Thousands of youngsters dream of becoming famous actors, but only a handful have the talent and tenacity to turn their wishes into reality.

Two Dorset performers, Tom Prior from Dorchester and Miguel Brooking from Sherborne, are two of the lucky handful making a name for themselves in London’s West End.

Both have been picked from a crowd of hopeful thousands to join the National Youth Theatre’s first ever repertory company and will be spending the next few weeks in rehearsal before stepping out on to the stage of the Ambassadors Theatre in London’s West End for a 10-week run of three plays.

Tom and Miguel will be appearing in productions of Romeo and Juliet, James Graham’s Tory Boyz, and Michael Lesslie’s acclaimed Hamlet prequel Prince of Denmark.

Tom, 22, was a former member and mentor of Dorchester Youth Theatre, who were recently chosen to perform Don’t Feed the Animals at the National Theatre. He has worked on various theatrical projects since leaving Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester and thinks the National’s Rep will be a real feather in his cap.

“The rep company was brought back to give people individual training on a company basis,” said Tom.

“It is nine months like drama school training, but is industry-based instead. We have been working with the RSC and Wildworks Theatre Company in Cornwall, where we devising a production which we are planning to take to Norfolk next year. We also went to this year’s Latitude Festival which was incredible.”

The Rep is a massive change of direction for former Griffon School student Miguel, who last year completed a degree in human bioscience from Roehampton University.

“I am one of the least experienced members of the team so I’m learning a huge amount,” he said.

“It is a complete turn-around for me – one year I’m looking under a microscope, the next I’m appearing in the West End. It’s a dream come true and I can’t quite believe it’s happening.”

Miguel plays the Prince and Friar John in Romeo and Juliet, a schoolboy called Tommo in Tory Boyz and is a player in Prince of Denmark.

He said: “It’s all so sudden. Last year I auditioned for the National Youth Theatre and was accepted and after doing that I decided to pursue it as a career so I started looking at drama schools and realised I couldn’t get funding because I had just finished my degree.

“Then the Rep company popped up and auditions were free, so I went for it and got a place.

“I think it will give me the edge over people who have been to drama school because it’s a completely new thing and you learn on the job, like a work placement. You certainly need stamina because they are long days but you learn quickly and are expected to be independent and organised.

“You also have a mentor to help you through. Mine is a director from the West End and Broadway called James Todd and he has been brilliant. The whole set-up is so supportive and James has been showing me how to get into the spotlight and get networking in the industry.

“They are exciting times!”

Romeo and Juliet is set in 1980s Camden, with music and fashions of the decade. Tom plays the role of Paris as a club owner, a worldlier creature than either the Capulets or Montagues.

In Prince of Denmark, the prequel to Hamlet, he plays Osric.

“In Hamlet he has a smaller part, but it’s an enhanced role here and it is thanks to his family that Laertes gets to court,” said Tom.

“He is also besotted with Ophelia.”

Tory Boyz, which was written five years ago for the National Youth Theatre and is being revived for this season, is about a group of gay Tories making their way through the political system.

“There is a lot of subtext to the play and my character’s attraction to a labour researcher all comes out through political argument,” Tom explained.

“In all my plays my characters seem to be besotted with someone!”

Tom and Miguel didn’t know each other before they joined the National Youth Theatre rep, but they are now firm friends.

Tom has also maintained his links with Dorchester Youth Theatre, where he got his first taste of life on stage.

“DYT helped me get where I am today and I was thrilled that they took part in the National Theatre’s Connections scheme this year and did so well,” he said.

“I was an assistant director with them, which was an amazing experience. I went to the National’s director’s weekend with Jo Simons – the director of DYT – and said to her that the kids deserved to go all the way with their play, so it was a real dream come true when they did!”