After years of coming very close to being chosen, a youth theatre group from the island are heading to one of the most prestigious stages in London as part of a UK-wide theatrical festival.

The Kensington Youth Arts drama group has been chosen for the finals of the National Theatre’s Connections festival, and will head down to the Dorfman theatre in London at the end of June to line up with nine other groups from around the UK and perform in front of an audience made up of some of the biggest names in UK theatre.

The cast members, aged between 12 to 18 and including Iva Petrova, Katie-Rose Hughes, Éowyn Goldie, Lexi Forbes, Callum McWhinnie-Joughin, Lydia Hunter, Daniel Ansara, Sophie Hindson, Thomas Bell, Felicia Kelly-Pringle, Lacey Cannell, David Livsey and Eve Puzzar, recently took part in the UK-wide festival, where they selected one of 10 especially-written plays and performed it at the York Theatre Royal during April.

Manx actor and theatre teacher David Dawson directed the play and the group were also joined by a youth backstage crew, Tadgh Hall, Cici Reed and Xenia Bentley-Garcia, who will also travel to London.

The group performed ‘Hunt’, written by the Irish playwright Fionnula Kennedy, about a risky game played by a group of teenagers on the streets of Belfast.

More than 250 youth groups also performed at theatres across the UK, with one of each of the plays being chosen to be performed in London.

‘It is amazing news. We can’t quite believe it and to be picked is incredible,’ said David.

‘The cast are blown away by the news, and most of them are very new to the theatre and they are taking it in very different ways.

‘Some are very excited, and some are pretty terrified, while there are a few who are not phased by it at all and are taking it in their stride.

‘The biggest thing is how much it puts Manx theatre on the map. It’s a big deal for some of our young actors to be chosen on merit to walk on the same stage that Tom Hiddlestone and Benedict Cumberbatch have recently performed on.

‘That is huge for any actor, let alone for a group from the island, and a youth group at that. This is one of the first major theatre experiences that these actors will experience, and it is quite something for them to get their heads around.

‘Also, the writer of the play, Fionnula Kennedy, will be there to watch too, which is also very exciting.’

The Connections festival has been running for 27 years, and the Kensington Road group have taken part in the last eight years.

Previous young actors to have gone through the festival include Joe Locke, who recently starred in the high-profile Netflix series ‘Heartstopper’.

‘We’ve travelled far and wide, from performing at York, Inverness, and at many other wonderful theatres across the British Isles,’ said David.

‘Also, the youth groups have only been able to travel to five of them. The previous two festivals have been held virtually, and we’ve had to perform the plays from the Isle of Man

‘It’s a festival that we have already loved and now it just means that bit more to us!

‘It’s already a brilliant festival to be part of, as one of 300 youth groups, and more than 5,500 young actors from around the UK, but to be selected to go to London is just the icing on the cake.

‘It’s something we should be proud of , and its something that should also highlight the quality the theatre resources that we have, especially with the KensingtonYouth Arts Centre.

‘It’s a wonderful facility and it and Peter Shimmin, who has taken over the running of it, should be backed thoroughly to realise the potential of the young people who go through its doors.’

The Kensington Youth Arts drama group will perform in London on Thursday, June 30.