This year’s festive children’s play at the Lawrence Batley Theatre is in the running for a national award.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf, a re-telling of the well-known Aesop fable by Yorkshire playwright Mike Kenny, has been nominated for a 2014 Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Award.

York-based Mike is one of the country’s most prolific and acclaimed playwrights for young people.

He has scores of plays to his name, including his recent Olivier Award-winning version of The Railway Children, and almost as many awards.

In 2000 he was the first-ever recipient of the Children’s Award from the Arts Council of England for playwriting for children and has appeared in the Independent on Sunday’s Top Ten Living UK Playwrights’ list.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf, which can be seen at the LBT until Sunday, December 28, was written for the tutti frutti company, formerly in residence in Huddersfield but now based at York’s Theatre Royal.

Tutti frutti toured nationally with the play this year and in 2013.

It was, says the company’s artistic director Wendy Harris, extremely well received. She added: “This award is important as it reminds us of the value of work for younger children.”

Mike describes his Christmas show as “the story that everyone thinks they know, but with a twist.” He delivers the 2,500-year-old tale with humour and a few scary moments.

He is delighted to have received yet another award nomination and said: “To be nominated for a WGGB Award is a huge honour because it comes from your peers – other writers – so you can’t slip much past them.”

The award winners will be announced by comedian Sandi Toksvig at a ceremony on January 19. Mike is up against Minotour by Kevin Dyer for Polka Theatre and Girls Like That by Evan Placey for Unicorn/Synergy Theatre.

Tickets for The Boy Who Cried Wolf are from £10 to £14 from 01484 430528 or www.thelbt.org