Lights, curtains, action: Cub takes the stage in London’s West End

As well as starting Beavers at the age of 5 and a half, Maxwell joined his local dance and drama school. He’s eagerly taken part local hikes, camps, and other Scouts events, while winning ‘Popping’ dance competitions.

Now, aged 11, Maxwell has spent the last year performing as ‘Young Bob’ in the new musical, ‘Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical’ at the Lyric Theatre on Shaftsbury Avenue in London.

We met up with Maxwell, his mum, and his Cub leader, Pete, to find out about Maxwell’s exciting experience on stage.

Teaching Cubs his dance moves

Unfortunately, during the COVID-19 restrictions, Maxwell’s usual dance and drama lessons and Cub meetings had come to a halt. Maxwell wondered how he could keep doing the two things he loved most.

When his Cub Pack announced the beginning of weekly Zoom meetings, Maxwell decided to combine his love of Scouts and dance by leading an online dance session for his fellow Cubs. Maxwell confidently shared his talents when teaching them the routines he learned at his dance and drama school in Hatfield.

Maxwell’s Zoom dance sessions went brilliantly. The Cubs were desperate to keep the classes going once restrictions were lifted and they came back to their meeting place. They loved following along with Maxwell and tried their best to learn the routines perfectly.

After working towards his Cubs Entertainer badge, leading a Cub session was a great warm-up for Maxwell’s next adventure.

Getting the part

Maxwell auditioned for the part of Young Bob, but he knew competition would be high. He put it to the back of his mind and continued with school, Scouts, and his dance and drama lessons.

A few days after his audition, it was just an ordinary afternoon when Maxwell’s agent (who’s also his singing teacher) text his mum to arrange a singing lesson for that evening.

‘We both thought that’s just what it was,’ said his mum. ‘We had no idea what was about to happen.’

His agent asked Maxwell how he thought his audition went. He replied, ‘I think it went very well, I think they liked me.’ Then, his agent announced that Maxwell got the part!

‘It was SO exciting,’ said Maxwell. ‘My mum and I were jumping up and down and I was so excited. I was ready to start a new chapter in my life by acting, too. It was really fun.’

Even though Maxwell was already a dancer, he’d never acted before. The audition (and the show) gave him the chance to try something new.

Taking the stage

In the Olivier award-winning musical, Maxwell was over the moon to play ‘Young Bob’ (Bob Marley as a child) to sell-out audiences. The musical tells the story of Bob Marley’s extraordinary life, beginning with his early life in Jamaica and featuring Bob Marley’s most-loved songs.

For the 12 months Maxwell was part of the musical, he’d travel to London to perform three to four times a week with his mum. Sometimes they’d get home at 11pm, but Maxwell would still be up bright and early for school. The only downside for Maxwell was missing some of his Cub sessions when they clashed with his shows.

Maxwell’s mum said ‘It was tiring, but Maxwell loved it and always gave his best performance.’

There were four boys playing Young Bob and they took it in turns. Gradually, the other boys left the show, and Maxwell became the actor who played Young Bob the longest.

From beginning to end, Maxwell loved every single show he performed. ‘Hearing the audience erupt when I came on at the end for my bow was amazing,’ he said.

Maxwell also loved working with Clint Dyer (the musical’s director), as well as Arinzé Kene and Michael Duke (who both played ‘Big Bob’) and Julene Robinson (who played ‘Mama’).

Support from his leader

‘When I told Pete why Maxwell couldn’t go to the Cub camp, he was speechless and SO proud,’ said his mum. ‘He asked me if it would be OK to see Maxwell in the show one evening. We decided it’d be a great idea to surprise Maxwell one evening when exiting the stage door.’

Closing the curtains

Now Maxwell’s West End experience has come to an end, he said he’d love the chance to perform in the theatre again. One of his dreams was to go from Scouts Cub Pack to the Cub Pack in The Lion King Musical, but sadly, he’s now grown too tall.