The news follows the confirmation of a musical production of The Witches is set to open at the National Theatre later this year.
The Roald Dahl Story Company have announced three new stage productions of the author’s work, which have been created and developed by the Roald Dahl Story Company’s in-house theatre division.
The company’s theatre division, led by Artistic Director Jenny Worton and Executive Producer Anna Schmitz, was developed in 2018 to create and produce innovative productions inspired by Roald Dahl stories in collaboration with world-class artists and leading theatre producers.
The brand new shows announced include: A new musical for young audiences of The Enormous Crocodile, co-produced with Leeds Playhouse and Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, a new theatrical reading of Roald Dahl’s The Magic Finger presented for online release for schools and families, co-produced with the Unicorn Theatre and a large-scale circus, which is currently in development, inspired by Roald Dahl’s stories and featuring a range of beloved characters.
These productions join a major new musical of The Witches, co-produced with the National Theatre, which was announced last month, to form a growing slate of new theatre adapted from Roald Dahl’s work. Alongside these shows the Roald Dahl Story Company currently has a further four productions under commission and development.
The Enormous Crocodile will feature a score by composer Ahmed Abdullahi Gallab (who performs under the band name Sinkane), a book and lyrics by Suhayla El-Bushra (Arabian Nights, Royal Lyceum Edinburgh; The Long Song, Chichester Festival Theatre and Channel 4’s Ackley Bridge), and additional music and lyrics from Tom Brady (The Butterfly Lion, Chichester Festival Theatre; Musical Supervisor & Arranger for Guys & Dolls, Bridge Theatre). It will be directed by Emily Lim (Brainstorm, Company Three / National Theatre; Pericles, National Theatre), with the production featuring a menagerie of mischievous puppets by one of the UK’s leading puppetry directors and designers Toby Olié.
Meanwhile The Magic Finger will be presented in a new theatrical reading for online release, directed by Milli Bhatia (Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner, Royal Court) and designed by Shankho Chaudhuri (Alice in Wonderland, Brixton House). It will be made available online for free to schools and families across the UK and beyond from Spring 2024.
A Circus inspired by Roald Dahl’s stories will bring together beloved characters from the most popular Roald Dahl stories for the first time. This brand-new show is being cooked up by a stellar creative team including Olivier Award-winning director Polly Findlay, masters of circus spectacle Cirque Bijou and Stephen Long and Iain Sharkey – the minds behind many of Derren Brown’s TV and stage illusions.
Talking about the news, Executive Producer Anna Schmitz and Artistic Director Jenny Worton said: “We couldn’t be more excited to be able to reveal these new productions, which demonstrate our ambitions in making new work. Far beyond simply ‘putting the book on stage’, we want to create original pieces of theatre, which both capture the timeless appeal, characters and spirit of Roald Dahl stories and speak powerfully to today’s audiences. From puppetry to musicals, free digital productions to large-scale events we’re working across theatrical forms and collaborating with extraordinary artists and producers to create shows that will illuminate the original stories in a new way, inspiring the next generation of theatregoers.”
To find out more visit: https://roalddahl.com/