Little Angel Theatre today announces its Autumn /Winter Season which includes a major new adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book reuniting adaptors Barb Jungr and Samantha Lane (who also directs) following their celebrated collaboration on the Olivier-nominated The Smartest Giant in Town, also written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler.
Both picture books are published by Macmillan Children’s Books. Alongside this puppet-filled musical, which at its core celebrates the joy of reading, LAT will deliver a national programme of play-based workshops to support literacy and encourage a deeper exploration of picture books. The workshops will share creative routes into stories – both at home and in the classroom – with the aim to inspire reluctant readers and give families and teachers the tools to explore books through play.
Little Angel Theatre Artistic Director Samantha Lane and Executive Director Peta Swindall introduce the new season:
‘Little Angel has a long history of adapting books, and we are thrilled to present so many enchanting, literary inspired productions this season, culminating in a show all about reading for pleasure ‘Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book’. We believe that puppets are a wonderful, interactive way to introduce narrative to young children, supporting literacy learning and providing a creative route into books. We are particularly excited about the Reading Through Play workshop programme that will run alongside the tour because we know, from the evidence recently published in the journal Psychological Medicine, that reading for pleasure in early childhood can help children perform better at school and boost their mental health. Another highlight of the new season is ‘The Welcome Project’ which will tour to bridging hotels and community centres in Islington and across the UK – we work hard to make everyone feel welcome at our home venues and when on tour, and so we feel that it is especially important to do this for those that are new to the UK. We have an incredible amount of work on offer across the country from September to December, and we are proud to be delivering all of this alongside trialling a 4-day working week for core staff and freelancers!’
Other inspiring book adaptations this season include: The Bed, based on a poem Sylvia Plath wrote for her own children, for the youngest audiences, 6 months to 3 years (30 September – 4 November, Little Angel Studio); WOW! It’s Night-time, for ages 2-5, a stunning adaptation of Tim Hopgood’s nocturnal sequel to Wow! Said the Owl currently running at Little Angel (24 November – 28 January, Little Angel Theatre) and Big Bad Me, for everyone over 6, an alternative spin on a classic fairytale based on the poem ‘Red Riding Hood and the Wolf,’ by Jon Barton (22 September – 19 November, Little Angel Theatre).
The Welcome Project will see Little Angel Theatre, alongside facilitators from Phosphoros Theatre, work with local children from refugee, asylum seeker and/or migrant backgrounds to create a new touring ‘suitcase’ show exploring the word ‘welcome’, to be performed in bridging hotels and community centres across the UK. LAT have commissioned six digital shorts to accompany the project.
Little Angel Theatre’s work will reach children across the UK with seven shows on tour: Wow! Said the Owl, Little Angel Theatre’s Miniature Travelling Circus, Me… and The Singing Mermaid. Christmas shows include: I Want My Hat Back Trilogy at Arts Depot, Finding Santa at Bloomsbury Theatre and The Smartest Giant in Town returns to the West End. Plus new musical Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book will tour to over 50 venues nationwide in 2024.
Looking ahead to Spring 2024, a live production of Medusa’s First Kiss, will premiere at Little Angel Theatre, with Music & Lyrics by Holly Mallett (Andy and the Band, CBeebies) who also performs, and Book & Lyrics by P Burton-Morgan who also directs. A cast recording of songs from the new musical to be released soon.
Full listings can be found here
