Three Perth girls picked to play Susan in 'White Christmas'

Nov 13 2012 by Andy Fallon, Perthshire Advertiser

Three talented girls from Perthshire have been picked to play the part of Susan in a spectacular stage version of White Christmas ... writes Melanie Bonn.

In October, Pitlochry Festival Theatre began a search to find a young actress to play Susan Waverley in their festive musical.

They needed three different girls to cover the gruelling performance schedule.

Many young hopefuls from across Perthshire, Kinross-shire and Tayside auditioned for the part.

But when it came down to it, Sarah Rhind, Eden Barrie and Zara Wilkins had the star quality that was needed.

Aspiring stars Sarah and Zara are from Perth, where they train at the Julie Young Dance Studios and Centre for Performing Arts in Perth.

Both are already seasoned performers having appeared at Perth Theatre and the Youth Musical Theatre in Edinburgh. When Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat came to Perth, Zara was one of the local performers to join the West End company on stage.

Eden, meanwhile, is a member of Hiper, Pitlochry Theatre’s youth theatre group.

And she’s absolutely thrilled to be doing her second show on the Pitlochry stage.

She is delighted to be returning after playing the role of the Fairy of the West in last year’s Sleeping Beauty.

Rehearsals for White Christmas have now started in earnest, with opening night on November 30 drawing near.

White Christmas runs at Pitlochry Festival Theatre until December 23.

The show is based on the iconic 1954 Hollywood musical featuring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney. It was directed by Michael Curtiz and features the songs of Irving Berlin, including the famous title song ‘White Christmas’.