The play, starring Darren Southworth and Remmie Milner, took place on Thursday night at Olympus chippy

In retrospect, it is easy to see why Newman chose this musical as a statement of intent.

It is relatively short (about an hour), it comes with the added incentive of food and drink, it features a genre of music popular with teenagers, jokes galore and – oh yes – it is set in an actual fish and chip shop.

Choreographer Nathan Geering and stage manager Ashley Illman break the chains of the typical theatre setting and allow co-actors Darren Southworth and Remmie Milner to flourish, surrounded by their audience.

And where else in Bolton would such a play be put on than Olympus, a stone's throw away from the Octagon and so well known within Bolton town centre?

This is a story of two very different people from the same Yorkshire town finding a way to compromise for their mutual happiness.

Gram (Southworth) has lost his dad and must take on the challenge of running the shop alone, too proud to seek help.

That is, of course, until 16-year-old Ayla (Milner) shows up and then chalk meets cheese with much tension.

Tonight, the play was a slow starter, but quickly got into its rhythm, amid the fast and furious table settings, rule breaking and song singing.

We had slow and steady brass band sounds from Gram contrasted with the more modern grime music – a kind of quick-paced rap-poetry – favoured by Ayla.

Milner was the undoubted star here: Learning lines for a play is one thing, but knowing by heart such complex quick-paced verses while never once standing still is an art form and she nailed it.

It was a thrilling performance from Milner, complemented by Southworth’s energy and passion.

The sold-out crowd seemed intrigued with the unusual setting, so who knows what could be next - Shakespeare at the Spinning Mule? Arthur Miller at the Market Place? Tennessee Williams at Waterstones?

Credit to Newman for thinking outside the box. This was an welcome experiment with interesting results.