A YOUNG actress from Lyme Regis has hit the big time by writing and starring in her own London comedy show.

Maddy Anholt, 23, has just had her debut show taken by The Canal Café Theatre, Little Venice, after graduating from a top drama school.

Her self-penned show Maddy’s Many Mouths looks into the lives of 12 diverse woman, with all the female parts played by the author.

Maddy graduated last year from The Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) in Wandsworth with a BA Hons in acting.

She has since taken up smaller acting jobs and performed her own material for live comedy nights, theatre and radio while waiting for her big break.

She said: “I performed a version of Maddy’s Many Mouths when I was trying to get it out on the London comedy scene. I got spotted by one director who I worked with before and another guy who is a DJ on Radio 4.

“They asked me to do a radio version of it but it wasn’t quite how I wanted it to be because it was still evolving.

“I spent about three solid weeks getting it to the place where it is now.

“It started off as a one-woman show but now there’s a schoolboy in it, who is played by my friend Elliot Hadley-Johnson.”

Maddy was then spotted by the Canal Café Theatre and was given a slot to perform two shows on August 3.

“It was quite a nice journey for me to try it for radio but I think it’s a really visual show,” she said.

Although comedy acting can be a difficult industry to break into, the skills come naturally to Maddy.

She said: “I’ve always wanted to do comedy.

“I enjoy doing accents and I find it interesting to watch comedians transform themselves into different characters quickly, and that’s the niche I’m going for.”

The 23-year-old will also perform the show at the Camden Fringe festival in August.

Maddy said: “I’m going to keep pushing this show and adapting it. My ultimate aim is to see it on BBC3 or Channel 4, something like that.

“Perhaps that is quite a high aspiration but I can’t see any reason why it can’t get there.”

The former Colyton Grammar School pupil said she would love to bring her show back home to perform at Lyme’s Marine Theatre, where she worked as a teenager.

She said: “It’s a really fantastic space and I absolutely love coming back to Lyme Regis – after all that’s where I grew up and that’s where my education and passion for the arts came from.”

To any aspiring young actors, Maddy’s advice would be to persevere with the dream.

She said: “Be realistic about it – you are not going to come out of drama school and go straight to Hollywood. It’s a neverending journey which you have got to go on.”

To book tickets for Maddy’s Many Mouths call 020 7289 6054 or go to www.canalcafetheatre.com