Theatre Royal Exchange  Manchester  were due to stage staging the world premiere of Rockets and Blue Lights in early in 2020. but the theatre was abruptly closed, like all theatres in the UK,  due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Actor Bertie Carvel then created the Lockdown Theatre Festival to bring some of the plays cut short to the airwaves and Rockets and Blue Lights was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Saturday, 13th June 2020.