YOUNG stars in the making showed off their talents to shoppers in Basingstoke to promote an upcoming show.

Their excitement was palpable as about 30 members of BATS Next Gen performed two dances from their October production of Vampires from Space in Festival Place last weekend to give residents a taste of the show to come.

Three times the youngsters, aged from eight to 17, transformed into zombies to sing, dance and shuffle to Michael Jacksons’ Thriller followed by a rendition of Time Warp in front of a gathered crowd, who rewarded them with applause.

The dance numbers were taken straight from the production, which is a new show written by David Simpkin and is playing over Hallowe’en, from October 27 to 30, at Everest Community College, in Oxford Way, Popley.

Richard Cox, who is directing the production, said: “We have a lot of talented dancers and the show will be a fun night.

“We came to Festival Place like this to promote We Will Rock You three years ago and it’s a very effective way to sell tickets. It’s also the first time that this group are performing together in public. We have about 12 new members for this production.”

He added: “Rehearsals are going very well. The play has been written especially for us and a lot of it is very panto, and it’s very funny.”

BATS Next Gen is the young persons branch of Basingstoke Amateur Theatrical Society (BATS).

For more information about the group or the show, and to buy £10 tickets, go to bats nextgen.co.uk.