A pair of identical twins from Co Armagh have been nominated for their performance in a stage adaptation of The Parent Trap at the UK Theatre Awards.
12-year-old Kyla and Nicole Fox have always had a passion for performing and when the opportunity came to share the spotlight as a duo, it was a dream come true.
The Portadown schoolgirls played twins separated at birth in the new musical 'Identical' which is based on the novel used to inspire The Parent Trap films.
Read more: Watch: Armagh schoolboy invited on stage with his musical hero Christy Moore
Their father Gavin was "blown away" by his daughters' talent after seeing them perform on stage for the first time.
He told Belfast Live that their love of performing has been always been a major part of their lives.
Gavin said: "They have been singing and performing from a very early age and attend Keegan Company Performance. Both have always loved singing together and have performed locally in festivals, shows, and in their local choir in Portadown.
"They performed in the Opera House with an Acapella choir and also on stage with Kelly Smiley. Kyla and Nicole have been in a number of advertisements including for PowerNI and had a brief role in Marcella series 3."
With a love of music thoroughly instilled in the pair, they were ready to take on the starring roles, alongside two other sets of twins, for their professional debut in Identical.
"They have always been big fans of both Parent Trap movies, as being twins, the story always appealed to them. They also enjoyed reading the book by Erich Kastner which the musical is based on.
"According to the girls, ‘playing the role of the twins was the most amazing experience of their lives.’
"They just felt that the roles were written for them," Gavin explained.
Kyla and Nicole got to work with some of the leading people in the musical industry including Sir Trevor Nunn who directed the show and Stiles and Drewe who composed the show.
Gavin continued: "They were first put forward for the role by Rising Talent Agency and sent in an audition tape. Then everything was put on hold because of Covid until January 2022 when they had a Zoom audition and later a face-to-face audition in London and they successfully got the part.
"They travelled back and forth to London a few times before moving to live there in early June to start rehearsals, which lasted for 6 weeks before performances started in Nottingham in mid-July.
"They loved living the performing life and getting to travel and perform in front of large crowds, both in Nottingham and Manchester came naturally to them."
Gavin said his entire family could not be prouder of Kyla and Nicole - not only for their talent and dedication during the show's run but also their "Best Performance in a Musical" nomination alongside the other sets of twins.
"I always knew the girls had talent but I was completely blown away the first night I watched them perform. They were fantastic," he said.
"I was fortunate to get to watch them a number of times and every time just seemed to be even more impressive.
"It was unlike any other show for me as the entire storyline was all about these two amazing little girls and the fact that everyone was singing about them made it an emotional viewing not just for myself but for their mum, Paula, sister Abbie, and our whole family who travelled on many occasions to see them."
Gavin added: "Having hundreds of people giving your kids a standing ovation each night and telling you how fantastic they were is something I will never forget.
"The show and the girls received fantastic reviews and the fact that they have been nominated for such an important award, along with the other two sets of twins proves what a big achievement this was."
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