A former student from a well-established dance and stage school in Bolton has taken his career to the big stage in a West End production of Mamma Mia.
Morgan Jackson, 28, grew up in Bolton and lived in Over Hulton until he was aged 16 before he moved to Leeds to continue training at SLP College, and then down to London.
When he was young he always dressed up as different characters from musicals.
He said: “I was forced into it at first by my parents because they saw something, but I didn’t want to do it at first and I didn’t know what I wanted to do.
“But when I won a talent competition at Dawn Dawson’s Academy when I was nine where I sang Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis, it gave me that passion, where I knew I wanted to continue doing it and try more, and I grew to love it.
“And I never had a singing lesson before.”
He has just finished performing Mamma Mia in the West End, which has been in the works for some time.
He added: “I booked the job a week before the very first lockdown and waited about 16 months to get started.
“And it has been worth it.
“I have trained the majority of my life to do it, so it’s amazing I finally got to do it.
“There’s a different feeling in the West End, with people from so many different communities coming to see you.”
Since leaving the academy of dance and stage, Morgan has gone on to star in Fame (West End and UK tour), Peter Pan (Palace Theatre, Mansfield), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Belfast Grand Opera House), Gideon in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (UK tour), Don't Stop Believing (Channel 5), and more.
Morgan said: “When I performed Fame at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, all my childhood friends came, and they had never seen me perform before.
“They had watched me in a few things before but not like this.
“It’s such a great feeling to share what I do for a living.”
One of his most memorable moments was performing for the Queen’s Jubilee with the cast of Mamma Mia, where he was surrounded by hundreds of A-listers including Ed Sheeran.
He added: “The best thing about this is just seeing the effect it has on people.
“You’re not just performing, you’re taking people to a different place outside of their life and reality.”
His dream is to eventually move on to more TV roles, but theatre is what he knows.
Morgan added: “Theatre is what I have been doing for a while.
“It’s easier to get those jobs, but the dream is to move on to TV.”
He says that it wouldn’t have been possible without the academy he went to.
Dawn Dawson, director, principal at the academy said: “I am so proud of him.
“He has always worked so hard and never lost his focus.
“His parents are still involved with my school and support me.
“They are always like my children and one big family.”
Morgan will soon be staring in the Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime at the Albert Halls in Bolton in December.
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If you have a story and something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at jasmine.jackson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @JournoJasmine.
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