Hunter Drama's School of Rock ready to roll into the Civic Theatre

He's playing the role of Dewey Finn (made famous by Jack Black in the film of the same name), a wannabe rock star who decides to earn an extra bit of cash by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious school. There, he turns a class of straight-A pupils into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping rock band. But can he get them to the Battle of the Bands without their parents and the school's headmistress finding out?

"It's honestly a dream, this role. Everything about this play is so fun, and it's so inspiring," Chapman tells Weekender.

"Every time I talk to someone in the cast, they can't wait to get into it, to rehearse and perform it.

"When you do a lot of shows, like we do, you enjoy all of them but sometimes there is this feeling of 'OK that was good, but let's move on to the next thing'. But with this one everyone feels passionate about it, which is really refreshing."

School of Rock is coming to Newcastle's Civic Theatre in July. Based on the Paramount movie by Mike White, the production features 14 new songs by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber created for the West End and Broadway productions as well as the original songs from the movie. It will be directed by Lauren Harvey, part of the creative team for Billy Elliot the Musical and Aspire, with musical direction by ARIA nominee Dan Wilson.

Chapman says 100 young people auditioned for School of Rock last year, and a cast of 20 was chosen.

"A lot of the kids have to play live instruments during the show, its part of the licensing agreement, and that can be demanding when you're 12 years old - so we had to find the right kids," he says.

"The desire of the kids to get out and perform on stage is huge. Everyone wants to be an actor or a director."

Does Newcastle's growing theatre scene, and its ability to attract world-class productions, explain that increase in demand for roles?

"It's become more accessible for young people to come to shows - a lot of big companies are offering pretty big ticket discounts," Chapman says.

"Kids are also being exposed to more theatre, professional and amateur, and I think it's inspiring them to want to go out and do more.

"There's a lot of theatre companies popping up that are started by young people too. They want to go out and do it for themselves.

"We're looking at options in the future for how to fit everyone in a show."

I ask Chapman if he can actually play the guitar. The answer is a slightly sheepish "no".

"But I'm learning!" he says.

"I think it's a bit disingenuous being up there on stage playing a role that's about teaching music and you can't play. I'm great at air guitar though. In 2022 my other little theatre company [Knock and Run Theatre] did a play called Airness about an air guitar competition, so we got really good at that."

Hunter Drama is bringing this classic adventure story to the Civic Playhouse from April 18 to 27 to coincide with the school holidays. Tickets are on sale now.

"The Jungle Book is a much smaller production than School of Rock, starring little kids, and we had 90 kids audition for a cast of 15. We've extended it to 20 to fit more in," Chapman says.

In this action-packed adaptation by Monica Flory, which is faithful to the original Rudyard Kipling story, Mowgli grows up believing he's as fierce as a wolf and a member of the wolf pack. When he learns he is actually a human, he must discover how to reconcile these very different identities, and decide whether to remain with the pack, or return to the human world.

"The version we are presenting this year is not the Disneyfied version. There's no singing, it's not a cartoon. It's a story of identity that will appeal to every age," Chapman says.

"We'll be using multi-sensory design to ensure that the audience's every sense will be stimulated in a way that transports them into the dense, lush, mysterious world of the jungle. They will hear the animal sounds and even smell the scents of flowers and wood."

The Jungle Book will be directed by Tim Turner, with lighting design by multiple CONDA award winner Jacob Harwood.