The 17-year-old Whitecrook lad hasn’t looked back since and recently saw all his years of hard work pay off after he took the stage at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to perform a theatrical and humorous take on first time voters’ attitudes to the up coming independence referendum.

The St Peter the Apostle youngster and his fellow teenage cast members from the Scottish Youth Theatre (SYT) were also given the unique opportunity to try out some of the material from their play, entitled Now’s the Hour, on First Minister Alex Salmond ahead of their big performance.

Last week Zack told the Post the decision to take up acting had changed his life and said: “I joined SYT when I was three years old. As I am disabled I was ostracised by my own community and there were no kids where I lived. SYT allows me to fully express myself and also meet people my own age. SYT has an open door policy so no matter what your background you can get involved.

“Now’s the Hour is important to Scotland as it enables you to make an informed decision on how to vote rather than one based on opinion, as this is such an important decision.

“If we make a decision and it’s not based on the correct information we may regret it and Scotland may suffer as a result. Scotland’s history is ancient but our decision to vote yes or no shouldn’t be led by ideas of the past.

“It should be about ideas of the future. The letters we write to ourselves in 20 years time in Now’s The Hour enable us to make a decision based on our hopes and dreams for the future.” After watching a special 15 minute preview of the show, which has been hailed as being funny, insightful and politically neutral, Mr Salmond was full of praise for the efforts of Zack and his fellow cast.

He said: “I saw only an excerpt today, but what I did see was fantastic and I wish the entire cast success over the summer.

“With a cast comprised entirely of teenagers, who will be voting for the first time in the referendum, this play represents the authentic voice of a cross section of young Scots who are actively engaging with politics.

“Rightly, they are exploring all of the different ideas, arguments and thoughts surrounding the debate before they make their decision on September 18.” The show uses sketches and monologues to explore Scotland’s history, as well as amusing stereotypes and many contradictions.

It then turns the spotlight on key referendum issues such as currency, Trident, tuition fees and the economy with the young actors attempting to make sense of the claims and counterclaims of the referendum debate.

Mary McCluskey chief executive and artistic director of Scottish Youth Theatre, added: “Now’s the Hour is the only play at this year’s Fringe which represents the authentic voice of a cross section of young Scots as they try to make sense of the claims and counter claims surrounding the referendum debate. Uniquely, it does this without taking a political position or telling the audience how to vote.”