TILDA O’Grady and Peter Fisher will lead the cast of 70 for Louise Denison’s production of West Side Story, this summer’s Stage Experience project at the Grand Opera House, York.

Tilda, who will play Maria, has appeared on the Opera House stage no fewer that 16 times, mostly in dance shows, and she has one previous summer youth theatre show to her name.

“When I was ten I played Molly in Annie and I’m 18 now,” says the York schoolgirl, who left Fulford School this summer after completing her A-level studies in English Literature, Theatre Studies and French.

“I just love West Side Story, and my mum saw an advert for the auditions for the summer-school production. As I was free that Sunday, I thought ‘why not?’! It was a wonderful feeling to land the role of Maria – a bit scary but wonderful.”

Tilda has plenty of stage experience from her years at the Red Shoes dance school in York and Kirkham Henry Performing Arts Centre in Malton and latterly with the York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre, which she joined in April last year.

Peter Fisher, from Leeds, will play Tony in his first role with Stage Experience at the age of 19. “I’ve only just moved to York to study linguistics at the University of York, where I’m part of the drama society and did Jekyll & Hyde in February. That was the first time I’d been in a structured musical,” he says. “Now, playing Tony is very exciting: the equivalent of Romeo, but far less wet.”

West Side Story will run from Thursday to Saturday at the Grand Opera House, York. Box office: 0844 8713024 or book online at grandoperahouseyork.org.uk