Maddison relishing key role on stage for University of Chichester

From Hackney to Bognor Regis, it’s been quite a leap, says Maddison Cathrow – but one she has relished.

Maddison is thoroughly enjoying life on the University of Chichester’s triple-threat musical-theatre course, particularly for the part it’s bringing her in their double production of Kander & Ebb’s first and last shows.

Curtains ran from Thursday to Saturday, November 14-16 at Bognor’s Regis Centre; now the venue hosts the next instalment, Flora The Red Menace (Thursday to Saturday, November 21-23).

Maddison is one of two performers (double-cast) as Flora Meszaros – a great challenge in a great show.

Flora The Red Menace opened in the 1960s with a 19-year old Liza Minelli in the title role. She won the Tony, the youngest person to have done so.

It offers the tale of Flora, a plucky New York fashion illustrator newly graduated and ready to change the world. She aspires to balance her ideals and personal happiness with humanity, ro-mance and a fine set of tunes.

As Maddison explains: “It is set in New York City in the 1930s, and it is all about the Great Depression and the people who lived in New York at the time. It is about the rise of communism and it is about how young people lead their lives, how they are learning what they believe in politically and socially… and it is really interesting with what is going on right now with all that is happening in politics, with all the young people being encouraged to vote and to find their own political ideas.