A Bolton performing arts school has partnered with two award-winning authors transforming their book into a play. Stagecoach Performing Arts School based at Canon Slade School has partnered with Carl Wheatley and Simon Harthill, the authors of I’m Reggie Rockit to create a play from the award-winning book. The play which is only being performed in-house for now will be performed by pupils of the arts school for parents, Carl and Simon.
And Carl hopes and believes it has the potential to go even further with other theatres hopefully picking it up. Carl, 48, said: “Two years ago, myself and my best friend Simon first published 'I’m Reggie Rockit' and we wrote it during Covid, and we saw children were having a hard time and we wanted to do something together to help them. Carl and Simon with pupils from the Stagecoach Performing Arts School (Image: Carl Wheatley) “The concept of the book is just to be happy by being yourself, it centres around a boy who wanted to be a rock star, but it tells children that they can be what they want to be and enjoy it.
“When it was first published we went to The Lowry, and we found that children absolutely loved it because we found a bit of a niche as I had written a song for the book as well. “People were going away singing the song and we were buzzing because we could see we were changing children’s lives, it was more than just a book.” Kimberley Riley-Shipperbottom, Principal of Stagecoach Performing Arts said she loved the ide.