QUEEN Katherine School turns up the heat for this year’s annual show heading off into another dimension with rock and roll musical Return to the Forbidden Planet.

Written by Bob Carlton, the show - which runs at Kendal’s Brewery Arts Centre from Sunday (June 22) until Friday, June 27 (7pm) - is loosely based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest and the 1950s science fiction ‘B’ movie Forbidden Planet.

The Kendal school's high energy production features a whole host of classic 1950s and 1960s rock and roll songs guaranteed to have the audience rocking in the aisles, including Monster Mash, Teenager in Love, Good Vibrations, Born to be Wild, Great Balls of Fire and many more.

The tuneful tale begins one stormy night many years ago, with mad scientist Doctor Prospero working late in his laboratory, aided only by his wife, Gloria, as he develops the elusive formula, the ‘X’ factor, with which he could change the world.

However, the apparently faithful Gloria, dupes the Doc and sends him off into hyper space in an old space craft. Unknown to Gloria, their infant daughter, Miranda, was sleeping peacefully in the craft and was jettisoned light years into the future with her father. Fifteen years later US starship Albatross, under the command of Captain Tempest, leaves earth’s orbit with a new science officer aboard. But as a shower of meteorites hits the ship, the science officer flees, and the ship is pulled towards the planet D’Illyria – the Forbidden Planet.

QKS head of performing arts and director and producer of the show Caroline Barber said it had been quite a tricky musical to mount as it was originally written for a cast of 10. She added: “But in true QKS fashion we’ve managed to expand the show to include a cast of nearly 150 students.

“Our monster alone is made up of 30, year seven students.”

This year’s show sees QKS stalwart Kevin Bell’s take to the Brewery stage for his last performance before he retires.

The popular design and technology teacher bows out in the role of mad scientist Prospero.

The spaceship set is designed by local designer Jane Hawkins.

Among the talented cast are year 12 students Mike Rhodes (Captain Tempest), Bailey Dobson (Bosun), Laurence Platt (Cookie), Kirstie Hewitt (Gloria) and Edward Hawkins plays Ariel, a robot on skates.

Year 10’s Suzie Barber plays the navigation officer and Rosie Wheeler takes the role of Miranda.

Box office 01539-725133.