Sisters doing it for themselves in Annie at the Alban Arena

The show will run from 7.30pm next Tuesday, April 29, to Saturday, May 3, with matinee performances at 2pm on Wednesday and Saturday.

As well as sharing the lead role of Annie, both Evie Lilley and Sophie Stevens also share centre stage with another family member. Evie will be singing and dancing alongside her mother, Julie, who plays dastardly Miss Hannigan, ironically chief tormentor to Annie and her arch nemesis.

Sophie also has the opportunity to play Annie but in a more peaceful union with her little sister, Phoebe, who plays a younger orphan in the orphanage.

It is the first time Evie and Julie Lilley have performed in a musical together but being in the limelight will pose no problem for Evie.

At the tender age of 11 she has already gained a lot of experience in amateur dramatics, appearing in The Sound of Music with SAOS, and in Oliver with Harrow Light Opera Company.

Mum Julie is a more seasoned veteran and has taken part in over 60 shows locally. She was cast in her first show at the age of 15, as a maid in Cassio Operatic Society’s production of Annie.

Evie’s grandmother also took part in musicals and Evie’s brother has recently been bitten by the drama bug so the theatrical vein runs deep in their family. Julie said: “We’ll have a giggle so we’re really looking forward to it.”

The story of Annie, a poor but kind and determined orphan in 1830s New York who dreams of finding her real parents, is a well-known one.

When she meets rich and lonely billionaire, Oliver Warbucks, it looks as though that dream might finally have come true but vicious orphanage-owner, Miss Hannigan, has other plans for the girl’s future, and for her own.

Songs include It’s a Hard Knock Life and Easy Street, performed by the SAOS company which won a NODA – National Operatic Association – for its production of Follies,

Tickets are £17.50, available from the Arena box office on 01727 844488 or go to www.alban-arena.co.uk