A YOUNGSTER from a village near Evesham is currently treading the boards with the stars at Shakespeare's memorial theatre at Stratford.

With an eight-strong group of children, Daisy Hughes from Salford Priors is appearing in Richard III with stage and screen actor Henry Goodman, and former Casualty star Maureen Beattie.

The production is one of Shakespeare's most powerful and bloody plays. Twelve-year-old Daisy plays the Duke of Clarence's daughter. She said: "I love being in the play. I have always been interested in acting and want to be an actress when I grow up. We have been rehearsing three times a week which has been quite hard work but everyone has been lovely." Daisy got the taste for treading the boards by attending the Dream Factory in Warwick, and taking part in six productions. She has got about ten lines to speak, she said.

The search for the child actors began in May this year with 38 hopefuls from local schools and drama groups. RSC children's casting director Barbara Roberts said: "I was very impressed by the standard of all the children who auditioned. It takes a lot of courage for some children to come into a strange environment and perform their audition piece in front of strangers."

"The final eight we chose best fitted the criteria we were looking for."