I was privileged to witness the dress rehearsal of Kailey, which had its premiere at the Stockroom Cinema at Keighley Creative.

The play, written by Kerry Wright, follows 18-year-old Kailey Spence as she copes with burgeoning adulthood without the guiding hand of her mum, who is in prison.

The comedy drama is based on Keighley-based Wright’s own experience of living her teen years while both parents were in jail. 

The three actors, Hannah Mullen, Jeanette Percival, Faye Weerasinghe, performed in the cosy surrounds of the mini-cinema, which has been set up in collaboration with Leeds International Film Festival, enhancing the audience’s immersion in the strong drama, directed by Tess Seddon.

Actor Hannah Mullen took the title role in the first performance of Kerry Wright's play Kailey at Keighley Creative's Stockroom Cinema.Hannah Mullen, pictured here, took the title role. 

It has been a fascinating couple of years for me being involved with Keighley Creative as a trustee and seeing the hard work of its staff and board members come to fruition with events such as Kailey.

The charity plans to continue to enliven the cultural life of Keighley people with more events in the coming months.