Casting And Further Tour Dates Announced For The World Premiere Of David Walliams' THE FIRST HIPPO ON THE MOON

Today, Les Petits Theatre Company have announced the full cast and ten further tour dates for the world premiere of the stage adaptation of David Walliams' The First Hippo on the Moon. The cast includes Dominic Allen, Alice Bounce, Caroline Bowman, Owen Jenkins and Rosie Nicholls.

The First Hippo on the Moon will now tour to over 40 UK venues, beginning at the Royal Hippodrome Theatre, Eastbourne from 13 December 2016 until 7 January 2017. In addition to previously announced dates, production will also visit Rhodes Arts Complex, Mcmillan Theatre, Theatre Royal Windsor, Crewe Lyceum, Eastwood Park Theatre, The Hexagon, Broadway Theatre Letchworth, Curve Leicester, Grassington Festival and The Lowry. The full list of tour dates can be found in Notes to Editors.

The production has been adapted for the stage by Les Enfants Terribles and Les Petits' Artistic Director Oliver Lansley whose recent adaptations have included the immersive dining experience Dinner at the Twits and Alice's Adventure's Underground. The puppets for The First Hippo on the Moon have been created by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell who have previously collaborated on War Horse and The Lorax. The First Hippo on the Moon is suitable for children aged three and up.

Based on David Walliams' original children's book with illustrations by Tony Ross, The First Hippo on the Moon is an explosively funny space adventure which sees the enormously rich Hercules Waldorf-Franklin III and ingenious Shelia compete to be the first hippo to make it to the moon.

David Walliams has taken the literary world by storm and his brilliantly funny stories are adored by children the world over. He has achieved unprecedented critical acclaim and quickly developed a reputation as a natural successor to Roald Dahl. His books have been translated into over 45 languages and sold over 9.5 million copies in the UK alone. One of his most successful titles Gangsta Granny was adapted for the stage in November 2015 by Birmingham Stage Company and continues on tour until January 2017.

Dominic Allen trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. His theatre credits include The Crucible and Sleeping Beauty (Bristol Old Vic), Forty Years On and Peter Pan (York Theatre Royal), Fable (Greenwich Theatre), Lorca is Dead (Belt Up Theatre, Southwark Playhouse), The Atlantis Project (Belt Up Theatre, Punchdrunk Enrichment), Sherlock Holmes: A Working Hypothesis (Flanagan Collective) and, for Les Enfants Terribles, The Fantastical Flying Exploratory Laboratory.

Alice Bounce began her career in cabaret and clowning and toured the UK and Europe in an all-female vaudeville clown troupe after completing her Masters in Physical Theatre. Alice's theatre credits include Dinner at the Twits, Alice's Adventures Underground, The Marvellous Imaginary Menagerie (Les Enfants Terribles), Treasure Island, The Ice Queen (IPA Productions), The Box (Flipping the Bird), The Imaginarium (Petersham Playhouse), Bearskin (Arcane Productions), Chairman Ubu (Battersea Arts Centre), Prospero's Tavern (Boom Boom Club/Time Out) Travels with Grandad (Pickled Image), The Apocalypse Gameshow (The 3k Cabaret), Silent Night Unholy Night (Time Out) and Alice in Wasteland (Pyratrix Circus). In addition to her work on stage, Alice's Assistant Director credits include The Marvellous Imaginary Menagerie and Time Portal.

Caroline Bowman is both a performer and puppet-maker who works across theatre and film. Caroline graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama in 2010 and began working with Blind Summit shortly after; she is currently the designer and head maker for Puppets With GUTS.

Caroline's previous theatre credits include War Horse (West End / National Theatre), operating the head of a giant hydraulic Captain Hook in the London Olympic Opening Ceremony and the international tour of Charlie & Lola's Best Bestest Play (Watershed Productions). As a maker, Caroline has worked with Nick Barnes on projects which include building a five metre long Phoenix puppet which flew through the Royal Albert Hall (BBC), Mr Popper's Penguins (Pins and Needles Productions), The Lorax (Old Vic) and The First Hippo on the Moon (UK Tour). In addition to this, Caroline has worked in the Puppet Hospital on several stop-motion films, including Fantastic Mr Fox.

Owen Jenkins trained at The Oxford School of Drama. His theatre credits include The Game's Afoot (Les Enfants Terribles), 139 Copeland Road (Abbey Normal Theatre), The Marvellous Imaginary Menagerie (Les Enfants Terribles, UK Indoor and Outdoor tour), Goosebumps Alive (The Vaults), Broken Windows (Pleasance Courtyard, Camden People's Theatre), Trouble (Soho Theatre), Machinal (Pegasus Theatre), Epoch Film Noir, 1950 and 1985 (The Vaults), Jungle Book, The Snow Queen (both Image Musical Theatre UK Tours) and Typos (Etcetera Theatre) which he also co-wrote.

Rosie Nicholls is a recent graduate of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She is part of the Draft community at Theatre N16 in Balham that develops and stages new writing and is also a member of the Young Artist Lab at Stratford East Theatre Royal, where she was written and performed her new play Solo. Rosie's acting credits include Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs 2: The Magic Cutlass (Les Petits) Draft 1,2 and 3 (Theatre N16), Rapid Write Response (Theatre503), Love for Love (Bristol Old Vic), Woman and Scarecrow (Brewery Theatre), ROAD (Circomedia) and Sauce For The Goose (West Country Tour).

The First Hippo on the Moon has been adapted for the stage by acclaimed theatre company Les Petits following their hugely successful production of Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs. The creative team at Les Petits have also worked on Dr. Seuss' The Lorax at The Old Vic and the National Theatre's productions of Elephantom, War Horse and Raymond Briggs' The Bear. Les Petits was set up as the sister company to Les Enfants Terribles whose work includes Dinner at the Twits, The Game's Afoot, The Trench, The Vaudevillains and Olivier nominated Alice's Adventures Underground.

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