Hollyoaks and Holby City soap star helps Luton’s budding actors take to the stage

A Luton-born soap star is giving back to the community in the town.

Aaron Fontaine’s group, the Luton Acting Hub, is taking to the stage at The Hat Factory on January 27 to showcase the acting talent in the town.

The 34-year-old got his TV break as Sonny Valentine in the soap opera Hollyoaks, before working on Holby City and the dystopian fantasy adventure The Outpost. He currently lives between Los Angeles and London but manages to return to Luton to help with the LAH.

He set up the LAH three years ago with the aim to help train aspiring actors in Luton and the organisation has gone from strength to strength.

He said: “Luton Acting Hub had its first session in December 2019, I wanted to see how it was received on my break in filming, once I finished filming I put more attention into creating a safe space for everyone to train in Bedfordshire. Since its debut, we have had Television/film writers and producers from Netflix and the BBC come and give question-and-answer sessions for the actors in addition to bringing specialist teachers down to lead sessions.

“We now have a rotation of 30 to 40 members, we will be showcasing 12 of these actors in our showcase.

“For the majority of the actors, this will be the first time they are performing in front of a paid audience. We have professional actors who have experience in the industry who come to the Hub to train in addition to amateur actors. It's a safe space for everyone to train together at a high level.

“The audience can expect to see several different scenes which range from beautiful first love romantic scenes, to a couple attempting to keep their marriage together whilst grieving for their son. The scenes that we have prepared are powerful and intense, sure to keep the audience engaged on the edge of their seats.”

The showcase will be at The Hat Factory from 7pm to 10pm on January 27. Tickets are available via eventbrite here.

To find out more about the hub at its website.