A talented youth theatre group has launched a fundraising appeal as they look to further develop their musical.

Proscenium Productions - a group of talented students who met whilst studying performing arts at Lowestoft Sixth Form College - staged a workshop production of their musical, Spotlights last month.

The original musical, which was completely self-funded, was performed at the Players Theatre in Lowestoft.

It dealt with tough issues such as mental health, bereavement, financial difficulties, LGBTQ+, self-discovery and finding love, as well as some light hearted and funny moments too.

Despite not having a marketing budget, the group, who are all aged under 20, managed to sell 70pc of the tickets available.

The audience loved the show and gave a standing ovation as the curtain came down.

Casey Divall, who played the character of Luke - the remarkably insensitive boyfriend of Paige - said: “We absolutely loved putting Spotlights together."

Exceptionally musically talented, Mr Divall co-wrote the Spotlights music and lyrics, he arranged the music and took on the role of musical director for the production.

He said: “The audience gave us some really useful feedback to help develop Spotlights further, but to do this we desperately need funding.”

To raise the required funding Spotlights are running a Crowdfunder appeal which was launched earlier this month with an initial target of £650.

Already more than £550 has been raised which will help the group to stage a full length production in August 2023 with more songs and a custom made set.

However, it they can stretch their target to £1,200 the extra money raised will help towards the cost of hiring technical equipment to enhance the production even further.

A spokesman for the Players Theatre said: “We were honoured that the group chose our theatre to stage their very first performance of this new musical.

"The dedication of the Spotlights team resulted in a highly polished performance.

"We are very much looking forward to seeing more from them in 2023.”

To read more about the Spotlights project, or to donate to the Spotlights Crowdfunder please visit its fundraising page.