FIRST the good news: the ever-busy Selby actor Alex Papachristou has won a place on the one-year masters course in musical theatre at the Royal Academy of Music in London – no mean achievement as only 15 boys and 15 girls are selected from more than 1,500 applicants.

Now for the hard part. “The course fees are £12,000 for the year, but typically there isn’t a lot of funding out there as there is for normal university fees, so I have to find the money myself,” says 21-year-old Alex.

“I’ve raised just under half at the moment through personal savings and sponsors from trusts and organisations, but to raise the rest I need to look for more sponsorship – and I’ve also decided to put on a couple of fund-raising concerts.”

The first, Black Tie And Busking It, will take place at 41 Monkgate, the York home of Upstage Centre Youth Theatre, on Sunday, August 14 at 8pm, when Alex will perform alongside Alicia Roberts, Emily Ramsden, Grace Lancaster, Nik Briggs and Aran McRae.

“The second show, One Summer Night, will be a variety evening with lots of different types of acts from the York area, featuring dancing, singing, live music, music hall, musical theatre and modern pop,” says Alex, who will hold this event at the New Earswick Folk Hall on Friday, August 26, when doors will open at 7pm for the 7.30pm start.

Tickets for each evening cost £10 and can be booked on 07507 506573 or 01757 702290 or by emailing concert.tickets@hotmail.co.uk with the subject line of Concert 14th or 26th, stating the number of tickets to be reserved and under what name.

Alex performs regularly with the York Stage Musicals company and has appeared in New Earswick Musical Society, Upstage Centre Youth Theatre and York Light Opera Company shows too. Among his stand-out turns have been dreamer Billy Fisher in Billy Liar, outspoken mum Edna Turnblad in Hairspray and the tormented Moritz in Spring Awakening.