Bill Heeks, 30, is an aspiring Stourbridge actor taking part in theatre productions and independent movies around the area for the majority of the last 15 years. A member of the New Kinver Players, he has also starred in movies by BIAFF winning director Howard Smith and most notably Dandilicious by Panowerx, available on Amazon Prime.

On Sunday 28th September he performed with the New Moon Players in an Arts Council England funded project at the Birmingham Conference & Events Centre for the Mid Autum Festival organised by the Birmingham Chinese Festival Committee.

"There were two performances" said Bill and each show had 750 tickets for sale. The first show sold out quickly. 750 tickets for just one show. Then the second show sold out - another 750 tickets - and people were being turned away at the door! 1,500 people!" 

The production was the Chinese creation myth which featured actors and actresses of Chinese heritage. Following the two sold out performances Bill and the rest of the Players were then invited to perform at the Ming Moon Restaurant in Birmingham`s Chinese Quarter for the Birmingham Chinatown Business Association.

"The venue was also packed" explained Bill "and it had a different vibe to the Birmingham Conference & Events Centre. We kicked off with some poetry by a Malayssian poet called Sundari and then into the play. It was brilliant - and so was the food afterwards!" 

“I’ve always loved acting from a young age: the ability to tell stories and entertainment has always been a dream of mine to pursue; even to get audiences to see things from new perspectives, to feel things, question them, to escape into a new world even for a brief window of time" he said. 

Bill said: 

"I joined the project because I wanted to help showcase the beauty of choosing love over hatred, even in times of struggle. There will still be beauty even in times of pain. That’s where we get art - whether performance, painting, craft, even food - these present a window into a person’s soul, to help us learn a little more. And when you learn, you hopefully understand, and that’s when the fear and the fighting stop. The event showed community coming together to support everyone and highlighting their contributions, passions and creativity to the world and reminding us they very much still have a place in our world".