Jonathan Church Theatre Productions and Global Creatures have announced the cast for A Monster Calls.
The production will play Rose Theatre from 24 March to 9 April 2022. It will then play Bristol Old Vic from 13 to 23 April, followed by the Kennedy Center, Washington from 25 May to 12 June 2022.
Anthony Aje will play ‘Conor’, Bridgette Amofah ‘Mum’, Greg Bernstein ‘Harry’, Nathaniel Christian ‘Anton’, Keith Gilmore ‘Monster’, Eleanor Kane ‘Lily’, Tom Lorcan ‘Dad’, Sarah Quist ‘Ms Godfrey’, Lauran Rae ‘Sully’, Anita Reynolds ‘Grandma’ and Paul Sockett ‘Mr Marl’, with Raffaella Covino and Samuel Wood. They will be joined by musicians Seamas Carey and Luke Potter.
Stories are wild creatures, the monster said. When you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?
Based on an original idea by Siobhan Dowd, Patrick Ness’s piercing novel A Monster Calls is brought vividly to life in this Olivier award-winning production by visionary director Sally Cookson.
Thirteen year-old Conor and his mum have managed just fine since his dad moved away. But now his mum is sick and not getting any better. His grandmother won’t stop interfering and the kids at school won’t look him in the eye.
Then, one night, Conor is woken by something at his window. A monster has come walking. It’s come to tell Conor tales from when it walked before. And when it’s finished, Conor must tell his own story and face his deepest fears.
From the critically acclaimed bestseller, A Monster Calls offers a dazzling insight into love, life and healing.
Director Sally Cookson says: “A Monster Calls tells Patrick Ness’s searing story of Conor, a thirteen year old boy struggling to cope with grief, guilt, shame and a mountain of other confusing feelings building up from within.
“Towards the end he asks, ‘How do you fight it? How do you fight all the different stuff inside?’ ‘By speaking the truth,’ comes the reply.
“Sounds simple but, as Conor discovers, speaking the truth is often much harder than you think.
“We are so thrilled to be remounting our adaptation of A Monster Calls, especially at a time when young people are reeling from the effects of the Pandemic. The production shines a light on what it means to be a teenager in a tough world and uses the shared experience of theatre to remind us that we are not alone.”
A Monster Calls is directed by Sally Cookson, with Felix Hayes as Remount Director and Adam Peck as the writer in the room. Set design is by Michael Vale, costume design by Katie Sykes, original music composed by Benji Bower, lighting by Aideen Malone, sound by Mike Beer, projection design by Dick Straker, movement direction by Dan Canham and aerial direction by Matt Costain, with Samuel Wood as associate director, aerial captain and swing and Raffaella Covino as associate movement director, dance captain and swing. Casting is by Associate Casting Director, Abby Galvin, for Jessica Ronane Casting CDG.
