First stage version of novel at town's theatre

"Never Let Me Go" follows the story of students at a boarding school in a dystopian future

The first stage adaptation of an acclaimed novel by the award-winning writer Kazuo Ishiguro is heading to a town's theatre.

Northampton's Royal & Derngate will host performances of "Never Let Me Go" from 16-26 October.

The book - published in 2005 - follows the story of a group of students at a boarding school in a dystopian future. In 2010, a film version was made starring Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan in 2010.

The stage version has been co-produced by the Royal & Derngate along with the Rose Theatre in Kingston-upon-Thames, Bristol Old Vic and Malvern Theatres.

Ishiguro's novel, an international best-seller, has been adapted for the stage by Suzanne Heathcote, a lead writer for the BBC TV series Killing Eve.

Northampton's Royal & Derngate will host a stage adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go later this month

Who is Kazuo Ishiguro?

• Born in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1954, Ishiguro moved to England with his family when his father was offered a post as an oceanographer in Surrey

• He read English and philosophy at the University of Kent after a gap year that included working as a grouse beater for the Queen Mother at Balmoral

• He studied an MA in creative writing at the University of East Anglia, where his tutors were Malcolm Bradbury and Angela Carter

• His thesis became his critically-acclaimed first novel, A Pale View of Hills, published in 1982

• He won the Booker Prize in 1989 for The Remains of the Day