He began writing his first play at 12 and earned himself a spot at the prestigious Brit School, but now a young theatre student is set to stage his first musical.

Dominic Powell, 18, has gathered a cast of 10 fellow Brits to stage his production of Rosemary Lane, a contemporary take on the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill. Follow Jack as he tries to piece together the events and the people he met on his ill-fated climb up the hill, all set against the backdrop of fictional east London suburb Denton.

Dominic, says: “The story tackles issues such as mental illness, but there are lighter moments too provided through some of the characters Jack and his lovely girlfriend who meets while scaling Denton Hill.”

The Shirley teenager, who wrote the play A Series of Unfortunate Events while studying at Wallington County Grammar school is set to graduate from the Brit School this week and will take up a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama in north London to continue his thespian training.

He will direct the first production of Rosemary Lane at the school’s Obie Theatre on July 19, and then at an independent theatre yet to be announced, in August.

He says: “Ultimately I am hoping for a long run at a theatre in the autumn.”

Beginning writing in August last year, while also having to do school work, Dominic completed his script in December before cracking on with his first full musical score.

He says: “It was a huge challenge. I had written individual songs before, but never a full score. I also wrote a musical last year but that wasn’t scored.”

Rosemary Lane, Obie Theatre, Brit School, the Crescent, Croydon, July 19. Details to be confirmed.