The Three Billy Goats Gruff in Chichester is Jack's professional debut

It’s his professional debut: “I graduated from GSA in 2022. I did the musical theatre BA and I really enjoyed it. I really did and it was great for giving you opportunities for representation and showing yourself during the third year. They do an agent panel where lots of agents can come in and sit and listen to you and see you dance and give you feedback. If you've not had much exposure in the shows then you can provide three songs that you sing in front of them and you can dance. It is daunting when you're not in costume and in character but you have to be able to sell yourself and it's a great opportunity for agents to reach out and that's how I got my agent.

“And then being in Guildford I'd never lived in London and so the moment I graduated I moved to London and it was a question of just trying to adjust to the industry and getting yourself seen and heard. We are all in the same boat but you just have to hope that you get there.

“I was not part of the production of The Three Billy Goats Gruff which was in the Unicorn Theatre at Easter. I heard about this through my agent. I knew of Stiles and Drewe. One of our third-year shows at GSA was The Wind In The Willows which they wrote so I checked out the music and I thought it was really good fun. I was really excited when I came to audition for it. There is pressure of course (when it is your professional debut). You just want to do a good job. Some people go straight into a job after graduating and some people don't. It's all about timing and luck but I'm really lucky that for my first professional job everyone has been so lovely and so supportive. There is a nice age range in the cast and I've never felt like I'm the new one or scared or feeling unsure.”

Baby, Middle and Big are three very hungry goats, and there is absolutely no grass left to eat on their side of the valley. Come on their adventure as together with Little Bo-Frilly they hatch a plan to cross the bridge to the lush green grass on the other side. They just need to outwit that horrible tricksy troll first.

Jack is playing the Middle Goat: “He is a bit more of the feisty teenager. I'm someone that is perhaps a sign of things to come for the parents that have come along with their younger children! He is a little bit confident and cocky but it's really endearing when you see him looking to his big brother.”

And it all comes with a lovely message “that perhaps when things look nicer or more appetising they might not always be so. It's like the people you see on social media and that seem to have amazing lives and the lives of celebrities but behind closed doors perhaps their life isn't so great after all. So it's just a little idea that perhaps we should all be grateful for the things that we have got and for the friends and family that support us.”

With music by George Stiles and book and lyrics by Anthony Drewe, The Three Billy Goats Gruff is being directed by the CFT’s new artistic director Justin Audibert and runs in the Minerva from December 14-January 7. Tickets from the venue.