A tender tale from the creators of The Paper Dolls, The Everywhere Bear, based on the book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Rebecca Cobb springs to life with rhyme, original music and delightfully expressive puppets in Polka’s fun and exciting stage adaptation.
We caught up with Rebecca Cobb to find out more.
The Everywhere Bear is at Polka Theatre, what can you tell us about it?
The Everywhere Bear is a story about a classroom bear who the children take turns to look after at weekends. On Mondays they bring him back into class and tell everyone what they did together. But one day the new boy, who is called Matt, accidentally loses him on the way to school and The Everywhere Bear ends up going on a big adventure all on his own!
Tell us about your collaboration with Julia Donaldson on the book?
I love collaborating with Julia Donaldson and this story was a lot of fun to illustrate because there are so many characters and exciting locations to depict. The bear goes on quite an epic journey through different landscapes and I really enjoyed drawing the dramatic scenes where he is washed down a drain, carried away in stormy seas and flown high over rooftops.
Have there been any changes to make the book work on stage?
I don’t want to give away too much because I think it would spoil the show but there are more details than there are in the book and in addition to the story of the bear it also focuses on the story of Matt and how he feels to be the new boy in the class. Julia’s text naturally lends itself to the stage because of the poetry of her rhyming couplets and the show is a musical so there are lots of songs – I keep finding myself singing a few of them since watching it!
What made you want to become an illustrator?
As far back as I can remember I have always drawn and made things and written stories. I studied illustration at university in Falmouth and loved it, which reinforced my wish that this was what I wanted to do.
You’ve written your own work too, what are the advantages of collaborating with someone like Julia Donaldson?
I really enjoy working with authors as well as writing my own books because of the variety it brings to my work and the opportunity it gives me to illustrate wonderful stories that I would never think of myself. Julia is an amazing writer and I have learnt a lot from working with her. Also, because she is so well-loved, her books often get a lot of attention and are offered exciting opportunities such as being adapted into a theatre production like this one!
How does it feel seeing your illustrations translated to a stage show?
Amazing, exciting and quite emotional. It really looks like the book but in three dimensions. The puppets are carved from wood and are absolutely beautiful. I found it incredibly clever how they move and the actors are very skilful at controlling them at the same time as acting, singing, dancing and changing characters and scenery. I also love the use of animated projections on to the set. I really recommend the show if you get the chance to go and see it.
The Everywhere Bear is at Polka Theatre until 26th August 2018.
