FORMER Thorns Community College pupil Richard Morse has been delighting audiences this week at Birmingham's Alexander Theatre with his portrayal of Brian in the comedy puppet musical Avenue Q.

The show concludes this Saturday (September 20), but there'll be no rest for Richard and his fellow cast members as Avenue Q then sets off for Hong Kong for a month-long tour between November and December.

Richard, who is 33 and hails from Lakeside but now lives in London, has been a fully fledged actor for the past 12 years having graduated from the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.

He was previously a student at Stourbridge's King Edward VI College, but it was while still at Thorns, where he was deputy head boy, that he caught the acting bug at 13 years old after appearing in school productions.

Richard, who has enjoyed a varied career to date, said: "I trained as a straight actor. Since then I've featured in plays, short films, TV adverts and musicals.

"I was lucky enough to see Avenue Q when it first featured in New York and it's something I've always wanted to be in, so when I auditioned for the part, it was absolutely great to get it.

"This is the biggest tour I've ever done and it's always nice to appear on home turf at the Alex.

"We had a full house on Tuesday's opening night, but I think there's still a few tickets available on the top circle for the remaining performances.

"There's only 11 in the cast and 23 for the total production team, so we're a tight knit group.

"The only downside with going to Hong Kong is the fact I'll miss pantomine this year. I was at Reading last year, but I've had to turn it down this time."

As yet, Richard hasn't ventured into television; he's always preferred the stage and is concious of becoming type-cast.

He added: "More people relate to television. On the stage you can be performing to an audience of 2,000, while on television, it could be millions, but I've always wanted to be on the stage."

For tickets for Avenue Q call 0844 871 3011 or go to www.atgtickets.com/birmingham