• Stagecoach Canterbury to join thousands of other students in attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous performance of one show.
• Almost 200 Stagecoach schools across the UK and abroad due to perform Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Junior next summer.
• Performance will mark 30 years of Stagecoach’s success in the performing arts.

Stagecoach Performing Arts Canterbury will participate in an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous performance of one show.

Celebrating Stagecoach’s 30-year anniversary, students from Stagecoach Canterbury will join up with schools nationwide and abroad (including Germany, Canada and Malta) to stage Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Junior.

Performing simultaneously at 6pm BST on 1^st July 2018, Stagecoach aims to have 200 of its schools taking part, the world record attempt commemorating three decades of its schools sparking children’s creativity through singing, dancing and acting classes. Upwards of 6,500 children will be involved.

If successful, Stagecoach will break its own record, which currently stands from 2008. Almost ten years ago Stagecoach organised the largest simultaneous performance of one show for its 20^th anniversary, achieving 66 performances of Glad Rags across the UK, Ireland and Germany. So far, more than double the number of schools have signed up to join the festivities and this is set to increase as the network edges closer to the momentous performance next year.

Principal of Stagecoach Canterbury, Claire Beddow 48 said, “We are very excited about this event, the students have been rehearsing so hard and are thrilled to be a part of such an exciting world record breaking attempt].”

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was released in cinemas in 1991 and is one of the most beloved animated films of all time. In 1994 it was transformed into a spectacular, award-winning Broadway musical by the Disney Theatrical Group, which has been seen by over 25 million people and continues to enchant audiences around the world. Most recently, this ‘tale as old as time’ has again been reinvented, this time as a live-action feature, which is the world’s top-grossing film of 2017, reaffirming its enduring appeal across multiple generations.

Stagecoach boasts a talented alumni base of A-list celebrities and actors. The selection of Disney’s enchanting classic is highly appropriate, with two of Stagecoach’s former students, Emma Watson and Nathan Mack, having played the protagonist Belle and Chip the teacup, respectively, in the film of Beauty and the Beast this year.

Meanwhile, Stagecoach has planned a year-long calendar of exciting opportunities to mark its 30th anniversary milestone, including hosting tea parties in schools across the country around the birthday date of 7^th-9^th April. A special commemorative Charity Gala will also award students, nominated by their Principals, for Creative Courage. The Gala will raise funds for YoungMinds, the UK’s leading charity championing the wellbeing and mental health of young people.

Stagecoach Performing Arts Canterbury is part of a network of more than 700 extra-curricular Performing Arts Schools worldwide. Stagecoach aims to make a difference in its students lives by teaching Creative Courage for Life and many children have gone on to study and work in Performing Arts from blockbuster films to countless roles in local theatre productions. Early Stages classes are available for children aged four to six and Main Stages classes take place for six to 18 year olds every weekend during term time.

For more information about Stagecoach Canterbury, please visit their website at www.stagecoach.co.uk/canterbury or call 0808 208 5134.