A YOUNG actor from Morton is playing a lead role in a Manchester production of acclaimed American musical Pippin.

Professional actor Bradley Judge is appearing in the Hope Mill Theatre’s revival of the Tony Award-winning show from the writer of global smash hit musical Wicked.

Bradley has just finished a run of the musical Yank at the Charing Cross Theatre in London and recently spent 12 months performing in Grease on an ocean liner.

Bradley grew up in West Morton and was a talented actor, singer and dancer from a young age.

His mother is Laura Judge, a regular performer with Keighley Playhouse who has also appeared in TV series like The Chase and Dead Clever.

Bradley began dancing when he was four, and in 2004 took part in the Bradford Alhambra pantomime as a Sunbeam with his sister Chloe.

In 2016, at the age of 13, he was accepted for the Yorkshire Young Dancers, run by Northern Ballet Theatre and Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

As a young teenager he sang like Frank Sinatra, winning the Most Promising award at Bingley Grammar School's Young Musician of the Year contest.

Bradley went on to study for two separate musical theatre degrees at the Guildford School of Acting and the University of Central Lancashire.

Over the past couple years, between professional acting stints, he has worked as an early stages teacher with Stagecoach Theatre Arts.

During his time on the ocean waves with Royal Caribbean he had to rehearse and perform three full musicals simultaneously as well as shorter singing sets.

At the time he said: "I was brought up in a very theatrical family and I always knew that I wanted to be on the stage. I trained hard to get to where I am – lots of dance, singing and acting lessons, as well as two degrees.”

In Pippin, composed by Stephen Schwartz, Bradley helps portray the magical story of a young prince’s journey to find meaning in life only to discover true happiness is more complicated than he thought.

Pippin has been staged by Hope Mill Theatre and Aria Entertainment, who work together to spearhead new musical theatre in the North at their 150-seater venue.

Two of their previous productions Hair and Yank – whose cast included Bradley – received transfers to London theatres.

Visit ticketsource.co.uk/hopemilltheatre to book tickets for Pippin.