Hazel Baldwin

Hazel joined BATS Next Gen for the 2014 production of CATS, and was cast as Rumpelteaser.  Further productions saw her as Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (2015) and Kate Monster in Avenue Q (School Edition) (2017).

Hazel then went to study Performing Arts at ArtsEd, London, graduating with a First Class BA (Hons) in Musical Theatre in 2022.  Hazel recently made her West End Debut  in Les Miserables, Sondheim Theatre, with her first performance on 1st October 2022.

Max Harwood

Max joined BATS Next Gen at the age of 8, for our 2006 production of The Rumpelstiltskin Racket.  He continued to perform in every show thereafter, and graduated from being in ensemble to characters such as Cat in Dick Whittington (2008), Roger Davis in Rent (2013) and Rum Tum Tugger in Cats (2014).  Max then moved up to perform with the adult societies, before attending Guildford School of Acting then Urdang studying Performing Arts – but still came back to BATS Next Gen to help out backstage with Avenue Q and Les Miserables (School Edition).  In 2019, Max was cast as Jamie New in the film production of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, starring alongside Richard E Grant, Sarah Lancashire and Shobna Gulati.  The film was released in 2021 and BAFTA nominated; Max himself won the Attitude Award for Breakthrough Artist and Digital Spy Reader Award for Rising Star – Film, as well as two other nominations in British Independent Film Awards and London Film Critics Circle Awards.

In 2022  The Loneliest Boy in the World was released, with Max playing the main character, Oliver.  He is due to start filming in April 2023, with title as yet unreleased.

Owen White

Owen’s first performance was in 2010 with Vampires from Space. He had a gap performing with BATS Next Gen of some years, but is a founder member of Limelight, the youth arm of Basingstoke Amateur Operatic Society. Owen returned to BATS Next Gen for the 2017 production of Avenue Q (School Edition), playing Brian. He also performed in the award-winning Les Misérables (School Edition) the following year, playing The Pimp, as well as being in charge of props and photography! Since then, Owen has directed many productions for local groups, including BAOS’ productions of Disney’s The Little Mermaid and The Pirates of Penzance. Owen has also recently directed our productions of The Addams Family and last years NODA accolade-winning We Will Rock You.

Owen became a committee member of BATS Next Gen in July 2022 and is a trained drama teacher, working at a secondary school and for Theatre Train Basingstoke. Owen looks forward to directing our next production, The SpongeBob Musical in August 2024.

Shiv Rabheru

Shiv joined the BATS Next Gen family for Magical Mixture in 2007, and played Super Yuppie in the BNG 2008 production of We Will Rock You.  Prior to that he had attended Stagecoach Theatre, performed with the Basingstoke Gang Show and danced with Bonnie Langford at Sadlers Wells.   He learnt dance with M&M Academy and went on to train professionally with Doreen Bird College and Identity School of Acting. 
Other credits include:  Sweeney Todd (Liverpool Everyman),  Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Apollo Theatre and Sheffield Crucible); The Taming of the Shrew (The Brockley JackTheatre); CATS (Rug UK & international tour); Sleeping Beauty (The Millfield Arts Theatre); Celebrity Cruises (Infinity); Dick Whittington (Loughborough Town Hall).   Shiv also became Resident Director of the London production of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
 
2022 will see Shiv take to the Young Vic stage in the world premier of musical MANDELA, directed by Schele Williams and produced in partnership with the titular family