Despite the depressing employment statistics and fierce competition, nothing was going to deter Marianne Benedict from going into musical theatre.

For her there was no other option.

“If I’m singing I’m happy. In fact, as long as I’m performing I’m happy. This was always what I was going to do. I was always going to go on stage.

“So my advice to any aspiring musical theatre students is to go for it as long as you are 100% sure it is what you want.

“It has to be your dream because you will need to make sacrifices, and you have to be committed and strong, because it does get difficult. But if you are obviously talented then go for it. It’s all been absolutely worth it for me - I love it.”

Having left drama school early to join the cast of a new play heading to Edinburgh Fringe, the former Larkmead School pupil says it was a baptism of fire: “It was a terrible show and a terrible production, but it was a rite of passage. It taught me a lot.

Then landing the understudy role in Crazy For You, minor roles followed.

But it wasn’t until Brian May saw Marianne in Return to the Forbidden Planet and asked her to audition for We Will Rock You, the Queen musical, that things really turned around.

“I spent two years in We Will Rock You in the West End and I’ve never worked so hard in my life. Doing the same show eight times a week can be quite gruelling,” she laughs.

Since then the 34 year-old has starred as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz and frustrated wife Vivian in Dirty Dancing.

Returning triumphantly to Oxford’s New Theatre, Marianne next plays Grizabella in Cats.

“Cats is a bit of a marmite show for some people, but I defy anyone not to enjoy it. It’s a real spectacle and so iconic. TS Eliot certainly writes a good story.

"The underlying theme is that we can all take a wrong step in life and Cats is about giving people another chance and being a good person so it’s still relevant, perhaps more so than ever. Because people do find themselves in terrible circumstances and we should help them, not turn our backs.

"Plus the show has got a new tap dancing section, rap and some opera, so it still feels fresh, and the current cast are insanely talented, so I can’t wait to come to Oxford.

And then she laughs: "Although my main motivation is that I get to stay at home in Abingdon - I even get a cup of tea in the mornings - so things are looking up."