Malory Towers Stage Play

[Katharine]

Has anyone else read this article?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47785820" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[pete9012S]

Most interesting - thank you Katharine.

[Jack400]

Perhaps these plays could be the basis of unofficial E.B.S. days in various locations around Britain?

[timv]

It will be interesting to see if the play is based on one particular Malory Towers book or is a mixture of episodes and characters taken from several. Logically the first book would have advantages as introducing most of the major characters and having Darrell as the outsider who the audience can identify with, but quite a few characters are not fully developed in that book (eg Sally) or have not yet been introduced (eg Belinda, Bill, Moira) so people might get a flawed impression of the 'main group' of girls. I hope Alicia's ambiguity comes over in the play - is she a 'goodie' as one of Darrell's close friends and a natural leader, or a catty bully and too selfish?

'Outdoor action' would need to be improvised or just referred to in speech, which cuts out several of the books which have major developments off the school premises - Third Year with Mrs Peters finding Mavis in the ditch at night or Last Term with the sea rescue. Fifth Form would need a 'play within a play' for the pantomime and cutting out Felicity's match. Perhaps Second Form would be good for adaptation (though the cliff rescue scene would need to be improvised), with the mystery over Ellen and the revelations about Daphne at the end. We shall see!

[timv]

With reference to the MT stage play, I see that an article on it appeared in today's Daily Telegraph (26 June) so it must now be on stage or just about to start. It is advertised as being adapted and directed by Emma Rice who did the D Tel article, for those who're interested. See also: 'https://www.wisechildren.co.uk/producti ... ory-towers'. The show seems to feature a mix of mainstream characters from the books, eg Darrell, Alicia and Sally, and new ones, set in the 1940s/50s but with some modern cultural 'nods' (surprise surprise) eg introducing overseas characters and implying that Bill from the third book is probably gay not just a tomboy! There is no clear indication if the storyline for the play is entirely new or features incidents from one particular book. It is supposed to be more homage than spoof, emphasizing the good qualities which MT brings out in pupils, so it may be a bit of 'positive' Blyton spin for a change..

The article also refers to a former schoolfriend of Enid's daughter Gillian having said to the adaptor Emma Rice that she was allegedly the 'model' for Mary-Lou in MT and was put in the books by Enid as a thank-you after she looked after Gillian when she was ill. I don't know if this story has surfaced before; Duncan doesn't mention it in his online MT articles.

[Daisy]

Here's a link to the telegraph article
https://digitaledition.telegraph.co.uk/ ... GCTPVKXNOA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Anita Bensoussane]

I posted the following in another thread in March. One of the links mentions a possible TV series as well as the stage play. Also, Hodder are publishing a book containing four new Malory Towers stories written by four different authors:

After doing a spot of Googling, it does seem that the 2018 editions [of the Malory Towers books] are only available (except secondhand) as a box set from The Book People:

https://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/ ... dKEALw_wcB" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The vintage-style cover pictures are by Ruth Palmer, who did the covers of the adult Famous Five titles written by Bruno Vincent.

Incidentally, the books are being given new modern-style covers in June (by Pippa Curnick) and a volume of four Malory Towers stories is being released (written by Narinder Dhami, Patrice Lawrence, Lucy Mangan and Rebecca Westcott). A Malory Towers TV series and a Malory Towers stage show are on the way too!

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/hcg- ... ies-899566" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-the ... 48653.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ice_Gemz]

It's quite a small tour, with only a few locations, but I think I'll try to get to see the show at Cambridge, which is the nearest one to me.
That gives me 2 months to re-read the series in preparation

[IceMaiden]

There was an article about this on Graham Norton's bbc2 radio show last Saturday. He was interviewing the director who said it was going to include some of the first book and some of the fifth. It's on iPlayer, not sure how far in though.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Cheers, IceMaiden. The interview with adaptor/director Emma Rice starts at about 15:50 below:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0006db1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The play is a musical and contains songs of the time (1940s) together with some new songs composed by Ian Ross. Emma Rice mistakenly speaks of Enid having written five Malory Towers titles (instead of six) but it's lovely to hear her and Graham Norton talking so enthusiastically about Enid Blyton books. Interesting too to learn that Emma Rice has worked on the play for six years on and off, and that Hachette have read every draft and attended workshops. Apparently, Bristol Old Vic are co-producing the musical with York Theatre Royal. The Malory Towers girls will be played by adult actors.

[IceMaiden]

A bit about this on Elaine Paige On Sunday. I know not everyone likes musical theatre stuff so here's what was said for anyone wanting to know without listening. It seems to feature bits taken from both books 2 and 5 as there is mention of Darrell saving the school play and rescuing Mary-Lou from a raging storm (the cliff would be too difficult a setting I'm guessing), along with "tolerating insufferable Gwendoline" . Contains songs from the 40's to go with the time the books are set and one of them is Piaf's Mon Manege A Moi. It opens on Thursday in Bristol and is touring around the country, didn't specify where, until October 5th. Hope anyone who can get to see it can add more!

[Boatbuilder]

According to these it is already on in Bristol, although each of the following gives a slightly different start date. The BOV states 19th.

Malory Towers is a stage adaptation of Enid Blyton's hit series of novels, which are set in a girl's boarding school. The six novels follows the pupils and teachers of the Cornish school, which is situated on a cliff top in Cornwall.
The production is co-produced with York Theatre Royal, in association with the Bristol Old Vic, and will open at the Passenger Shed in Bristol on 18 July, before touring to Cambridge, York, Exeter, Manchester and finishing in Oxford on 5 October.

Taken from here

Also found this:
MALORY TOWERS TOUR

19 July – 18 August 2019
The Passenger Shed, Bristol

6 – 7 September 2019
Cambridge Arts Theatre

10 – 14 September 2019
York Theatre Royal

17 – 21 September 2019
Northcott Theatre Exeter

24 – 28 September 2019
HOME Manchester

1 – 5 October 2019
Oxford Playhouse

https://britishtheatre.com/enid-blytons ... s-uk-tour/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ice_Gemz]

Tickets for all locations can be booked through Wise Children: (although Cambridge ticket sales are yet to open)

https://www.wisechildren.co.uk/producti ... owers/tour" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Machupicchu14]

I have read about it this morning and I must say I got quite a shock
That said, I must watch the play before I judge it!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I know Ice_Gemz is hoping to see the Malory Towers musical when it goes to Cambridge and I was wondering whether anyone else is considering booking tickets. Tony and I boarded the train to Malory Towers yesterday, complete with our tuck boxes (though not lacrosse sticks!) and went to see the play at the Passenger Shed, a lovely old Brunel building at Bristol Temple Meads.

We weren't quite sure what to expect as we were aware that the girls were being played by adults and that some contemporary concerns had been introduced into the storyline, but we thought it was worth a punt and I have to say that we thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't want to give any spoilers but the set is cleverly designed to incorporate a form room, dormitory and swimming pool (not to mention a train and various other outdoor scenes) and there are some beautifully-done projections, a number of which are ingenious and really quite striking. The actors play the girls with verve, conviction and feeling. Some have appeared on stage in the West End and the Malory Towers play makes the most of their many talents - not only acting, dancing and singing but playing musical instruments and doing acrobatics. The girls even provide entertainment (in character) during the interval and occasionally interact with the audience. Tony and I felt that Rebecca Collingwood (Gwendoline) and Mirabelle Gremaud (Irene) were particularly good. The storyline is extremely dramatic in places and incidents from various books in the series are used, though usually altered in some way to weave everything into a coherent narrative. I very much liked Gwendoline's storyline and the way things were handled and I'd say that the spirit of the original books shines through the whole production. Well worth seeing if you have the chance!