Tall Stories will present its acclaimed stage reimagining of The Snail and the Whale in a series of livestreamed performances this October. The production, inspired by the much-loved book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, will be available to audiences around the world to watch from home.
Join an adventurous young girl and her seafaring father as they reimagine the story of a tiny snail’s incredible trip around the world on the tail of a great big, grey-blue humpback whale. Live music, storytelling and audience participation via chat and other functions will bring the story vividly to life in this heart-warming adventure for everyone aged four and up.
The ‘virtual tour’ will run from 24 October to 1 November, with each performance linked to and marketed by a regional UK venue. Audiences can purchase tickets for any performance but are encouraged to support the performance linked to their local theatre, which will receive a share of the ticket revenue. Partner theatres include The Lowry, Salford; Derby Theatre; Hertford Theatre; New Theatre, Cardiff; The Belgrade, Coventry; Theatre Royal, Nottingham; Birmingham Town Hall; Eden Court, Inverness; Brighton Dome; Dundee Rep and Plymouth Theatre Royal; The Pleasance, London; Curve, Leicester and the Town House, Hamilton and Lanark Memorial Hall.
The production will be broadcast live from Tall Stories’ own brand new studio and performance space in Islington Central Library, London.
Tall Stories are partnering with TicketCo who will be providing the booking system and streaming platform. Families will be encouraged to join in with the action at home through games and songs and can interact with the performers through the platform’s chat function.
The Snail and the Whale, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, was first published by Macmillan Children’s Books in 2003. Sales across all editions are now over 5.5 million copies worldwide and the story is translated into 32 languages. Winner of the 2005 Blue Peter Award for ‘The Best Illustrated Book to Read Aloud’ and the 2007 Giverny Award in the USA, Author Julia Donaldson has called it “Probably my favourite of all the books I have written for Axel Scheffler to illustrate.” It was adapted into an animated feature by Magic Light Pictures which premiered on BBC One on Christmas Day 2019.
Tall Stories’ stage production was created in 2012 and has since regularly toured the UK and the world, including Canada, the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the UAE. Most recently it ran at the Apollo Theatre in London’s West End over Christmas 2019.
The cast includes Hannah Miller (Daughter), Tim Hibberd (Dad), Charlotte Mafham (Narrator/Viola Player – certain performances) and Rachel Benson (Narrator/Viola Player – certain performances).
