Dominic Taylor beat off competition from 80 other young men to be chosen to play the role of the boy in a production of Waiting For Godot in Brighton.
Dominic, who is in Year 8 at Victoria College, was one of two boys who alternated the role over its eight-night run at the Brighton Theatre Royal last month.
‘I was playing a piglet in our school play, Animal Farm, and one of the English teachers, who was doing Waiting For Godot with her GCSE students, noticed me,’ he explained. ‘She told me that they were doing open auditions in England and said that I fitted the character well so should go for it.’
After travelling to Brighton for the auditions in January, Dominic had to wait only a few days before finding out that he had got the part. ‘I was really pleased,’ said Dominic. ‘I was waiting outside school and my Mum received a call from the theatre. It was very exciting news.’
Dominic is the son of Fiona and Mark Taylor and lives in St Martin. He has lived in Jersey for five years, having spent the first seven years of his life growing up in Hong Kong. He was one of just five people in the cast of Waiting For Godot and had to miss a week of school to take part.
‘It was a really exciting experience and I loved everything about it,’ said Mr Taylor. ‘When I met Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart they didn’t talk too much, but towards the end they started to engage in conversation with me, particularly about my coming from Jersey. They knew where it was but had never been here.’
So having made his big break, does he believe acting is the career path he is destined to go down? ‘I didn’t do much acting at my primary school, but since I’ve been at Victoria College I’ve done drama lessons and have really enjoyed acting,’ he said. ‘I would love to have a career in it – that’s my dream.
‘Next year I will take part in our house play and other school performances and I may try to join the Youth Theatre.’
Waiting for Godot ran from Monday 23 to Saturday 28 March. The other boy alternating in the role was Kwame Owusu (10) from Hove.
