ALS pupil Kasper with actors from Leamington’s touring theatre company Heartbreak Productions who will be brining his play to life.

A modern fairytale version of Cinderella created by a talented Leamington schoolboy will be turned into a nationally touring open-air play this summer.

Kasper, a Year 4 pupil at Arnold Lodge School, a leading co-educational day school for pupils aged four to 18 in Leamington Spa, is the overall winner of Heartbreak Productions’ national writing competition after entries were submitted from all over the UK.

The Leamington-based outdoor theatre company will transform Kasper’s story Sin De Fella, a modern twist on the fairy tale classic Cinderella, into a stage show which will be performed by professional actors and travel around the UK this summer as part of the Wonders with Grimm tour.

The competition was launched by Maddy Kerr and Peter Mimmack, who set up Heartbreak in 1991, to celebrate 30 years of touring with the winning story selected based on five categories including how original, interesting and entertaining the story and characters are and how well the fairy tale has been modernised.

Peter Mimmack, Director of Wonder with Grimm, said: “What’s so fantastic about this is that you really get an authentic modern young person’s voice. They are also so inventive and unrestricted and we were really impressed with Kasper’s imaginative story telling.

“I love this story with its gender inversion of the Cinderella role and the Hairy Godfather, who is a funkier version of James Bond’s Q! It’s definitely a ‘must-see’ performance.”

Wonder with Grimm will open in Jephson Gardens, Leamington Spa on Fri June 11 and will tour outdoor venues across the UK until September.

Kasper said: “I’m so excited and flattered to have my story tour on the stage through the UK this summer, my whole family is really looking forward to seeing it live.

“I wanted to modernise the story of Cinderella with face masks instead of a glass slipper and I can’t wait to see the actors bring it to life!”

David Preston, Headteacher at Arnold Lodge School, said: “We are very proud of Kasper and his hard work; our creative and performing arts department at ALS continues to flourish and Kasper’s achievement is testament to that.”

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See Kasper’s modern Cinderella – Sin De Fella – on tour this summer

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