THE world premiere of a musical written by a former rock star opened in the Ribble Valley last night amid great critical acclaim.

Arctic Song, by former Wings and Moody Blues member Denny Laine, was presented in the Centenaries Theatre at Stonyhurst College by youngsters from St Mary's Hall and Westholme School in Blackburn.

Denny Laine joined civic leaders and theatre-goers at the plush venue for the top performance.

The show tells the tale of a spaceship from the future and animals of the Arctic threatened with extinction and offers an insight into the myths and legends of one of the great remote areas of the world.

Characters Arcos and Yelena take the audience on a journey to find the Arctic Song, the crystal of knowledge whose healing power will restore harmony and prevent destruction of the planet. Artistic director Mary Jones worked with the choir for four months and supervised the transformation of the Centenaries Theatre into an Arctic setting with spectacular costumes for the cast. Denny Laine, who lives in Whalley, drew upon his wealth of experience in the world of rock music to write the score for the show and he and sponsors Ribble Records hope it will eventually be taken up for a professional adult production.

Co-writer Christopher Hill, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, staged a photographic exhibition - based on a solo journey to the Arctic regions - to herald the premiere. Mr John Travis, manager of the Centenaries Theatre, described the show as incredible and said tickets were selling like hot cakes.

It will be performed tonight and tomorrow at 7.30pm, with performances next Friday and Saturday at the same time and a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.

Further details and bookings, contact the Centenaries Theatre box office on 01254 826063.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.