform in front of an audience.”

  • To help Becca’s dream come true, go to www.gofundme.com and search for “Get Becca To London Musical Theatre”.