Leith actress starring in Legally Blonde at Festival Theatre

Rebecca Stenhouse from Edinburgh is playing Elle in Legally Blonde at The Festival Theatre

Rebecca Stenhouse, 26, was cast as Margot after impressing at auditions that drew thousands of hopefuls.

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The touring production of the Broadway Show has been at the Festival Theatre this week featuring stars such as The X Factor’s Lucie Jones and Eastenders’ Rita Simons.

Rebecca said: “I was obsessed with the Legally Blonde movie when it first came out and have aspired to be in the musical since it opened on Broadway in 2007.

“I first auditioned for the production back in March alongside thousands of others and I couldn’t believe it when I got the call to say I’d been offered the role.

“Working on this show has been a dream come true for me as the music is amazing and script is both funny and clever.

“The storyline is particularly relevant today and I’m excited to be part of such a great show.

“It’s always great to perform in my hometown.

“The Festival Theatre is actually one of the only theatres in Edinburgh I hadn’t performed in so it was great to tick that off my list.”

Rebecca began performing at a young age in community centres in Leith before leaving Leith Academy aged 16 to undertake full-time training at The MGA Academy of Performing Arts, which she credits with offering her London-standard training in her hometown of Edinburgh.

She now shares a stage with a number of stars including Bill Ward who is best known for playing James Barton in Emmerdale and Charlie Stubbs in Coronation Street.

She said: “I loved the time I spent training at The MGA Academy and feel it really prepared me for working in the industry.

“Since leaving, I’ve performed on stages all over the world and will always be grateful for the training I received there.

“While I’m in Edinburgh for the show, I’m actually going to be returning to The MGA Academy to host a masterclass for some of their Junior School students.

“I’ll be teaching them a dance routine from the show and answering some questions about what it’s like to work in the industry.”

Earlier this year, The MGA Academy became the first full-time professional training academy in Scotland to be awarded accreditation by CDET, the UK’s quality assurance and membership body for the professional dance, drama and musical theatre industries.

Murray Grant, Creative Director of The MGA Academy, said: “Rebecca was one of our very first students and we have loved seeing her professional stage career take off. We are currently holding auditions for The MGA Academy’s full-time courses and would welcome applications from local performers with similar aspirations to Rebecca.”

Members of the public can still see Rebecca in action during the final shows of the Edinburgh of run of Legally Blonde the Musical today at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.

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