Tag: Box of Delights

Box of Delights cast announced!

Posted on September 20, 2023 by - Plays

The cast has been announced The Box of Delights at the RSC!

The complete cast includes Nana Amoo-Gottfried (as Joe/Ensemble), Callum Balmforth (as Kay Harker), Stephen Boxer (as Cole Hawkings/Ramon Lully/Grandpa), Melody Brown (as Mayor/Dame Eleanor of Chasuble/Ensemble), Alex Cardall (as Ensemble/Puppeteer), Tom Chapman (as Rat/Puppeteer), Janet Etuk (as Herne the Hunter), Jack Humphrey (as Peter Jones), Tom Kanji (as Charles), Richard Lynch (as Abner), Annette McLaughlin (as Caroline Louisa), Mae Munuo (as Maria Jones), Molly Roberts (as Ellen/The Head/Ensemble), Rhiannon Skerritt (as Ensemble/Puppeteer), Timothy Speyer (as Bishop/Ensemble), and Rosie Wyatt (as Papergirl/Duchess of Musborough/Ensemble). Nia Gwynne and Claire Price will be job-sharing the role of Sylvia Daisy Pouncer.

Our director Justin Audibert commented: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to work on The Box of Delights again, this time creating a bigger, and even more spectacular production for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre stage.

“It’s a show that features trains, boats, planes, mythical creatures, a good and a very bad magician, and characters that magically turn into tiny versions of themselves, characters that transform into animals that fly through the air and swim in the sea – how exciting is that? We’re telling the story through the imagination of a child, so the staging promises to be a fantastic mix of the inventive and the breathtaking.

“In many ways, The Box of Delights was the first fantasy story for children, and with its classic good versus evil narrative, and three young children as the heroes, you can see its influence on books like the Harry Potter series. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”

Further creative team members include designer Tom Piper, Prema Mehta (lighting), Ed Lewis (music), Claire Windsor (sound), Simon Pittman (movement), Nina Dunn and Matthew Brown (video), Samuel Wyer (puppetry), Kev McCurdy (fight direction), Réjane Collard-Walker (dramaturg) and Matthew Dewsbury CDG (casting).

The Box of Delights runs from 31 October 2023 until 7 January 2024, with a press night set for 8 November.

 

The Child in the Snow

Posted on June 20, 2021 by - Plays

The Child in the Snow
Thrilled to announce that following Christmas Carol, A Sunday Times Best Christmas Show of 2019 and the much-loved The Box of Delights, I am returning to Wilton’s Music Hall this Christmas with another show…
This time, it’s a ghost story! (And I’m afraid not suitable for children under 12…)
Based on ‘The Old Nurse’s Tale’ by Elizabeth Gaskell
26th November to 31st December .
7.30pm Monday – Saturday; Weekly matinees .
£12.50 – £36 full price, £10 – £32 concessions
Previews 27th November – 1st December

Whatever you do, no matter how much he cries, don’t go out in the snow.

Elizabeth Gaskell’s famous seasonal ghost story is brought to the stage for the very first time, in a thrilling, frightening and ultimately uplifting adaptation.

1918. A nurse, recently back from the front, is haunted by her wartime experience. But when she finds herself at a séance, recalling memories of a lonely childhood Christmas on the Northumbrian moors, she also unearths a dark secret that refuses to remain in the shadows…

Spine chilling festive drama in Britain’s oldest surviving grand music hall from the team that brought you The Box of Delights.

#ifyouknowyouknow
#dontgooutinthesnow

Creative Team
Writer – Piers Torday
Director – Justin Audibert
Designer – Tom Piper
Lighting Designer – Jess Bernberg
Composer and Sound Designer – Ed Lewis
Casting Director – Helena Palmer
Magic Consultants – Morgan and West

Response to Wilton’s Christmas Carol
Delightfully surprising and subversive. (The Guardian ★★★★)

Fantastic… incredibly well made. (The Sunday Times ★★★★)

A cracking piece of theatre… Wilton’s may have found itself a perennial crowd pleaser.(What’s on Stage ★★★★★)

And for The Box of Delights
The small enchantments keep coming and the setting is the genuinely magical Wilton’s (The Sunday Times ★★★★)

I suspect this production is destined to become an enduring festive favourite. (The Evening Standard ★★★★)

Recommended age 12+
This is a ghost story – not suitable to those of a nervous disposition.

The Box of Delights – world premiere announced

Posted on July 3, 2017 by - Plays

‘John Masefield’s The Box of Delights is one of the true classics. It has all the magic, adventure, threat, enchantment & excitement of the best tales for children of all ages. I remember wriggling with pleasure when I first read it and I couldn’t be more excited that such a talented team is bringing it to life for a new generation – and at Wilton’s – wonderful!’ 

STEPHEN FRY

I am delighted to tell you that Wilton’s Music Hall (the oldest music hall in the world), has invited me to adapt the former Poet Laureate John Masefields’ Christmas classic, The Box of Delights, for the international stage premiere this festive season. (30th December 2017 – 6th January 2018).

I grew up on this story, both in book form and the wonderful BBC TV adaptation, and it has been a thrill to bring it to life for a whole new audience. Full of enchanting stage magic, here is a reminder of why this is one of the best Christmas tales ever…

Kay Harker is on the train home from school for the holidays. But this Christmas will be different. His parents are dead, and the wolves are running… He meets an aged magician, Cole Hawlings, who charges him with protecting his wondrous Box of Delights, a device of great power. But when the old man mysteriously disappears, Kay faces the fight of his life to protect the Box, and with it, the people he loves. For Cole’s nemesis, the wicked sorcerer Abner Brown will stop at nothing to get his hands on the Box. 

For me, The Box of Delights is a magical and festive adventure like no other in which one boy must enlist the help of the heroes of the past, to defeat the evil in his present. The very future of Christmas itself depends upon him… 

I’m very excited to be working with an incredible team. The show will be directed by Justin Audibert (Royal Shakespeare Company; National Theatre), designed by Tom Piper (Olivier-Award winning and designer of Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red poppy installation at the Tower of London), with movement direction from Simon Pittman. Lighting is by Anna Watson, sound and music by Ed Lewis, and video by Nina Dunn.

Tickets are now on sale, with some limited but special offers for schools and group bookings still available.

It’s going to be a magical winter – hope to see you there!