Earlier this month, we were thrilled to welcome West End star Khalid Daley to lead our Musical Theatre Workshop. With an impressive career spanning productions like Hamilton, War Horse, and Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, he brought a wealth of experience and inspiration to our young performers.
The workshop focused on performance skills and creative confidence, offering participants the chance to explore their talents in a supportive environment. Following the event, Khalid kindly took part in a post-workshop Q&A, sharing his reflections, career insights, and advice for aspiring performers.
How did the Musical Theatre Workshop go?
Doing the workshop was an absolute joy. I always feel inspired by the students taking part when I leave, because it’s such a great reminder of how it all begins. It begins with just having a passion for performing, being in an environment that allows you to excel and build on that passion with every opportunity that comes your way.
My highlight was watching people grow in confidence during the workshop. Sometimes you get students come in and they’re quite shy, which is natural, and I always want them to feel encouraged, but most importantly feel confident within themselves even if it’s by a small percentage by the time they leave. I just love watching people grow.
How did it feel to share your experience with aspiring performers?
It’s honestly such a privilege to be able to share some of my experiences with aspiring performers. I believe it’s important to have transparency with them because there are times where you still get things wrong and you still find things challenging, which means there’s always more to learn about yourself and the chosen craft you’re in.
Did you see any standout moments of growth from our young performers?
Yes I did! I saw confidence build from everyone when we were rapping “My Shot”, but in particular from one young boy. After going through “My Shot”, many times with the group, I asked if anyone would volunteer to rap the song with me and his hand went up so quickly. He was fantastic! Those are the moments that I know will stay with me for a long time.
What advice would you give to anyone hoping to break into the industry?
I want them to know it can happen for them. I’ve been in the industry for nearly eight years and I’m so thankful to still be doing it. It’s tough but it’s incredibly rewarding.
It takes hard work, sacrifice, setbacks, patience and perseverance, but when you get to live out dreams that have kept you up at night because you’ve felt so excited by them – it’s unbelievably special. I always remind everyone in my workshops: “Bring all of yourself into the room. Your differences make you special, even if you can’t see it”.
What do you hope participants will take away from the experience?
I hope they felt encouraged, motivated and inspired. They definitely left me feeling inspired.
It’s clear from Khalid’s words just how special the workshop was, and we’re so grateful to him for sharing his expertise and passion with our young performers.
If this has inspired you to get involved in theatre, our Theatre Academy is the perfect place to start. Open to those aged 5–19 years, sessions are designed to help young people develop key performance skills, boost confidence, and make new friends. Academy members also enjoy exclusive benefits such as ticket offers, discounts on workshops, and audition opportunities (including for our Christmas show!).
We’re also excited to be bringing back our popular Musical Theatre Summer School from 11–15 August – an exciting five-day experience where participants will develop their skills alongside a very special guest (to be announced soon!). Whether you love acting, singing, or dancing, this is your chance to create, collaborate, and perform with like-minded people.
