TALENTED actress Michaela Christian will follow in the footsteps of Britain’s top thespians when she performs at Shakespeare’s Globe in London on Sunday.

Michaela, 23, from Ruscombe, has been chosen to act in a scene from one of the Bard’s plays in front of an audience of hundreds at the prestigious theatre.

She will be treading the boards as part of the annual Sam Wanamaker Festival, which showcases the abilities of final year students from the UK’s leading drama schools.

"It is an amazing opportunity and I am very excited," she said.

"The Globe is in the open air so it is a completely different experience and the seating is all around you so you are not just performing to the audience in front."

Michaela started acting in class productions at Wynstones School before studying for a Btec in performing arts at Cirencester College.

She is now in her final year at the Cygnet Training Theatre in Exeter, which allows students to develop their skills by performing to large paying audiences.

Michaela and another student, Josephine Bergstrom, were the only two students from Cygnet selected to join 21 other pairs of students from different drama schools at the festival.

The pair will perform a duologue from Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona to an audience including top casting agents and artistic directors.

Michaela will play Lucetta, a cheeky maid with some worldly experience and an interest in romantic gossip.

During the festival she will also attend classes, lectures and workshops to explore language, movement and voice.

Shakespeare's Globe, founded by American actor Sam Wanamaker, the father of actress Zoe Wanamaker, is a reconstruction of the theatre originally built in 1599 by William Shakespeare.