MALORY TOWERS Tour Comes to Storyhouse in Spring 2020

A new musical adaptation of Enid Blyton's Malory Towers is heading to Storyhouse during Summer 2020.

David Pugh, the Olivier and Tony Award-winning producer, is delighted to present Emma Rice's critically acclaimed musical adaptation of Enid Blyton's Malory Towers, originally created with Wise Children.

This new production by Wise Children will be co-produced with Theatre By The Lake in Keswick, where the show will open on 27 March 2020, before going on a national tour.

Malory Towers comes to Storyhouse from Tuesday 30 June to Saturday 4 July 2020 for eight performances, including three matinees. Tickets are on sale now.

Producer David Pugh, a massive advocate of theatre for all, said: "This wonderful show should be available for as many people as possible - so for everyone who books before 1 March, all children can go for half price."

This production will star Rosie Abraham as Sally Hope; Alison Arnopp as Gwendoline Lacey; Georgia Bruce as Bill Robinson; Mirabelle Gremaud as Irene Dupont; Bobbie Little as Alicia Johns; Naomi Morris as Mary Lou Atkinson; Alice Vilanculo as Darrell Rivers; and with Katy Ellis and Stephanie Hockley.

Nostalgic, naughty and perfect for now, Malory Towers is the original 'girl power' story, filled with high jinks, high drama and high spirits, all set to sensational live music and breath-taking animation.

Darrell Rivers is starting school with an eager mind and fierce heart. Unfortunately she also has a quick temper! Can she learn to tolerate the infuriating Gwendoline Lacey, or value the kind-hearted Sally Hope? Can she save the school play and rescue terrified Mary Lou from the grip of a raging storm? If she can do these things anywhere, she will do them at Malory Towers!

Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, this is a show for girls, boys - and grown-up children who still dream of midnight feasts and Cornish cliff-tops. Set and costume design are by Lez Brotherston, lighting by Malcolm Rippeth, sound and video by Simon Baker, and original music by Ian Ross.

Director Emma Rice explained: "My adaptation of Malory Towers is dedicated to the generation of women who taught in schools in that period. With lives shaped by the savagery of two wars, these teachers devoted themselves to the education and nurture of other women. It is also for the two generations of men that died in those same wars, leaving us with the freedom to lead meaningful, safe and empowered lives. And it is for Clement Attlee and his Labour Government of 1945, who looked into the face of evil and chose to do what was right. These people changed the political landscape in their focus on care, compassion and the common good.

"Malory Towers was written at the heart of this political revolution, and embodies a kindness, hope and love of life that knocks my socks off. 'Long live our appetites and may our shadows never grow less!' the girls cry. So that's why I have made Malory Towers with gratitude, hope and sheer pleasure! I call it my 'happy Lord Of The Flies', and it is joyfully radical to its bones. Imagine a world where (left to their own devices), people choose kindness. Imagine a world where difference is respected and arguments resolved with thought and care. Imagine a world that chooses community, friendship and fun. Now that's a world I want to live in and, at Malory Towers, you can."

The show is officially licensed by Enid Blyton Entertainment, a division of Hachette Children's Group (HCG).

Karen Lawler, Head of Licensed Content at HCG, says: "Enid Blyton created incredible female characters at Malory Towers - strong, capable, and always, always kind. 'Women the world can lean on,' in Enid's own words. We share Emma's passion for these characters and we couldn't be more excited to see Emma's vision of Malory Towers come to life."

Tickets for Malory Towers are on sale now priced from £19.50. Each ticket is subject to a £1.50 booking fee. There is a special offer running of any ticket bookings made before 1 March 2020, children can go half price for Malory Towers shows at Storyhouse between Tuesday and Thursday.

Tickets: Visit www.storyhouse.com, Call 01244 409 113, or Visit the Ticket Kiosks at Storyhouse, Hunter Street, Chester, CH1 2AR.

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