Selladoor Creation (part of Selladoor Worldwide) in association with Paper Owls Production with the support of The Arts Council will produce a stage adaptation of popular CBeebies show Pablo to be developed at the Landmark Theatre in Ilfracombe in preparation for a 2020 UK tour.
The Selladoor venue in North Devon is earmarked to become a centre of excellence and development hub for new work for Selladoor Creation with Pablo the show marking their first project.
Dean Stewart Theatre Director at The Landmark says “We are delighted that the Landmark Theatre and Selladoor Creation has been awarded Arts Council Funding to bring this wonderful CBeebies show to life on our stage. Ilfracombe is quite simply the perfect quirky, creative location to launch this tour and be the starting point of Pablo’s exciting journey beyond North Devon with Selladoor.”
Selladoor Creation are committed to the development of new work. Building on an already extensive portfolio of commissions and adaptations, their aim is to commission a wide variety of bold new works which include musicals, adaptations of novels, and exciting new takes on classic stories.
Anna Fox – Head of New Work for Selladoor Creation says “This is such an exciting and important project. Pablo brought a whole new voice to the Autism conversation when it first came to our TV screens in 2017 and we want to continue that conversation into the world of theatre. Through this experience youngsters can learn about how others might think differently to them and what the world is like for those with autism and also have a whole lot of fun!”
Pablo follows the fantastic adventures of 5 year old boy who is on the autism spectrum. The smart, funny and creative boy draws imaginary animal friends which come to life to help him handle situations which make him feel anxious, such as going for a haircut or to the supermarket. To cope with the challenges he faces, Pablo enters into an animated art world, the world of his imagination where he is able to explore things that confuse him. With the help of his animal friends, Pablo is free to work through things and figure them out, having lots of fun along the way.
Magic crayons, animated friends and a wonderful imagination… these are the tools that five and a half year-old Pablo uses to turn life’s little challenges into big adventures. The stage adaptation of Pablo will take all of these ingredients to bring Pablo’s colourful and magical world to life on stage; translating the cartoon in a fresh and unique way – Much like the TV show, cast and the creative team will include individuals who are on the Autistic spectrum.
The announcement marks exciting times for Pablo following this weeks first episode of the brand new series on Cbeebies with a host of new fun-filled new episodes and a whole series of adventures to look forward to. With the recent announcement of a four-book publishing deal from Penguin and a music album in development alongside the theatre project, the Pablo brand is fast becoming a fully fledged franchise – making bigger strides in its mission to make autism more widely understood and accepted.
To find out more about Pablo the Show and for more information on Selladoor Creation visit www.selladoor.com
