Being Mayor of Worcester has given me fantastic opportunities to go to many events that I wouldn’t normally attend – such as a Saturday morning rehearsal of WODYS Carousel with 54 children and a production team.

WODYS – Worcester Operatic and Dramatic Society Youth Section – is putting on the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical at Worcester’s Swan Theatre from Tuesday 1 August  to Saturday 5 August  – and after watching the rehearsal I am really looking forward to going to the show.

The youngsters, aged 8 to 18, performed with such confidence and I really enjoyed listening to songs such as If I Loved You and June is Bustin’ Out All Over, sung so well by the soloists and chorus.

It takes something special to get up on every Saturday morning and put so much into a rehearsal like that. I was very impressed.

The arts are something special and it is very important to support live theatre and music. I hope the performances will be well attended and a good amount of money raised at the raffles for Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust.

WODYS has won five Best Youth Production awards from NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association) for shows including Les Miserables (School Edition) and Shrek, the musical the group did last year, and the youngsters are hoping Carousel might be nominated for another similar accolade.

Carousel is one of the great musicals and tells the story of the love affair between Billy Bigelow, a smooth-talking carousel barker, and Julie Jordan, a young mill worker.

I was strongly impressed by the acting and how the youngsters work so well together and everyone is so friendly and keen.

I am really looking forward to seeing Carousel. But here is the sting. The arts are suffering. Attendance numbers for many concerts and shows are down due to the cost of living crisis. But also there are many, often older, people who have just lost the habit of going out to events such as these. I’d hate for them to play to an empty theatre – will you support these young people by going to their show?

Tickets can be bought at Huntingdon Hall box office, Crowngate, Worcester, telephone: 01905611427 or visit www.worcestertheatres.co.uk