12 year old girl, Charlotte Smith, saw her dream come true in October 2009 when she staged her own production of Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Junior at the Middlesbrough Theatre. The show was made possible thanks to a £10,000 grant awarded by The Bayer Diabetes Care DreamFund – a unique national competition offering people with diabetes the chance to apply for a grant to help them make their dreams come true.

Charlotte, from Marton, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was just 6 years old but her family was determined that her condition wouldn’t stop her from living life to the full. Charlotte learned how to monitor her blood glucose levels on a regular basis and now manages her diabetes so well that she is able to regularly ‘indulge’ in her passion for drama and dance. However, Charlotte’s dance school, the Thornton Academy of Performing Arts, had never staged a musical and so Charlotte entered the DreamFund – and won! – inspiring judges with her plan of organising her own musical production.

Now that dream is a reality. Charlotte and her friends performed two shows of Alice In Wonderland on Sunday 18th and Monday 19th October 2009. Charlotte was really pleased with the show; the cast and audience enjoyed the performance, and Charlotte is looking forward to appearing in pantomime this winter.