A STAGE play set in Newport which has won international acclaim is set to be turned into a film.

Written by Newport actor and writer Daniel Llewelyn-Williams, A Regular Little Houdini tells the story of a tenacious young dockworker’s son who, smitten by Harry Houdini’s feats, dreams of a life of magic and escaping an impoverished future.

Set in the Newport docklands at the turn of the last century, A Regular Little Houdini is described by it’s author as “a story about a young boy from the docks who seeks change”.

Mr Llewelyn-Williams said: “We are in the early stages of pre-production on a feature film adaptation of the stage play with a very prominent London-based Independent Film Company who we cannot name yet until funding is secured.

“That is a long process but we anticipate production to begin after 2018.

“The Film will feature the Transporter Bridge, Newport Docks disaster of 1909, The Lyceum Theatre and will be set and partly filmed in Pill.

“Filled with youthful imagination and a very real danger brought about by the reality of working-class industrial life, the play is inspired by my family stories and the true to life visits of Houdini to Newport.“

The master showman and self-publicist, twice came to working-class, inhdustrial Wales.

“He had an affiliation with the town of Newport; himself an immigrant Hungarian Jew, from the melting pot of New York, he recognised the passion of the urban slums.”

Mr Llewelyn-Williams, who plays Dr Rhys Thomas in Eastenders, performs in the show and recently won Best Actor at the Wales Theatre Awards.

“I wrote this stage play a couple of years ago as I had a motivation to back Newport, and still have a drive to commit positive stories of the City to popular folklore,” said Mr Llewelyn-Williams, who comes from a family of dockworkers .? Produced by Newport based theatre company Flying Bridge Theatre Limited, the play has recently returned from touring the USA where it picked up four International Theatre awards including The Artistic Excellence award as well as the producer’s Encore award at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.