YOUNG actors from Bolton are being invited to attend open auditions for a star-studded production taking place at the Octagon Theatre.

Six boys aged between eight and 12 are sought to take part in David Thacker's highly-anticipated production of Henrik Ibsen's 'Enemy of the People'.

Heading up the cast are David Birrell as Peter Stockmann, John Branwell as Morten Kiil, Colin Connor as The Drunk, Barbara Drennan as Katrine Stockmann, Rob Edwards as Tomas Stockmann, Harry Long as Billing, John McArdle as Aslaksen, Mac Small as Captain Horster, David Nabil Stuart as Hovstad and Anna Wheatley as Petra Stockmann.

The successful six boys who audition will be on rotation playing Tomas and Katrine's children — and will follow the theatre's 2012 show 'The Winslow Boy' where young actors from the local community were cast in a major production.

Associate director Lisa O'Neill Rogan said: "This is going to be one of the largest productions we have ever done. The main cast is 10 professional actors, 24 ALRA drama students who will be on rotation, and on top of that there will be the boys which are to be cast as the children.

"We need boys aged between eight and 12 years old. They don't have to have any acting experience, so this is an amazing opportunity for young lads interested in theatre to work in a professional production."

This will be Mr Thacker's first production as associate artistic director, in conjunction with his role as professor of theatre at the University of Bolton.

The staging of the adaptation, translated by Arthur Miller, will form part of this year's centenary celebrations, marking the anniversary of the playwright's birth on October 17, 1915.

Ms O'Neill Rogan said: "We are doing the translated version of the play by Arthur Miller. David loves the play so he asked Arthur for permission to anglicise the script in 1989, rather than it being American. There was no such thing as e-mails then so he had to ring him up to check. For David that was the start of a great relationship."

Audition sessions will be held on Sunday July 19 at 2pm at the Octagon Theatre, after which the final actors will be chosen. The group workshops will be led by director David Thacker and associate director Lisa O'Neill-Rogan.