Rolling out the red carpet in support of Rotherham’s creative youngsters

A group of 18 young people aged between nine and 11 joined Rotherham literacy charity Grimm & Co earlier this year for a creative writing project and created a series of characters and scripts for a soap opera, set in Linger Longer Lane in Rotherham town centre.

The resulting soap opera was edited, filmed and transformed with help from a team of professional film makers, directors and actors, into four episodes.

The young writers were invited back to Grimm & Co for a red-carpet event with the cast and crew, and received VIP treatment at an exclusive screening showcasing their creative work.

Grimm & Co patron and writer Rotherham-born Paul Clayton helped bring the project to life.

He said: “Only the magic of Grimm could turn a row of shops into a slice of life full of stories.

“I’m so proud to be patron of the most innovative and inspiring children’s literacy charity around.”

Deborah Bullivant, founding director of Grimm & Co said: “It was wonderful to see the faces of these young people as they were celebrated on the red carpet.

“Not only were the young artists able to see the most wonderfully produced professional outcome of their work, but they were able to experience the audience appreciating the results of their activities for the first time.”

The soap opera is now available to view online on the Grimm & Co website at https://bit.ly/3PMIY5h.