The age of the amateur cast ranges from 11 to 55, with four different actors playing the part of the general, famous for inventing the wooden horse of Troy.

The young actors are revelling in the challenge of playing the difficult roles and say they are more fun, more rewarding, than their usual pastimes.

Katie Cummer, 11, of the French International School (FIS), who appeared in her first play about four years ago, said: 'It's more interesting than other hobbies.' Her budding acting career has already taken her to Beijing to appear in a play staged by the International Schools Theatre Association.

After 10 years besieging the city of Troy, Ulysses came up with the smart idea of building a huge wooden horse and presenting it as a gift to the Trojan king.

What the king did not know was that inside were lots of Greek soldiers, ready to jump out and capture the city as soon as the Trojans dropped off to sleep.

The action of the play starts just after Ulysses has won the war and demolished Troy.

By destroying the city, he has upset Poseidon, the god of the sea, who banishes him and his men to wander the oceans for 10 years before they can return home.

They have many weird and wonderful adventures along the way, which is where the rocks, waves, sheep and seagulls come in.

The play has a cast of about 40 and more than half of them get busy battering the Greek ship in their roles of waves and as rocks on some of the rugged islands the crew lands on.

The students are at their noisiest as a flock of sheep belonging to the hideous one-eyed Cyclops who traps the sailors in his cave before beginning to eat them.

A particularly noisy sheep, Natalie Leung Wan-ki, 11, also of FIS, said she was already sure she wanted to pursue acting as a career.

Christina Lind, 12, of South Island School, said: 'I like to get involved with drama and serious plays and this play has given me a chance to be part of something a bit different.' Stephanie Denton, 11, also a pupil at FIS, said a production of Aladdin inspired her to go on stage.

'I saw last year's Hong Kong Players' pantomime and thought it looked very interesting and great fun, so when I saw the advertisement for this play, I auditioned.' With less than a month to go before the curtain goes up, there is a remarkable lack of nerves among the young Thespians. Stephanie admits only to being 'sort of' nervous.

Melissa Hoey, 11, of Island School, should certainly not suffer stage-fright. She is a veteran of Robin Hood, 101 Dalmations, Aladdin and The Jungle Book.

The pantomime Aladdin saw her, with most of the other younger members of the cast, as part of the chorus. And she said she cannot wait to be old enough to start grabbing major roles.

The Magical Voyage of Ulysses is at Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Wan Chai, at 7.30 pm from April 16 to 19. There is also a matinee on April 19.

Tickets, available through Urbtix, cost $160 ($140 on April 16).