YOUNGSTERS were given a chance to peek behind the curtain and get a look at the backstage workings of Oxford's largest theatre.

The New Theatre in George Street has staged a series of summer workshops throughout the school holidays this year with the aim of getting more young people interested in drama.

Participants at the sessions were allowed to try their hand at various theatre skills including creating their own special effects and make-up and learning about technical skills and musical theatre.

It was the first time the theatre has run workshops of this nature and are now hoping to repeat the sessions in the future.

Technical manager Jon Robinson, who led the technical workshops, said they had been a real success.

He added: “It was fantastic to see so many youngsters who were interested in the technical aspects of theatre, and we gave them the chance to try their hand at a wide range of skills.

“They all picked up the different skills really quickly and it was a pleasure working with them for the sessions.

"It was also a great experience for our venue team, and gave them the chance to demonstrate and share their knowledge to, hopefully, those who may go on to become the next generation of technicians.”

At the musical theatre session, participants learnt a song and dance routine from a current musical and then got a chance to perform on the theatre's stage as part of a short group performance.

The special effects workshops saw visitors inflict a whole manner of realistic-looking cuts and bruises on themselves.

Make up workshop participants looked at creating the perfect look for the stage, including applying effects to the eyes and lips.

Theatre director Lee Henderson said he hoped to open up the theatre to a wider audience.

He said: “We have been delighted by the response to the workshops we held for youngsters over the past couple of weeks.

“The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, with a number of workshops selling out very quickly, and we are already planning similar events for future.

"Everyone who took part was excited and fully engaged with the sessions and I hope they all took something away from it.

“As part of the cultural community here in Oxford, we want to make theatre accessible to everyone and events like this help us to open our doors to a wider audience”