ONE of the staples for any Irish household in the run up to Christmas is the Late Late Toy Show, where people young and old can revel in the spirit of the season by watching the kids upstage Ryan Tubridy, feel envious as ‘everyone in the audience’ goes home with various goodies, and enjoy performances from a raft of home-grown talent.
This year, one young Lifford lad will be making a dream come true as he takes to the stage on Friday on RTE1.
Eleven-year-old Kris Friel has been chosen from the thousands of applications which flow into the Late Late’s production team each year to take part in this year’s festive edition.
Kris is a pupil at Holy Cross College and former pupil of St Columba’s Clady and a very keen performer and can now reveal the news.
Already a valued member of Castlederg’s Much Ado Stage School, Kris has been instrumental in shows the school has produced over the years, playing the role of Rooster in their production of Annie and will play Hans in the upcoming production of Frozen in January.
A talented musician, Kris plays five instruments; piano, guitar, ukulele, banjo and cornet.
Kris is in the midst of several important rehearsals for his role in the show, which will remain top secret until the night but it will be an ensemble piece with Kris playing a pivotal role.
Speaking to the Donegal News, Kris said: “I sent a hopeful application off in August of me singing and playing the keyboard and didn’t think any more about it.
“I received a call in late September asking me to come to the RTE studios in Dublin the following week for an audition. I was gobsmacked. I performed two pieces for the audition which my mum wasn’t allowed to watch but I was very pleased with my performance. Being at RTE was brilliant and the staff was lovely.”
HUGE STAR
Kris’ mum Veronica added: “They made Kris feel like a huge star. I’ve never seen him so confident in himself. It was if he knew he was meant to be there!”
After the secret trip to Dublin, it was back to school as normal the next day. An anxious two-week wait ended on October 20th when Veronica received the news that Kris had been selected to appear!
“There was an excitement throughout the house when I got the call, Kris was at school and told him when he got home. He was on cloud nine already, having been picked for the school football team that day as well and this only made him happier!” Veronica continued.
Kris is no stranger to being on the stage or indeed TV, having already appeared on RTE’s Maura and Daithi Today Show aged eight and Donnacha’s Two Talented in March last year.
Kris will be staying in the city for the duration and Veronica has asked if any local businesses would like to sponsor him, it would be much appreciated.
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