AN EVENING of movie magic will bring young performers and West End stars together tomorrow.

Chipping Norton School will be transformed into an Oscar-themed venue for A Very Hollywood Christmas in aid of Emma’s Trust and Macmillan Cancer Support.

A 20-strong team of students will unite with 12 West End stars and musicians from shows such as Mamma Mia, Chicago and Hairspray.

The glitzy event will be hosted by charity Emma’s Trust, which launched nine years ago in memory of Chipping Norton teenager Emma Curtis-Smith.

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Emma, who was a sports science student at Henley-in-Arden College in Warwickshire, passed away in 2005 after suffering a heart attack brought on by a collapsed lung.

Emma’s cousin Ian Nolan, from East Oxford, who is a trustee of the charity, said: “It’s a nice thing to do before Christmas. It will bring people together.

“But more importantly, it offers the young people involved an opportunity to perform alongside West End performers.”

The two 90-minute concerts will feature hits from the big screen, including Back to the Future, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Dirty Dancing and Frozen.

Performers have spent the last two weeks rehearsing at Chipping Norton’s Holy Trinity Primary School for their Hollywood extravaganza.

Tickets for the 7.30pm performance have already sold out but visitors can still don their finest glad-rags for the 4.30pm show.

It will be the third time Emma’s Trust has hosted the fundraiser.

Trust chairman, Emma’s stepfather Gary Creese, said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming back some of the very best performers in the West End for a night that has become such a wonderful celebration of music and the work the trust undertakes.

“The town is, once again, in for a real treat.”

Asthma sufferer Emma collapsed while watching her boyfriend on parade as an officer cadet at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy in Surrey.

She was resuscitated but died three days later in hospital, aged 18.

Her family launched the trust to provide opportunities for young people aged up to 21 involved with sports or performing arts.

But after awarding almost £100,000 to causes across Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire, they have decided to wind up the charity next year on the 10th anniversary of Emma’s death.

Tickets for tomorrow’s show cost £25 and £10. For more information call Chipping Norton Theatre on 01608 642350 or visit emmastrust.com

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