A dystopian musical set in a divided world will be brought to life by members of the Orpheus Centre for young disabled adults.

The Musical of Small Remains, which began as a visual arts show, has been transformed into a play after the exhibition debuted at the International Youth Arts Festival (IYAF) last year.

It was created entirely by members of the centre, young people aged 18-25, and this will be their first performance.

Haley Ball, outreach coordinator for the Orpheus Centre, said: “The students have devised the story, designed the costumes and set and props, and we just help them a bit in being able to produce it.”

The story is about two races living in the remains of a war-torn world, with only one hope for peace, a young girl who has been locked away from her dangerous father.

Ms Ball said: “It is based on the story of a space man who lands on a planet and finds a baby machine.

"When it starts working it makes lots of people, all identical and mass-produced.

"But when the machine breaks it produces a rejected baby.”

She added: “It is quite an epic story. It’s not going to be a light one."

The Orpheus Centre was founded in 1998 in Godstone by Sir Richard Stilgoe, as a residential care home for a small group of adults with disabilities.

It now offers a curriculum of performing arts, housing permanent and part-time residents and students.

Ms Ball said: “The main driving point is learning life skills, but we use arts to transition the young people into the community.”

The centre offers its own end-of-year performance, but members are still keen to come to IYAF.

Ms Ball said: “We always do our summer ball show right at the end of the term but we have been part of the IYAF festival for three or four years.

"It is a fantastic festival celebrating the work of young people and we are proud to be part of it."

Musical of Small Remains, Rose Theatre, Friday, July 19, Tickets £5-15. Visit rosetheatrekingston.org or call 08444 821 556.