THEATRE goers were given some added drama at the end of a town production – with a surprise marriage proposal!

Amber Deacon and Craig Harris had just finished starring in the matinee performance of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Hafren Theatre in Newtown, taking the applause in front of a sell-out crowd.

It was then that Craig, playing spy Goran, plucked up the courage to ask leading lady Amber, playing Truly Scrumptious, to pop the question and ask her to marry him – and she said yes.

Though the couple, both 31, had talked about marriage before, the gesture still came as a surprise to Amber, who had around 700 people – including 550 in the audience, cast, crew and stewards, waiting on her answer.

She said: “The NPTC does two performances every year and this was the autumn one.

“It just so happened to be the matinee his (Craig’s) family had chosen to see and that same performance was a sell-out, one of the biggest audiences we have ever had.

“At the end of the performance we were stood next to each other for bows, but as we were to leave he didn’t let go of my hand.

“We had family there who had travelled from as far as Coventry who knew, but some of our friends didn’t.

“My first thought was that we were going to pay tribute to the director, or say thank you to the crowd. It was only when Craig began saying ‘Sorry to interrupt proceedings...’ that I realised.

“I had to be careful what I said as the crew had left our microphones on as they knew what was happening.

“The whole audience erupted, the screams were deafening, and Craig didn’t even get to the end of his speech.”

The couple met when Craig, who was part of the Newtown’ Amateur Dramatic Society, was cast by Amber in a production of White Christmas, before falling in love with each other during a production of Sister Act.

They now plan to focus on enjoying their engagement but due to her day job, weddings will never be far from Amber’s mind.

She said: “I’m a wedding co-ordinator at Maesmawr Hall in Caersws, but we haven’t set a date. For now we just want to enjoy the fact we’re engaged.”