Local theatre group Wells Operatic Society (trading as Wells Little Theatre) are this week celebrating a large haul of nominations for the upcoming David Beach Awards. The David Beach Awards is the section of The Somerset Fellowship of Drama dedicated to Musicals, and runs an annual 'dress to impress' awards ceremony, celebrating the best of Musical Theatre within Somerset.

The theatre is celebrating receiving 22 nominations across their two recent musicals, Nativity! The Musical and Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel. Chairman Tom Creswick says "This is a huge achievement for the society and I'm so proud of everyone for their respective nominations. It's great to have a wide variety of people nominated, from individual awards, technical achievements, ensemble performance, showstoppers and creative team recognition. It's wonderful to show the area that our 'little' theatre can compete with the big players in the region for these fantastic awards. We are looking forward to what promises to be a fantastic awards ceremony, celebrating our amazing theatre and the wider musical community in Somerset."

The awards ceremony is being held on March 27^th at the Batch Country House in Lympsham and we wish our local theatre the very best of luck.

The full list of nominations is below:

For Nativity:

Best Creative Lighting - Graham Brown

Best Props - Doreen Grant & team

Best Male 13 & under - Harry P as Ollie

Best Supporting Male - Nick Barlow as Paul Maddens

Best Male in Lead - Locryn Hocking-Gadd as Mr Poppy

Challenge Award

Best Choreography - Zoe Woods

Best Musical Direction - Richard Kerton-Welch

For Carousel:

Best Sound - Nick Barlow and Julie Webster

Best Creative Lighting - James Linham

Best Stage Management - Phil Vivash

Best Made Set - Phil Vivash and team

Best Cameo - Megan Boyd and Ethan Wells as Louise Bigelow and Carnival Man

Best Supporting Female - Sarah Campbell as Carrie Pipperidge

Best Female in Lead - Amy Hutton as Julie Jordan

Best Male in Lead - Ben Hutton as Billy Bigelow

Showstopper - Maureen Wycherley as Nettie Fowler and the ensemble for 'You'll Never Walk Alone'

Best Ensemble

Best Choreography - Elisha Creswick

Best Direction - Tom Creswick

Small Venue Award

Best Production