Shields Gazette entertainment reviewer Chris Robinson will soon be reading reviews about his own performances as he prepares to make his theatre debut later this year.
Robinson, who is to appear in the play My Friend Miss Flint, will document every stage of his experience from audition to opening night for a new column ‘Chris's Curtain Call'.
He will star as Mr Dodds in the modern-day play about a celebrity gardener's tax dodge, and his plan to avoid getting caught out by the Inland Revenue.
Robinson wanted to reveal to Gazette readers exactly what it was like behind the scenes of the theatre.
He said: "As entertainment reporter I've interviewed dozens of actors and directors from both the amateur and professional circuit about why they enjoy the role so much.
"I'm so impressed with the amateur shows I've reviewed with the Gazette and I know from my contacts just how hard it is to stage a show. Although you will read plenty about the shows ahead of their opening night, no one really fully understands how much unpaid work and effort go on behind the scenes. Often there are cries of: ‘Oh I can do that, it seems easy' — well, I'm here to prove it's not."
As a teenager Robinson went to drama school with Ant and Dec, but hasn't acted for many years.
My Friend Miss Flint is due to show at the Westovian Theatre Society in the autumn.
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