A one-day audition / workshop in central London for performers aged 9–18. The clearest first step into West End Kids, and an honest assessment of where your child sits against a professional standard.
Next Workshop: Sunday 22nd November 2026 – London, SE1
The Standard
Selective by design
West End Kids is not a stage school. It is an audition-only training and performance company, founded in 2001, with twenty-five years of alumni outcomes to evidence what consistent training at this level produces.
West End Kids alumni currently perform in West End, Broadway, and international productions, including Aladdin, Dear Evan Hansen, Evita, Heathers, Les Misérables, Matilda, Phantom of the Opera, and Wicked, among others. Alumni also work as pop stars — including Dua Lipa — and in Hollywood, including stunt performer Selina Jessey. West End Kids is also a recognised route into leading UK and American performing arts colleges.
The self-tape Audition is held to the same assessment standard as the in-person Workshop. It is not a lighter route. It is reviewed by the same Directors, against the same criteria. Not every audition results in an offer of a place. That is the point of an honest assessment.
The Workshop
What the day actually involves
The Workshop runs as a professional rehearsal day, not a taster class. Performers work with the West End Kids team – the same team that prepares Troupe to perform for tens of thousands every year at some of the UK’s biggest events, festivals and state occasions.
The day is built around three disciplines:
- Voice. Vocal warm-up, technique, and ensemble singing with vocal harmony.
- Dance. Choreography taught at the pace expected of performers entering selective training, with attention to detail, spacing, timing, and ensemble awareness.
- Ensemble. Working together as a company. We pay particular attention to how a young performer handles being challenged in a room of equally serious peers.
Performers should expect to be given notes and to apply them. Most find the day genuinely demanding, and that is the standard we hold to. Parents are not in the studio during the day.
The Route
Where this leads, if the assessment is positive
The Workshop is the first point in a longer pathway. After the day, we contact each family privately, within forty-eight hours, with our honest view of the suitable next step – if there is one.
- An invitation to the next stage. Where the assessment supports it, performers are invited onto the relevant programme - most commonly WEK: Training, Associates or Summer Intensive or, for performers ready, West End Kids Troupe.
- No invitation at this time. Where the standard is not yet met, we will say so honestly. The route remains open at a future point, as readiness develops.
Esme Rothero first joined West End Kids through a Workshop, then moved through WEK: Training before reaching Troupe. She is now a leading lady in the West End (Six). Other performers reached WEK: Training via the self-tape route. Both routes lead to the same standards once inside the Company.
Not every Workshop attendee receives an invitation onward. When an invitation is offered, it reflects our assessment that the performer is ready for the standards of the next stage.
Practical Details
The Workshop in practical terms
- Date: Sunday 22nd November 2026.
- Location: Central London, SE1. Venue address sent on booking.
- Ages: 9–18.
- Fee: £60.
- Duration: 11am – 3pm
- What to prepare: There is nothing to prepare in advance for your WEK: Workshop
- After the Workshop: A private follow-up from the West End Kids team within forty-eight hours, with our honest assessment.
