Talented teens from Ipswich sixth form up for national theatre awards

Whilst DiCaprio battles with Chalamet at this weekend’s Oscars, a string of talented performers who study in Suffolk are up for a series of national awards.

The youngsters from One Sixth Form College (ONE) in Ipswich received their nominations from the National School Theatre Awards panel.

Representatives from this organisation came to the sixth form last year to watch a musical production of The Addams Family. And a clutch of students are in the mix for national acclaim. They will now travel to the Gillian Lynne theatre in London on 26 June 2026 to find out how they got on.

Lewis McLaughlin, 17, from Ipswich is nominated for best supporting actor in a musical for his portrayal of Gomez. He said: “It’s such a big thing and I didn’t expect it – I feel very lucky.”

Lyra James, 16, from Great Cornard and Sophie Woodman, 16, from Hadleigh were nominated as best ensemble. Sophie said: “It took us by surprise.”

Lily Brotherton, 18, from Colchester is nominated for best female solo for her performance as Wednesday in The Addams Family. She said: “I was shocked and it’s nice to be recognised.”

Honor Coulson, 18, from Alresford is up for best actress in a musical for playing Morticia. She said: “This is insane. I’m going to the awards – it would mean the world to win.”

Lily, Lewis, Lyra, Sophie and Honor all study on performing arts courses at ONE.

Charlotte Rayner was the director of The Addams Family. She said: “Getting these nominations makes all the hard work worthwhile. The feedback I got (from the panel) was fantastic. I’ve been teaching for 15 years and to win something like this would be the best. We have these nominations, we have students who have gone into screen acting and two former learners are currently in West End productions. I think this is THE place to study performing arts in Suffolk.”