Abby joined The Playhouse’s Next Stage Programme as an actor while on a gap year from her marketing degree, looking for a way into the industry that did not depend on more formal education or extra financial pressure. Next Stage offered her a different route: paid, structured work as an emerging professional.

After performing in The School on the Edge of Reality, she toured Home to Secondary Schools across the North West. “We’ve just finished Home, which was a tour around secondary schools in the North West,” she explained. “I’d just done the Halloween show here at The Playhouse, which was a children’s show. Home was completely different because it was about portraying a message and education as well.”

Working with multiple writers, fellow actors and director Niamh gave her new rehearsal techniques and on-the-road experience she hadn’t had before. For Abby, the key difference is that Next Stage combines learning with responsibility: she is paid, expected to deliver at a professional level, and supported to grow.