Papatango today announces the full cast of Chris Foxon’s adaptation of The Watch House, based on the novel by Robert Westall. George Turvey directs Donald McBride (Arthur/Geordie), Catherine Dryden (Fiona/Prudie/Da Souza/Timmo) and Aoife Kennan (Anne).
The 12-venue engagement opens at Alnwick Playhouse on 24 October, touring to Poole, Dorchester, Swanage, Lyme Regis, Plymouth, Exeter, Leeds, Marsden, Hexham and Middlesbrough before completing its run at Cullercoats Watch House on 16 November, with a special staged reading as a fundraiser for the Grade II listed life brigade look out, now community hub, part of the local Tyneside maritime network which inspired Westall’s novel.
Published by Methuen, The Watch House premiered at Laurels in Westall’s native North Tyneside in December 2023, enjoying a sold-out run. The production was made with support from Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade – an iconic heritage centre and setting of the story, which has a significant place in the UK’s maritime history as the forerunner of today’s Coastguard.
Once a coastguard station renowned for daring rescues, the old Watch House is now all but abandoned. Just like Anne, dumped here while her parents sort their divorce. She’s never felt more alone. But she isn’t…
Sunk deep in the past is a secret which threatens everything. Only Anne can stop it. Catapulted on an adventure through graveyards, discos and shipwrecks, she and her eccentric crew must uncover the truth before it’s too late.
Olivier Award-winners Papatango present a funny, thrilling adaptation of Robert Westall’s classic ghost story.
