Radlett stage welcomes back a singing sensation (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Radlett stage welcomes back a singing sensation

5:18pm Thursday 29th November 2007 in

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PANTO time will have particular relevance for one Abbots Langley family as Rachal Oliphant returns to the Radlett Centre stage where she began her dramatic career more than eight years ago.

Rachal says all her family are musicians. Her mum Christine plays violin and teaches at Watford School of Music while her dad, detective constable Keith Oliphant, is in a band and her 23-year-old brother Ben plays keyboards and writes his own songs as well as playing in indie pop outfit The Rockets.

Rachal has been asked to sing with the band and record the vocals on their dance tracks. Rachal's musical talents also shone from an early age. While a pupil at St Michael's School, Rachal formed her own rock outfit.

She says: "I was the president of the performing arts department and I was doing everything then. A lot of people didn't know my name, they just knew me as the girl that sang. I started a gospel choir at school and the school chaplain was very encouraging. We went from three or four people to more than 30 children."

Currently in her gap year, the 19-year-old assists with music theatre workshops at the theatre and has appeared in all but one of Upstage Productions' pantos at the venue. She has attended stage school from the age of three, has private singing lessons at Aviv Studios and has travelled to Disneyland Paris with Mardi Gras Productions.

Rachal explains how she has steadily worked her way through the ranks on the Radlett stage. She says: "I started as a babe through dancing and was in the chorus line for Sleeping Beauty. Then as a senior dancer I understudied the fairy and played the harp. It was my first solo and standing out there was very nerve-wracking."

For Aladdin, Rachal takes on the role of So-Shi, maid to Princess Jasmine but with her looks, confidence and charm it won't be long before Rachal takes on a leading role. Having received a triple distinction for her National Diploma in Music Theatre, Rachal is looking forward to studying at graduate level. She has five applications currently under consideration including prestigious establishments such as Mountview and Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

All in all it's not bad for a girl who admits to having been "quite shy" as a child.

"Being at stage school from an early age was a confidence boost, but it's important to enjoy it. It changed for me in about year six when I got a role in a play. "I'm not really shy now."

Aladdin runs at The Radlett Centre, Aldenham Avenue, Radlett from Saturday, December 8 to Sunday, December 30.

Tickets: 01923 859291 (£11-£13)