production

Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox

Sections: Information | Description | Cast/Crew | Reviews

Information

Musical adapted by Sam Holcroft with music by Arthur Darvill and lyrics by Darren Clark, Arthur Darvill, Sam Holcroft and Al Muriel
Productions:
- 2016-2017 tour:
  - SOUTHAMPTON Nuffield Theatre – 22 November 2016 – 8 January 2017
  - LONDON Lyric Hammersmith 25 January 2017 – 19 February 2017
  - CARDIFF New Theatre- 21 February 2017 – 25 February 2017
  - DARTFORD Orchard Theatre- 28 February 2017 – 5 March 2017
  - MILTON KEYNES Theatre – 7 March 2017 – 11 March 2017
  - DUBAI DUCTAC – 17 March 2017 – 19 March 2017
  - ABU DHABI Abu Dhabi Theatre – 23 March 2017 – 23 March 2017
  - LEICESTER Curve – 3 April 2017 – 9 April 2017
  - OXFORD Playhouse- 11 April 2017 – 15 April 2017
  - COVENTRY Belgrade – 18 April 2017 – 22 April 2017
  - SHEFFIELD Lyceum Theatre- 2 May 2017 – 6 May 2017
  - CAMBRIDGE Cambridge Arts Theatre- 9 May 2017 – 13 May 2017
  - EDINBURGH King’s Theatre- 15 May 2017 – 20 May 2017
  - GLASGOW Theatre Royal – 23 May 2017 – 27 May 2017
  - BATH Theatre Royal- 30 May 2017 – 3 June 2017
  - HIGH WYCOMBE Wycombe Swan – 6 June 2017 – 10 June 2017
  - PLYMOUTH Theatre Royal Plymouth – 13 June 2017 – 17 June 2017
  - NORWICH Theatre Royal – 21 June 2017 – 24 June 2017
  - BRADFORD Alhambra Theatre – 27 June 2017 – 2 July 2017
  - SALFORD QUAYS The Lowry – 5 July 2017 – 9 July 2017

Based on:
- Fantastic Mr. Fox

Cast/Crew

Cast:
- Greg Barnett as Mr Fox
- Richard Atwill as Rat/Bean
- Raphael Bushay as Badger/Boggis
- Jade Croot as Kit
- Sandy Foster as Rabbit
- Lillie Flynn as Mrs Fox
- Gruffudd Glyn as Mole/Bunce
- Kelly Jackson as Mouse/Dance Captain
- Ensemble: Edward Hole, Tanya Shields, Patrick Burbridge, Anna Fordham, and Richie Hart
Crew:
- Sam Holcroft – Adaptor/lyricist
- Arthur Darvill – Composer/lyricist
- Al Muriel – Lyricist
- Darren Clark – Lyricist
- Maria Aberg – Director
- Tom Scutt – Designer
- Lee Curran – Lighting Designer
- Claire Windsor – Sound Designer
- Ayse Tashkiran – Movement Director
- Annelie Powell – Casting Director
- Chloe Mashiter – Assistant Director (Laboratory Associate)
- David Allen – Design Associate
- Ingrid Mackinnon – Associate Movement Director
- Amy Beadel – Casting Associate

Reviews

Guardian review from December 4, 2016
Independent review from January 30, 2017
Financial Times review from January 31, 2017
Radio Times review from February 1, 2017

Dinner at the Twits

Sections: Information | Description | Cast and Crew

Information

Interactive theatrical dining experience produced by Les Enfants Terribles and ebp in association with Bompas & Parr and Creature of London
Productions:
- World premiere at The Vaults, Waterloo, London, UK – September 4, 2016

Based on:
- The Twits

Description

From timeout.com:

Tuck into a Dahl-inspired banquet of horrors at this immersive dinner party

Roald Dahl was a master of creating fantastically grotesque, squirm-inducingly foul stories. And ‘The Twits’ has a solid claim to being the nastiest of all – the book’s monstrous couple dine out on bird pie, beard pickings and worm spaghetti.

All things considered, it doesn’t sound like ideal fodder for a pricey immersive dining experience. But hi-tech jelly makers and experimental chefs Bompas & Parr are teaming up with interactive theatre specialists Les Enfants Terribles (the wizards behind last year’s ‘Alice’s Adventures Underground’) to create what they’re calling ‘the worst dinner party in the world’ – and it sounds pretty special.

The adults-only event will feature a menu of gleefully grotesque treats, served up by Mr and Mrs Twit inside their windowless house. Chefs Bompas & Parr are promising that ‘squeamishness will give way to scrumptiousness’ – but if their foul creations stick in your throat, they’re serving up plenty of strong cocktails to wash it all down. Plus! Mr Twit’s Odious Ale – a beer made using yeast swabbed from Roald Dahl’s writing desk.

Cast and Crew

Mr. Twit: Christopher-Robert Barlow
Mrs. Twits: Lizzy Dive
Yollo: Alice Bounce
Booble: James Keningale
Rollo: Tom Moores

Producer: Emma Brünjes
Producer & Adaptor: Oliver Lansley
Producer: James Seager
Adaptor: Anthony Spargo
Director: Emma Earle
Designer: Samuel Wyer
Associate Director: Joe Hufton
Production Manager: Anthony Hollis
Sound Designer and Composer: Dom James
Lighting Designer: Ric Mountjoy
Hair and Makeup Designer: Megan Norris
Producers & Creators: Les Enfants Terribles
Producer & General Manager: ebp
Associate Producer: Creature of London
Culinary Directors: Bompas & Parr

Wonderman

Information

Musical produced by the Gagglebabble, National Theatre Wales, and Wales Millennium Centre
Script and lyrics by Daf James
Music by Lucy Rivers
Conceived by Daf James, Hannah McPake and Lucy Rivers
Productions:
- World premiere at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Edinburgh, UK – August 2016
- National Theatre Wales, Cardiff, Wales, UK – September 2016

Based on:
- The short stories of Roald Dahl

Description

Following their 2013 Edinburgh smash hit The Bloody Ballad, multi-award-winning theatre company Gagglebabble are back in an exciting collaboration with National Theatre Wales.

Wonderman is a unique gig-theatre take on Roald Dahl’s short stories for adults, combining a sizzling hot score of original live music, macabre characters, soaring imaginings and thrilling twists and turns, all injected with a wicked sense of dark humour. A celebration of the wonder of one of Britain’s best loved storytellers for his centenary year.

Prepare to expect the unexpected.

Cast and Crew

Director: Amy Leach
Designer: Hayley Grindle
Lighting Designer: Joshua Carr
Sound Designer: Dan Lawrence
Cast: Adam Redmore, Hannah McPake, Lucy Rivers, Mark O’Conner, James Clark, Pete Komor, Joe Shire

Trailer

Reviews

The Guardian review by Lyn Gardner on August 13, 2016
The Scotsman review by Rory Ford on August 10, 2016
The Edinburgh Reporter review by John Kennedy on August 6, 2016
WhatsOnStage review by Daisy Bowie-Sell on August 11, 2016
Bouquets and Brickbats review by Philip Caveney on August 21, 2016

Posters

The Minpins

Sections: Information | Description

Information

Music by Jean Sibelius arranged by Peter Ash
Text adapted by Donald Sturrock
Productions:
- Camerata St. Petersburg, Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia – 1996 (World premiere)
- London Schools Symphony Orchestra, Barbican, London, UK – 2004 (UK premiere)
- Finnish National Opera – May, 2015 (Finnish premiere – details)
- London Schools Symphony Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall, London, UK – February 15, 2016 (details)
- London Schools Symphony Orchestra, Barbican, London, UK – September 21, 2016 (details)

Based on:
- The Minpins

For more information, see Music Link International.

Description

The Minpins is an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s last story, which was published after his death. A small boy is drawn into a frightening forest, where he encounters many dangers and surprises as well as a world of tiny people, the Minpins, who live in safety, high up in the trees. Through a combination of skill and heroism, and a flight on the back of a great white swan, the boy defeats a terrifying monster, before bidding a sad and poignant farewell to his new friends.

The story, combined with elements from the Finnish epic legend, the Kalevala, is narrated over a score taken from the orchestral music of Sibelius. Created with the enthusiastic support of the Sibelius Estate in Helsinki, The Minpins received a rapturous reception at its English and Russian language premieres in St. Petersburg in 1996.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Information

Opera composed by Tobias Picker
Productions:
- Los Angeles Opera, December 9, 1998 (World premiere)
- DiCapo Opera, New York, 2009
- Opera Holland Park, 2010 (World premiere of reduced version)
- English Touring Opera, 2011 (European premiere)
- Microscopic Opera Company, September 2011
- Opera San Antonio, 2014
- Boston Modern Orchestra Project, 2014

Based on:
- Fantastic Mr. Fox

For more information, see Music Link International.

Description

Fantastic Mr. Fox is an opera in three acts composed by Tobias Picker to a libretto by Donald Sturrock based on Roald Dahl’s children’s novel of the same name. It was premiered by Los Angeles Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on December 9, 1998.

A modern fable, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a story about good vs. evil, animal vs. human, and nature vs. technology. With the help of the other creatures of the forest, Mr. Fox must outwit his enemies to keep his family safe. Mr. Fox finds that he may have stolen one hen too many from the henhouse, as the meanest farmers anywhere — Boggis, Bunce, and Bean (one fat, one short, one lean) — conspire to rid their lands of the Fox family once and for all. The Foxes are able to evade capture with the help of some woodland friends, leaving the farmers laying in wait while the animals help themselves to the fruit of the farmers’ lands. Having had their revenge, the animals return for a sumptuous feast far from danger in the Foxes‘ new home, while the farmers continue to wait in the rain. The opera is available in a singable German version as well.

Cast/Crew

Cast:
- Mrs. Fox: Suzanna Guzmán
- Bennie Foxcub: Jason Housman
- Lennie Foxcub: Theo Lebow
- Jennie Foxcub: Lauren Libaw
- Pennie Foxcub: Amy Recinos
- Farmer Boggis: Louis Lebherz
- Farmer Bunce: Doug Jones
- Farmer Bean: Jamie Offenbach
- Fantastic Mr. Fox: Gerald Finley
- Agnes the Digger: Jill Grove
- Mavis the Tractor: Lesley Leighton
- Miss Hedgehog: Sari Gruber
- Badger the Miner: Malcolm MacKenzie
- Burrowing Mole: Jorge Garza
- Rita the Rat: Josepha Gayer
- Porcupine: Charles Castronovo
Crew:
- Conductor: Peter Ash
- Director: Donald Sturrock
- Costume designer: Gerald Scarfe
- Stage designer: Gerald Scarfe

Reviews

Variety Review by Alan Rich, December 10, 1998
Review by Paul Berenson

Fun Stuff

Watch online:

Elsewhere on the web:

Posters

: Microscopic Opera Company, 2011

The Golden Ticket

Information

Opera composed by Peter Ash
Productions:
- Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, June 13, 2010 (World premiere)
- Wexford Festival Opera, October 2010 (European premiere)
- Atlanta Opera, March 2012

Based on:
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Buy this CD:

For more information, see Music Link International.

Description

The Golden Ticket is an opera based on Roald Dahl’s classic book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by the contemporary American composer Peter Ash, with a libretto by Donald Sturrock. The Golden Ticket was commissioned by American Lyric Theater, Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director; and Felicity Dahl. It premiered at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis on June 13, 2010 in a co-production between OTSL, Ireland’s Wexford Festival Opera, and American Lyric Theater.

Cast/Crew

Cast:
- Charlie: Michael Kepler Meo
- Willy Wonka: Daniel Okulitch
- Mike Teavee: David Trudgen
- Veruca Salt : Jennifer Rivera
- Lord Salt: David Kravitz
- Violet Beauregard: Tracy Dahl
- Augustus Gloop: Andrew Drost
- Grandpa Joe: Frank Kelley
- Mr. Beauregard/Grandpa George: Oren Gradus
- Mrs. Gloop/Grandma Georgina: Kristin Clayton
- Mrs. Teavee/Grandma Josephine: Mary Ann McCormick
- Candy Mallow/Squirrelmistress: Jennifer Berkebile
Crew:
- Director: James Robinson
- Conductor: Timothy Redmond
- Scenic Design: Bruno Schwengl
- Costume Design: Martin Pakledinaz
- Choreographer: Seán Curran

Reviews

Los Angeles Times Review by James C. Taylor, June 20, 2010

Listen Online

CD Cover

Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes and Dirty Beasts

Information

Productions:
- La Boite Theater Company, Queensland, Australia
- Ran from January 8, 2014 to January 18, 2014

Based on:
- Revolting Rhymes
- Dirty Beasts

Description

Think you know the stories of The Three Little Pigs, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Goldilocks and Jack and the Beanstalk? Think again!

Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes & Dirty Beasts bursts onto the Roundhouse stage in a spectacular new live show, taking the world’s best-loved fairy tales and rearranging them with some surprising and hilarious twists.

Seriously funny and frighteningly silly, Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes & Dirty Beasts is the perfect January summer holiday entertainment especially for children 5 to 12.

Following the slimy fun of Out Damn Snot, La Boite teams up with shake & stir once again for a world premiere live show that’s sure to delight and disgust in equal measures.

Trailer

Cast/Crew

Director: Ross Balbuziente
Designer: Josh McIntosh
Lighting Designer: Jason Glenwright
Sound Designer: Guy Webster
With: Leon Cain, Judy Hainsworth, Nelle Lee, Nick Skubij

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Information

Written by David Greig
Songs and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman
Productions:
- World premiere at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London, England, on 25 June 2013
  - Directed by Sam Mendes
- Broadway production starting April 2017 at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City, USA
Recent news:
- EW: “Broadway’s Willy Wonka opens his factory — first look” - April 13, 2017
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Childrens Dance Workshops (London, UK) - July 14, 2016
- More news…

Based on:
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Buy this CD:

Description

From the official site:

ROALD DAHL’s deliciously dark tale of young Charlie Bucket and the mysterious confectioner Willy Wonka comes to life in a brand new West End musical directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes.

When Charlie wins a golden ticket to the weird and wonderful Wonka Chocolate Factory, it’s the chance of a lifetime to feast on the sweets he’s always dreamed of. But beyond the gates astonishment awaits, as down the sugary corridors and amongst the incredible edible delights, the five lucky winners discover not everything is as sweet as it seems.

Featuring ingenious stagecraft, the wonder of the original story that has captivated the world for almost 50 years is brought to life with music by Marc Shaiman, and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman (Grammy winners for Hairspray; Smash), a book by award-winning playwright and adaptor David Greig (The Bacchae; Tintin In Tibet), set and costume designs by Mark Thompson (Mamma Mia!; One Man, Two Guvnors) and choreography by Peter Darling (Billy Elliot The Musical; Matilda The Musical).

A chocolate garden, an army of squirrels and the curiously peculiar Oompa-Loompas must be believed to be seen in this spectacular new musical that is choc-full of fantastical treats to dazzle your senses.

Trailer

Songs

Act One
- Creation Overture
- Almost Nearly Perfect
- The Amazing Tale of Mr. Willy Wonka
- A Letter from Charlie Bucket
- More of Him to Love
- When Veruca Says
- The Double Bubble Duchess
- It’s Teavee Time
- If Your Mother Were Here
- Don’t Ya Pinch Me, Charlie
- It Must Be Believed to Be Seen
Act Two
- Strike That! Reverse It!
- Simply Second Nature
- Auf Wiedersehen Augustus Gloop
- Juicy!
- Veruca’s Nutcracker Sweet
- Vidiots
- Pure Imagination
- A Little Me
- It Must Be Believed to Be Seen (reprise)

Reviews

Michael’s review from June 27, 2013
The Independent review by Paul Taylor on June 26, 2013

Fun Stuff

Elsewhere on the web:
- Official production website
- Wikipedia page
- A Trip to the Chocolate Factory: A Hotel Chocolat Masterclass – blog post at Official Theatre

Soundtrack Covers

: Original London Cast 2013

Songbook Covers

: Hal Leonard, 2015

Matilda

Information

Written by Dennis Kelly
Songs and lyrics by Tim Minchin
Productions:
- World premiere at Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, on 9 December 2010
  - Directed by Matthew Warchus
  - Performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company
- London West End premiere at Cambridge Theater in London, England on 24 November 2011 (still running)
- Broadway premiere at Shubert Theater in New York City, USA on 11 April 2013 (closed on January 1, 2017)
- US National Tour premiere at Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California, USA on 7 June (still running)
- AU/NZ Tour premiere at Sydney Lyric Theatre in Sydney, Australia on 20 August 2015 (still running)
- UK Tour will premiere at Leicester Curve Theatre in Leicester, England on 5 March 2018

Based on:
- Matilda

Buy this CD:

Description

“Matilda – The Musical” has been running in London’s West End since 2011. It began when the Royal Shakespeare Company announced their intention to adapt Roald Dahl’s story into a musical in 2009. The songs and lyrics were written by the British-born Australian comedian/singer/songwriter Tim Minchin, Matthew Warchus was elected to direct and the play was written by Dennis Kelly. It was first performed at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford on December 9, 2010.

One year later, and the musical moved to the West End. Many of the cast (including Bertie Carvel as Miss Trunchbull) reprised their roles – though only one of the original Matilda’s appeared in the West End. The musical won Best Musical at the Theatre Awards UK. Matilda won seven Olivier awards (Best New Musical, Best Director, Best Actor in a Musical – Carvel, Best Actress in a Musical – all four Matildas, Best Theatre Choreographer, Best Set Design, Best Sound Design). Since then, most of the cast has been replaced with new actors.

In Spring 2013 the show transferred to Broadway. It is still set in England. Bertie Carvel returned as Trunchbull, and Lauren Ward reprised her role as Miss Honey. Subsequent touring productions have been mounted in the US and Australia.

Trailer

Songs

Act One
- Miracle (Company and Children)
- Naughty (Matilda)
- School Song (Company and Children)
- Pathetic (Miss Honey)
- The Hammer (Miss Trunchbull, Miss Honey and Children)
- The Chokey Chant (Company)
- Loud (Mrs Wormwood and Rudolpho)
- This Little Girl (Miss Honey)
- Bruce (Children)
Act Two
- Telly (Mr Wormwood and Michael Wormwood)
- Entr’acte (Musicians)
- When I Grow Up (Children and Company)
- I’m Here (Matilda and Escapologist)
- The Smell of Rebellion (Miss Trunchbull, Miss Honey and Children)
- Quiet (Matilda)
- My House (Miss Honey and Matilda)
- Revolting Children (Children and Company)
- When I Grow Up (Reprise) (Children and Company)

Reviews

The Guardian review by Lyn Gardner on November 25, 2011
The Daily Telegraph review by Charles Spencer on November 25, 2011
Huffington Post review by David Finkle on April 12, 2013

Criticism and Analysis

““Put it Right”: Matilda as Author in Matilda the Musical“
- Paper by Einat Natalie Palkovich published in Children’s Literature in Education
“‘Sometimes you have to make a little bit of mischief’: Matthew Warchus’ hybrid approach to musical theatre directing”
- Article by Laura Macdonald published in Studies in Musical Theatre

Fun Stuff

Elsewhere on the web:

Soundtrack Covers

: Original London Cast 2011

: London Cast Recording 2013

: Broadway Cast Recording 2013

Sheet Music Covers

: Piano/Vocal Music

The Twits

Information

Play adapted by David Wood
Productions:
- 2001 UK tour by Belgrade Theater, Coventry
- Tour dates:
  - Milton Keynes Theatre 19/2 – 24/2
  - Churchill Theatre, Bromley 26/2 – 3/3
  - Hippodrome Theatre, Bristol 5/3 – 10/3
  - Kings Theatre, Edinburgh 12/3 – 17/3
  - Civic Theatre, Darlington 19/3 – 24/3
  - Charter Theatre, Preson 26/3 – 31/3
  - Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton 2/4 – 7/4
  - Theatre Royal, Brighton 9/4 – 14/4
  - Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London 16/4 – 28/4
  - Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield 30/4 – 12/5
  - Theatre Royal, Nottingham 14/5 – 19/5
  - Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon 21/5 – 26/5
  - Alhambra Theatre, Bradford 28/5 – 2/6
  - Oxford Playhouse 4/6 – 9/6
  - Richmond Theatre 11/6 – 16/6
  - Cork Opera House 18/6 – 23/6
  - Newcastle Theatre Royal 25/6 – 30/6
  - Regent Theatre, Stoke 2/7 – 7/7
  - New Victoria Theatre, Woking 9/7 – 14/7

Based on:
- The Twits

Cast/Crew

Cast:
- Richard J Fletcher as Mr. Twit
- Isabel Ford as Mrs. Twit
- Susan Swanton as Roly Poly Bird
- Sidney Sloane as Narrator
- Cheryl Blaize as Mrs. Mugglewump
- Christopher Llewellyn as Mr. Mugglewump
- Lauren Conlon, Rosy and Megan De Wolf, Maxine Ewenson, Emma Shearer Hackett, Kate Herring, Victoria Leung, Holly Pike and Lauren Stroud as Mugglewumps
Crew:
- Writer: David Wood
- Producer: Jane Hytch
- Director: Kathi Leahy
- Designer: Tom Conroy

Reviews

My Review from April 20, 2001

Promotional Flyer

Cover

The Belgrade Theater, Coventry presents
Roald Dahl’s The Twits

17 – 21 April 2001
adapted for stage by David Wood

directed by Kathi Leahy
designed by Tom Conroy
music by Dylan Vaughn

Inside pages

“A fabulous performance”
Producer BBC TV’s Blue Peter

“A literally spectacular show”
Birmingham Post

Mr. and Mrs. Twit were a very happy couple. But seldom happy at the same time. For what really made them happy was playing nasty tricks on one another. The best word to describe them was disgusting… This spectacular production combines circus and aerial skills, trickery and physical theatre to create a magical and mesmerising tale with an ingenious twist from the master of children’s story-telling. Roald Dahl’s book, still in the top ten best loved titles, has been adapted by David Wood, one of today’s most highly regarded children’s writers. Children aged five and over will be captivated by this outstanding production.

“A truly repulsive introduction to theatre for the over fives”
Coventry Evening Telegraph

“This tale of a grotesque couple who play schoolkiddish tricks on each other has an obvious appeal to children who delight in the rude naughtiness”
The Stage

“David Wood’s excellent stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s irresistibly revolting tale”
Guardian

“Roald Dahl’s dark and funny tale … a hit”
Independent on Sunday