Hairspray actress lets her hair down for Mackem makeover

Rebecca Mendoza, who plays Tracy Turnblad in the hit musical, which is running at Sunderland Empire all this week, took a break from backcombing her barnet and treading the boards to have her makeup done at the new MAC counter in Debenhams, in The Bridges.

She was given the all star treatment by Esther Cronin, retail manager at the counter who gave her a MAC masterclass.

Hairspray is running at Sunderland Empire until Saturday night and follows the story of Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger

heart, who’s on a mission to follow her dreams and dance her way onto national TV.

Set in Baltimore, 1961, the show features the hit songs Welcome To The 60s, You Can’t Stop The Beat and The Nicest Kids in Town. Tracy’s TV audition makes her a local star and soon she is using her new-found fame to fight for equality, bagging local heartthrob Link Larkin along the way.

Rebecca is making her professional debut as Tracy Turnblad in the tour alongside Norman Pace, from The Hale and Pace Show, as Wilbur Turnblad and Matt Rixon who is reprising his role as Edna Turnblad, as well as musical theatre star and former X Factor finalist Brenda Edwards returning as Motormouth Maybelle.

•Read our review of Hairspray here.

•Tickets for Hairspray are available in person at the Box Office on High Street West, from the Ticket Centre on 0844 871 3022 or online at

www.ATGtickets.com/Sunderland