A Week in the west end
London Summer Intensive
25th-29th August 2025
We are once again bringing the absolute best in the business to Pineapple this Summer… you won’t want to miss this, it’s going to be a wicked week!!
The Ultimate West End Experience for Ages 9–19
Whether you dream of the West End or simply want to train with the best, this is your chance to learn in a professional, supportive, and inspiring environment. You’ll:
Learn five different musical numbers – one each day – all taught by current West End performers.
Work daily with our West End MD to master harmonies and solo lines.
Build confidence and performance skills across acting, singing, and dancing.
Meet like-minded young performers from across the UK.
Why Train With Us?
Industry-led training: Learn directly from performers who’ve lived and breathed the West End.
All-round development: Every day covers acting, singing, and dance.
Confidence-boosting: Supportive tutors and a friendly atmosphere help every student shine.
Professional insight: Get tips, tricks, and rehearsal discipline from the people who do it for real.
TUTORS
We’re bringing together some of the biggest names in musical theatre – all with unique backgrounds and training – to give you a truly unforgettable week:
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Layton is currently appearing in Titanique (West End) as The Iceberg
Layton Williams was born in Bury, Manchester and he began his career at the age of 12 playing the title role of Billy in the West End production of Billy Elliot. He made his debut TV appearance as Kylie in the BBC comedy “Beautiful People.” He went on to train at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts which was documented on CBBC’s “School for Stars.”
Most recently, Layton was seen on the West End playing the Emcee in London’s seven-time Olivier Award winning Cabaret, for which he has since received 2 Black British Theatre Award nominations.
Earlier this year he also toured his dance extravaganza, Layton & Nikita: Live with Strictly Come Dancing partner Nikita Kuzmin, after wowing audiences and becoming a finalist on the show in 2023.
He has also recently been seen reprising his iconic role of Stephen in “Bad Education” on BBC One and as the narrator of hit BBC Three LGBTQ+ dating show, “I Kissed A Boy.” Other recent TV roles include parts in Billie Piper’s BAFTA-nominated “I Hate Suzie,” Greg Davies’ “The Cleaner,” Johnny Vegas’s “Murder, They Hope” and ITV’s popular “Benidorm.”
Other theatre credits include Jamie in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Apollo Theatre, UK/international tour); Paul in Kiss Me Kate(Sheffield Crucible); Seaweed in Hairspray! (2018 UK Tour); Angel in RENT (London/UK Tour); The Car Man (Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures); Simon in The Lord of the Flies (Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures) and Young Michael in Thriller Live! (West End).
Film credits include Rocketman; The Bad Education Movie; Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Layton is the director of ‘Pros from The Shows’ which provides high quality workshops for young performers. They have reached thousands of students across the country hoping to inspire the next generation and nurture talent.
A regular supporter of the charities Stonewall and Ditch the Label, Layton regularly visits schools and makes speeches at events to raise awareness of LGBTQIA+ issues and bullying. Layton recently won the Culture Award at this year’s Attitude Awards, having also picked up the LGBTQIA+ Champion Award at the Black British Theatre Awards in 2020.
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Sarah O’Connor is an actress and singer from Dublin. She most recently starred as Glinda in the UK & Ireland tour of Wicked.
Further credits include: Anna in Frozen (Australia & Singapore Tour); Fanny in Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol (Southbank Centre); 1st cover Anna in the original London cast of Frozen (Theatre Royal Drury Lane); cover Jenna & Dawn in the original London cast of Waitress (Adelphi Theatre); Celtic Angels (US tour); Mistress in Evita (Phoenix Theatre & UK Tour); Imelda in the original cast of The Commitments (Palace Theatre); 1st cover Eponine in Les Misérables (Queen’s Theatre); 1st cover Sophie in Mamma Mia! (Prince of Wales Theatre); Snow White in Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (Qdos/Belfast Opera House).
Television credits include placing as finalist and runner-up in Irish reality show Fame: Remember My Name (RTÉ). Sarah is the face of the 2023 Lotto Eurodreams campaign in Ireland.
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West End leading man, three-time Olivier Award-nominee, and Broadway Star Charlie Stemp has vast experience in Musical Theatre with credits including: Kiss Me, Kate (Barbican), Crazy For You (Chichester & Gillian Lynne; Olivier Award nomination), Mary Poppins (Prince Edward; Olivier Award nomination), and Half a Sixpence (Chichester & Noel Coward; Olivier Award nomination & WhatsOnStage Award winner for Best Actor in a Musical). He made his Broadway debut in Hello, Dolly! (Shubert) opposite Bette Midler and Bernadette Peters, and was awarded the 2018 Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut.
After graduating from Laine Theatre Arts, Charlie first started teaching for Front & Centre during the Covid 19 lockdown and has since gone on to lead many of our workshops all over the UK and is now our Patron.
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Olivier Award nominated Millie O’Connell is an English musical theatre actress and singer. She is best known for portraying Anne Boleyn in the original UK tour and West End production of the musical SIX.
Her theatre credits include: Nicole in Cake The Musical at the Other Place; Babe in The Cher Show UK Tour; Maureen in Rent at the Hope Mill Theatre; Chloe Valentine in Be More Chill at the Shaftesbury Theatre; Jeannie in Hair at the London Palladium; Velcro in Soho Cinders at the Charing Cross Theatre; Ensemble/u/s Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie UK Tour; Ensemble/us Annie in 42nd Street at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Millie also featured as Tram Lady in Wonka.
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Erin played Jane Seymour in the UK & International Tour of Six the Musical, she was also emergency cover for the same role in the West End Production of the show. Prior to Six, Erin played Veronica Sawyer in the London production of Heathers the musical at The Other Palace; she was also Susan/Ensemble in Pretty Woman at the Savoy Theatre in the West End.
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Back by popular demand!! West End Musical Director Dan De Cruz returns for our 2025 Summer Intensive!
Dan has recently been the Musical Supervisor for CAKE - The Marie-Antoinette Playlist and Associate Musical Supervisor for La Bamba! A Musical (working alongside Alfonso Casado Trigo). He was also part of the music team for Operation Mincemeat, which won the Olivier award for Best Musical.
Dan has worked extensively around the UK as a Musical Director: most recently on the UK No.1 Tour of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical (nominated for Best Musical Supervision/Musical Direction in WhatsOnStage), as MD and Arranger on the Charity Single It Means Beautiful by SAME Voices (nominated for an Asian Creative Media Award), as MD on Just So and Kiss Me, Kate at the Watermill Theatre, Our Blue Heaven at the New Wolsey Theatre, Return to the Forbidden Planet at the Devonshire Park Theatre, and as MD and Arranger on Justin Fletcher’s new show – Justin’s Band
Dan was also involved in the WestEnd Unplugged sessions, performing acoustic sets of West End numbers with such artists as Alice Fearn, Sandra Marvin, Tim Howar, Aisha Jawando, David Bedella, Cedric Neal, Ben Goddard and Hannah Waddingham.
Other work includes the UK No.1 tour of the hit musical, Jackie – The Musical,
Assistant Musical Director for the critically acclaimed production of Made In Dagenham at the Queen’s Theatre/New Wolsey Theatre,
MD and Arranger for Beauty and the Beast and Red Riding Hood at the City Varieties, Leeds and Aladdin, at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch, (voted one of the Top Ten Shows of 2015 in London Theatre 1)
Vocal Coach: Dan has been a vocal coach for over 15 years, working at various institutions including The National Theatre, Royal Academy of Music, Mountview, Rose Bruford, East 15, Guildford School of Acting, The Academy of Contemporary Music and Performers College.
Dan was also part of CCI (Collective Creative Initiative) delivering online seminars and workshops.
Performer: Dan has performed in the West End as well as extensively around the UK and also the US with credits such as Kiss Me Kate! (Watermill); Return to the Forbidden Planet (Devonshire Park); Made In Dagenham, Sweet Charity, Beauty and the Beast, Dick Whittington, Mods and Rox (New Wolsey); Lemon - The Musical (Arts Theatre); The Man Who Stole The Circus (Isis Theatre); Run For Your Wife, They're Playing Our Song (Queen's Theatre); Cinderella, Aladdin (City Varieties); Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet (Stafford Castle); Buddy Vs The Killer (Raffles, Singapore); Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood (Theatre Clwyd); My Fair Lady, West Side Story (Aberystwyth Arts Centre); Dawlish Road (Soho Theatre); The Far Pavilions, Time's Up (Shaftesbury Theatre); FAME (Palladium).
*please note, due to the volatile nature of the industry, changes to this line-up may occur*
5 Days
Creating full ensemble numbers
Spend 5 days in a rehearsal-like environment to create full ensemble Musical Theatre numbers. You will work with different West End pro’s each day along with a West End Musical Director to piece together these show numbers.
5 Creatives
Spend each day with a different West End Pro
We have a lineup of FIVE incredible West End pro’s all with very different experience, backgrounds and training. Each tutor will direct and choreograph a different number for the students on their day with us. Every tutor will bring something new to the table as they will impart their knowledge and skills onto the students.
1 West End MD
Our West End MD will work with the students all week
Our West End MD will be with us for all five days teaching the music and harmonies for each number. Students will be taught the material and treated like pro’s throughout the intensive in a true rehearsal style environment. They will be supported in a safe and reassuring space and encouraged to take on solo lines within the numbers.
The Intensive
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How the 5 days will run
Students will spend each day with a different guest creative alongside our brilliant MD learning choreography, staging, vocals, harmonies and everything in between. This means the students will learn whole musical number each day which parents can come and watch (it will also be filmed at the end of the session).
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Working with Professionals
There’s nobody better to gain industry knowledge from than industry professionals. There are only a handful of people who get to work professionally in Musical Theatre and the ones who make it got there through their sheer determination and work ethic. By working with these professionals in a rehearsal-style environment, you are also acquiring industry knowledge from real working professionals.
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Act, Sing & Dance
A key benefit of our Intensives is that all three of these disciplines are incorporated into every single day. Each ensemble number they learn will be very different from the last. This not only helps students improve their abilities across a range of styles but also, it lets them explore different shows and their own creativity.
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Build confidence
Confidence is key. And confidence can be nurtured and improved upon when the environment is right. Each student will be encouraged to be bold and to perform to the best of their abilities every day.
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Who Can book?
Our Summer Intensive is designed for young aspiring performers between the ages 9-19 who have a great passion for Musical Theatre. Students get the chance to learn from some of the biggest names in the West End for a full week!!
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Make new friends
The joy of an intensive like this is that you get people travelling from all around the UK to attend. This means students get the opportunity to meet new people who share the same passion they do for Musical Theatre. It’s a fresh new space for them to bond with other students outside of their usual friendship groups at their weekly classes. This helps children build their social skills and confidence in a fresh, new environment.