Kiss My Butt tours Rochdale!

Performance of Kiss My Butt

Kiss My Butt, a powerful play highlighting the dangers of smoking, tours Rochdale’s secondary schools 20 February - 4 March, followed by a public performance at the Live Life event on Wednesday 5 March at Rochdale’s Odeon Cinema. 

This Rochdale tour follows a successful tour of Oldham’s secondary schools last year. Kiss My Butt is written and performed by Oldham Theatre Workshop and is produced in partnership with Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust and the Environmental Health Service of Rochdale Council. 

Children are aware of cigarettes from a young age; about 1 in 6 boys and 1 in 4 girls are regular smokers by the time they reach 15 and almost 80% of adult smokers start before they are 18 years old. 

Research has consistently demonstrated that the decision to start or not to start smoking is heavily influenced by their peers, parents and siblings’ smoking habits.  Parental approval or disapproval of the habit is a major factor, with children three times as likely to start smoking if both parents smoke.  

Kiss My Butt is a dynamic and thought-provoking piece of theatre illustrating the negative impact of smoking on young people in an energetic and engaging way.  The message is effectively delivered via a teenage love story and is accompanied by a workshop, in which the audience are involved in the play and interact with the actors.  

The play is being performed by young actors from Oldham Theatre Workshop to audiences of 13 – 15 year olds in Rochdale Schools and for the public at the Live Life event. Live Life explores health and wellbeing and takes place on Wednesday 5 March at Rochdale’s Odeon Cinema. For more information call 01706 824229. Advice about help available for those who wish to stop smoking is available at all performances. 

This tour is funded by Rochdale Choosing Health as part of its programme of working towards a tobacco free borough. 

Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton NHS Stop Smoking Service can support young people and adults to stop smoking.  School Nurse Practitioners will also be available in schools to offer advice and support to students about stopping smoking. Evidence shows that individuals who receive support during their attempts to quit are more likely to be successful than people who don’t.  Telephone 0161 621 5937 or text “Kickit” to 80010 for more information.