The youngstars - Ursula Jones

“There was a thud in Ollie’s midriff, as though he had been shot. The boy stared at Ollie, open–mouthed with surprise … and suddenly the boy smiled.”
Ollie knew that smile. He knew the boy’s face. He’d seen it looking at him from countless dressing room mirrors. It was his own smile, his own face. The boy was his double.”
Ollie, the youngest of the troupe, struggles through life with a stammer and a deep desire to become an acrobat (to escape the clutches of The Pig).
Unbeknownst to him, his world is about to be torn apart and re-made by the arrival of movie star, Hal Havern. Meanwhile, Hal Havern’s son, Ralph, and his comrade in arms, Giselle, have jumped a train, are evading the law, and trying to escape a mysterious pursuer who dogs their every step.
The variety troupe, Havern, Ralph and Giselle all descend on the bustling and industrial city of Liverpool, where the troupe are set to give their biggest performance yet. And Olly and Ralph are about to get the shock of their lives…