Talented Amber Haque has a blossoming stage career within reach having claimed the title of Young Thespian of the Year at a prestigious performance festival. 

Amber, age 15, won the hotly-contested William Roache Trophy at the recent Alderley Edge Festival. It was presented in person by the Coronation Street actor who plays the evergreen character of Ken Barlow.

Amber, from Heald Green, had been worried about entering the event due to a GCSE examination she was sitting the following day.

She explained: “I was concerned about the pressure of having to revise as well as rehearse, but my parents were very supportive and I managed to balance my time accordingly. I am thrilled to have won the trophy.”

Amber performed an excerpt of prose from Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, and a poem, The Listeners, by Walter De La Mere. She concluded with a solo drama piece, The Tooth Fairy by Jeffrey du Cann Grenfell-Hill, which the judges commended for being both poignant and humourous.

Amber has participated in the Festival since the age of 8 and is no stranger to major performances. In November, she spoke alongside BBC North-West presenter Ranvir Singh at a fundraising dinner  for  victims of the Pakistan earthquake which collected over £10,000 for SOS Children’s Villages.

Prior to this, she had shared a platform with Doreen Lawrence OBE at a Greater Manchester Police Conference.

The Alderley Edge Festival was founded in 1916 and is a celebration of the arts, with 238 competition classes covering a wide variety of genres. Previous Festival winners have gone on to form successful careers and have included BBC Young Musician of the Year Jennifer Pike and the blind soprano Denise Leigh, winner of the Channel 4 series Operatunity.

* Eight other MHSG pupils were winners at The Alderley Edge Festival. Use the link provided to find out who they were.

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