Little Angel Theatre Adapts Tim Hopgood's MOON RIVER and WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

Little Angel Theatre are thrilled to be adapting two stories from Tim Hopgood's classic songbook collection, Moon River and What a Wonderful World. The performances will be broadcast for free on the Little Angel Theatre YouTube channel on consecutive weekends in July.

Hopgood is an award-winning picture book author and illustrator. His books WOW! Said the Owl and WOW! It's Night-time have previously been adapted by Little Angel for the stage and toured across the UK. His classic songbook collection is designed to bring iconic song lyrics to life for a younger generation.

Moon River received an Academy Award for Best Original Song for its performance by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's in 1961. In Hopgood's illustrated edition, a little girl goes on a magical journey along the Moon River, which flows from her bedroom out into the big wide world.

What a Wonderful World brings to life the much loved song in a story which encourages little ones to see the beauty of the world and to love other people. Huffington Post said of the book, 'Hopgood does the impossible and makes a song as ubiquitous as What a Wonderful World feel fresh again'.

Hopgood's illustrations will be brought to life with design by Alison Alexander, and new recordings of the songs by Barb Jungr and Jenny Carr. The team will be working together to create the shows remotely, following social distancing guidelines. Moon River will be broadcast for free on the Little Angel Theatre YouTube channel on Sunday 5 July at 11am BST, and What a Wonderful World will follow on Sunday 12 July at 11am BST. Both will be free to watch and available until 30 September 2020.

This latest release follows on from the success of the Little Angel Theatre's first five online puppetry performances, including adaptations of Ross Collins' What Does an Anteater Eat? and Jon Klassen's Hat trilogy, which have collectively had over 200,000 views to date and been watched in over 70 countries worldwide.

Little Angel Theatre's Artistic Director, Samantha Lane, said:
"We've loved working with Tim on our live shows in the past and are thrilled to be working with him again to create this work for an online audience. We've been touched by how families have come together to make an occasion out of watching our shows. We hope that these performances provide a meaningful intergenerational connection for people, so parents, grandparents and other family members can introduce these beloved songs to their little ones."

Author Tim Hopgood said, "I'm over the moon that Little Angel Theatre are creating two new online productions based on my songbooks - Moon River and What a Wonderful World. Both songs are all-time favourites of mine and the lyrics seem to hold even more meaning during these uncertain times. Seeing my book illustrations brought to life through puppetry is a magical treat and one that I'm sure will enchant audiences of all ages."

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