AWARD-winning Eastleigh Borough Youth theatre have stars in their eyes as it has just been announced that their recent ground-breaking production of Citizenship is to transfer to the West End stage.

The play will be performed at The Jermyn Street Theatre as part of the Pride London Festival between June 28 and July 2.

The piece is being billed as the major London premier of Mark Ravenhill's new play. Patrons of the Pride Festival fortnight include Sir Ian McKellan and Stephen Fry.

Originally commissioned as part of The National Theatre's Shell Connections Festival, Citizenship takes an honest look at the journey of Tom as he tries to discover his sexuality.

The piece has also been selected to perform at The National Theatre's regional Festival at The Brighton Dome between June 9 to June 12.

The London season of Citizenship is a major success for the company and will bring huge publicity to the borough of Eastleigh.

EBYT would not have been able to even participate in the project if wasn't for the generous support of local businesses - Uppa Class Property Services and Elliott's High Performance Roofing.South West Trains has also come forward as major sponsors of the London season providing close to £2,000 in sponsorship through train tickets for the company who will travel to and from London daily.

Artistic director of EBYT and director of Citizenship Daniel Clarke says: "This is fantastic, a week in a London theatre, running alongside professional shows. More people will see the show, and the cast will get the experience of performing a full season.

"The show really has been a turning point for EBYT, after nearly a decade of focussing on musical theatre - it is a new work, a daring piece of theatre that lands the company with national exposure. What other theatre company from Eastleigh has had a show produced in the West End?"

By the end of the London season EBYT's Citizenship will have performed in Totton, Eastleigh, Sherborne, Brighton and London.

Citizenship will run at the Jermyn Street Theatre in London from June 28 to July 2 at 8pm with a matinee on Saturday 2 July at 4pm. Tickets can be booked on 020 7287 2875.