Four of five Newsies Jr. shows by PQA Welwyn Garden City sold out in 24 hours; a few seats remain for Sunday 11 October at 10am at BEAM, Hertford.
Young performers from PQA Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage take Disney’s Newsies Jr. to BEAM in Hertford this coming weekend, and most of the run has already gone. Four of the five performances sold out within 24 hours of tickets going on sale, the academy says, leaving a small number of seats for the 10am show on Sunday 11 October.
The cast are all local performers aged 6 to 18.
“Unusually rare for one of our productions”
Louise Lawton, the academy’s principal, wrote to Welwyn Online on Sunday to invite us to the show. “We are putting on five performances over the course of this weekend, and the response has been incredible,” she said. “Four of the five performances sold out completely within just 24 hours of tickets being released. We do still have a small number of tickets available for our 10am performance on Sunday morning, which is unusually rare for one of our productions.”
It is the academy’s second year on the BEAM stage. Last year its young performers put on Matilda there, and Ms Lawton says the venue’s staff were not expecting what they saw.
“The theatre staff told us afterwards that they had arrived that morning expecting it to be like any other local drama and dance school performance, but were completely blown away by the professionalism, confidence and talent they saw on stage,” she said.
A full ensemble show
This year’s production brings children and young people from across the age range together in one company. “The production gives our young performers the opportunity to work as a professional-style ensemble, develop their confidence and performance skills, and take on a challenging musical together,” Ms Lawton said.
“We think it would make a great local-interest story celebrating the talent, dedication, and hard work of young people in the area,” she added. “We would be delighted to welcome you to the performance and show you what these young performers really can do.”
PQA Welwyn Garden City is a Saturday performing arts school. According to its own page, its sessions run at The Ridgeway Academy on Herns Lane and cover comedy and drama, musical theatre, and film and television, and Ms Lawton has been principal since September 2017.
What it means for you
- When: Sunday 11 October 2026, 10am. This is the only one of the five performances the academy says still has tickets.
- Where: BEAM, The Wash, Hertford SG14 1PS.
- Who is in it: local performers aged 6 to 18 from PQA Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage.
- Tickets: the academy has not published a price or booking link for this show. To ask about the remaining seats, contact PQA Welwyn Garden City through its academy page, which lists its phone number and email.
Looking for more to do with children this month? Our Welwyn Garden City Halloween round-up has the free pumpkin patch and every half-term date, and the panto listings have the cheapest seats for Christmas.
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