First published by Nosy Crow, Ross Collins’ award-winning children’s book There’s a Bear on My Chair will come to life live on stage in early 2025 adapted for the stage and featuring loveable life-sized puppetry by Toby Olié (Spirited Away, War Horse).
The production will receive its world premiere at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as one of the headline events in Southbank Centre’s flagship Imagine Festival, the UK’s leading arts festival for children aged 0-11 and their grown-ups, playing from 18 to 23 Feb 2025. Extra performances have now been added for the London dates, as well as performances at Theatre Royal Bath’s The Egg, where it will play from 27 Feb to 2 Mar 2025.
Toby Olié said: “I have been a huge fan of Ross Collins’ work since collaborating to bring his book The Elephantom to the stage in 2013. Ross’ books feature a unique combination of humour and nuance that appeals to audiences of all ages, something that I strive for in every show I make. So I am honoured to get the chance to bring Ross’ most popular book and its two unlikely rivals to the stage for the very first time. It’s going to be equal parts funny and playful, with just the right amount of mayhem!”
Announced today, the cast includes Ailsa Dalling (The Wizard of Oz, Animal Farm), Olivier Award-winner Fred Davis (Life of Pi, The Ocean at the End of the Lane), Elisa de Grey (Animal Farm, Goodnight Mr Tom) and Ben Thompson (The Wizard of Oz, Walk with Amal).
The full creative team is: Toby Olié – Adaptor, Director & Puppet Designer, Amy Jane Cook – Set & Costume Designer, Adam Pleeth – Composer & Sound Designer, Aideen Malone – Lighting Designer, Erin Guan – Video Design & Creative Captions, Charlie Tymms – Puppet Co-Designer & Puppet Fabricator, Andy Downie – Production Manager , Nikita Bala – Company Stage Manager, Stella Kailides – Technical Stage Manager, Michael Jean-Marain – Associate Director and Beez Barry – Assistant Puppet Fabricator.
The stage adaptation comes as Nosy Crow, who first published the book in 2015, celebrate 10 years of There’s a Bear on My Chair with a special anniversary edition of the best-selling, award-winning book. This book is part of a hugely successful series, which has sold over 112K copies (Nielsen BookScan UK). Available in bookshops and online from February 2025, this joyous edition features a shimmering blue and gold foil cover, marking this fantastically funny rhyming picture book as a true classic, perfect for old and new Mouse and Bear fans alike.
Poor Mouse! A Bear has settled in his favourite chair and it just isn’t big enough to share. Mouse tries all kinds of tactics to move the pesky Bear but nothing seems to work. However, it isn’t long until the tables are turned and Bear finds himself with an unwelcome guest – the cheeky Mouse won’t leave his house!
The production is based on There’s a Bear on My Chair and There’s a Mouse in My House by Ross Collins, © Ross Collins, 2015, licensed by Nosy Crow Limited.
There’s a Bear on My Chair is commissioned and produced by Fuel, and supported by Arts Council England, the Garrick Charitable Trust, the Royal Victoria Hall Foundation and the Golsoncott Foundation.
