A ROALD Dahl classic is set to be transported to the stage at the Octagon in Bolton later this month.

James and the Giant Peach will be starting a two-month run at the theatre on November 24 and popular demand has led to an extra week of performances being scheduled.

The play tells the story of a James Henry Trotter, played by Alan Morrissey, who finds himself orphaned after a freak rampaging rhinoceros incident.

His life is made a misery by his aunts, Spiker and Sponge, until one day an old man offers him a bag of crocodile tongues which he drops next to an old peach tree.

The next morning he finds that a magnificent and gigantic peach has grown and he has five new friends in the form of Centipede, Earthworm, Grasshopper, Ladybird and Spider.

He and his new friends set off a fantastic adventure taking them all the way from the bottom of the garden, across the Atlantic Ocean and finally to the Big Apple itself, New York.

Directed by Sarah Esdaile, who directed last year's smash hit The Twits, the play will see the return of Octagon favourite Elizabeth Marsh in the role of Miss Spider.

The show runs from November 24 to January 20.

Tickets cost between £7 and £14.95 and can be booked by ringing 01204 520661, or online at www.octagonbolton.co.uk.