CHILDREN were given a glimpse of the wonderful life they could have ‘when they grow up’ after bumping into a former pupil in the capital’s theatre land.
Year 6 pupils from Barnard Castle Preparatory School ended up on the stage of the critically acclaimed Matilda The Musical during a school trip to London after a chance meeting with an Old Barnardian.
Dylan Custance left Prep School for Senior School in 2010 where he developed a passion for being backstage as part of the technical crew. After completing his A Levels in 2017, while boarding at Barney, he developed this interest into a career.
Now aged 23, he is a sound engineer on the production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical, which is being staged at the Cambridge Theatre in London’s West End.
Deputy Head Pastoral Rebecca Robertson said: “I’d heard that he’d got a job in the West End before Covid but of course everything then shut down.
“I didn’t realise he was working on Matilda The Musical then I literally bumped into him walking through a door at the theatre and we recognised each other immediately. He got us the chance to go on stage for a photograph and we were able to look out at the theatre, which was fantastic and I’m sure we will all remember forever. I’m a huge fan of Matilda and we were all absolutely thrilled.
“Dylan went on our annual London trip when he was in Year 6 and we reminisced about the trip. It’s great to see a Preppie doing so well and it was inspirational to our current pupils to see what they can achieve in the future and that they are part of a wider Old Barnardian community.”
Categories: Barnard Castle School
