LIFE is imitating art for one young actress.
For Samantha Payne took on the role of a pregnant woman in Frank Vicaray's A Night on the Tiles only to find she was expecting herself.
And, remarkably, both she and the character she is portraying, Shirley, are three months pregnant.
Samantha, who is due to have her second child next April, will star in the play when it is staged by the Oswaldtwistle Players later this month.
She admitted it was the ultimate form of method acting.
She said: "It is quite uncanny, because Shirley is three months pregnant and so am I.
"She is engaged to marry Gareth but takes quite a shine to his older brother Kenneth and they are not sure who the father of the baby is.
"I didn't know I was pregnant when I took the part and I was delighted when I found out."
The 32-year-old, of Montgommery Close, Baxenden, already has a daughter, three-year-old Nyah, with her husband Stephen.
She added: "Being pregnant myself helps me have a better understanding of the character I am playing.
"It will hopefully lend my acting more depth."
The show will run from 20 October until 23 October at Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre.
Tickets, available from Accrington Information Centre and the Town Hall, cost £6 and £5 for concessions.
For bookings of 10 or more call Gayle Knight on 387851.
