Daisy Jolly and Amelia Taylor are sharing the role of Rita as students at the University of Chichester put on the musical Steel Pier, a piece set in the world of dance marathons, gruelling endurance contests where couples dance for days to win cash prizes and fleeting fame.

Set in Atlantic City during the 1930s, it will be performed at the University of Chichester, Bognor Regis campus, Assembly Theatre from November 20-23 (Thursday 7:30pm; Friday 2:30pm and 7:30pm; Saturday 2:30pm and 7:30pm; and Sunday 2:30pm).

Daisy and Amelia will both be Rita Racine, a tired but determined former champion known as Lindy’s Lovebird, who has returned to the Steel Pier marathon circuit for one last competition. Rita is secretly married to Mick Hamilton, the unscrupulous promoter of the event, who manipulates her and the contests for publicity.

As Daisy explains: “Rita is a pro dancer and has done many, many dance marathons. She has got a big name for herself and she is considered a star but underneath all that she is quite down to earth but she is trapped within the lifestyle. She is in a coercive marriage to the man who runs these marathons. She has two identities really, the star, the external face that everybody sees but underneath you get glimpses into how tough her life is.”

As Amelia says: “Because Rita was successful in her own right before she was married, she has a great sense of self-confidence and of her abilities and of her talent when she is performing. And you've got to show that on stage, her ability to do the moves. But at the same time she is in this manipulative relationship with her husband who is very controlling of her and making decisions for her that is so much in contradiction to her own calling to be her own person.”

Daisy is loving the music: “The music is very jazz, the 1930s pop music of the time. And it is very clever the way that the music is written because there are a lot of reprises and repetitions through the songs throughout the musical where you can see how the narrative is changing in time. By the end of the musical, the songs that you heard at the beginning sound a lot different because of the way the story has developed. It really highlights the exhaustion and the corruptness of the dance marathons. People are participating in the marathons just to earn any money they can. There is a real theme of desperation.”

Into which comes Bill. Amelia explains: “Bill represents Rita's come back to herself after so many years of being in control in this environment. He is really a kind of angel to get her back to her true calling and to show her what her life could be if only she took the steps to become her own person again.”

Amelia is loving the course: “I think my dance has improved a lot and so has my singing. We have learned the techniques and I am now singing songs I never thought that I would be able to sing. There's also great support from the teachers. The teachers are very encouraging and very kind.”

Daisy agrees: “Before coming to university I've never had any professional training. My own background was in dance but after being here a year I just feel 100 per cent more ready than I've ever felt before. The training that I'm having now feels like it is really going to set me up for what I want to do in the future.”