2 minute read
» Cover Story
Merlin Theatre Productions presents JAMES & THE GIANT PEACH (WOOD)
© Dave Merritt Photography by Roald Dahl, adapted by David Wood
Advertisement
Award-winning Merlin Theatre Productions are back this Christmas following their sellout version of Wind in the Willows last year.
Directed by Merlin Director Claudia Pepler and designed by Michael Witt, the story of this magnificent peach is faithfully told by James himself and the insect characters – Miss Spider, Old-GreenGrasshopper, Centipede, Ladybird and Earthworm as they rescue him from his two vile Aunts, Sponge and Spiker.
James Henry Trotter is a boy who lives happily with his parents in a house by the sea. Unfortunately, when he is four years old, a rhinoceros with a strange carnivorous appetite escapes from the zoo and eats James’ parents, so he ends up with his two cruel aunts, Spiker and Sponge. Instead of caring for him, they treat him badly, feed him horrid food, and force him to sleep on bare floorboards. After James has been living with his aunts for three years, he meets a mysterious man who gives him a bag of magical crystals, instructing James to use them in a potion which will change his life for the better. While returning home, James stumbles and spills the bag on the ground, losing the crystals as they dig themselves underground. Soon after, a nearby peach tree produces a single peach which soon grows to the size of a house. Spiker and Sponge earn money by selling viewing tickets to tourists; James is locked in the house, only able to see the peach through the bars of his bedroom window.
After the tourists have gone, James is ordered to clean the rubbish around the peach and finds a tunnel inside it. He enters and meets Centipede, Miss Spider, Old Green Grasshopper, Earthworm, Ladybug, Glowworm, and Silkworm who become his friends and take him on a life changing adventure.
The production is enhanced throughout with incredible puppetry, enchanting animation by Howard Vause, and innovative choreography from Amy Morgan-Bell. Benjamin Hardy Phillips has risen to the difficult task of writing music to accompany Roald Dahl’s wonderful rhymes, as always, filled with Dahl’s typical nonsense words and humour.
This production is a beautiful reimagining of Roald Dahl’s classic tale; a perfect Christmas treat for the whole family to enjoy.
Shows run from Wednesday 7 December through to Saturday 10 December with a ‘Relaxed’ performance on Saturday 10th at 11am. Tickets cost £10 & £14.
Tickets can be purchased online www.merlintheatre.co.uk or by calling the Box Office 0137 465949
