Bagpuss Curls Up at Soho Theatre for Christmas
Soho Theatre will offer nostalgic parents a trip down memory lane and
introduce a new generation to a cult television character with
its 2010 Christmas Show Bagpuss. The eponymous
pink-and-white striped cat will take to the stage as part of a
collaboration with the Birmingham Stage Company in a world premiere
production which will mark the quirky cat’s first foray into
the theatre.
Bagpuss began delighting children in 1974 and, despite the fact
that only 13 episodes were ever made, has held a soft spot in many
hearts ever since. Each episode focused on young shop owner Emily,
whose business venture dealt not in sales but in restoring lost objects
to their owners with the help of Bagpuss and other shop-dwellers; a
format echoed in Jon Lloyd’s new stage adaptation.
Soho Theatre’s Bagpuss will not neglect these other equally well-loved
characters. Emily, the mice of the mouse organ, Gabriel the toad,
Madeleine the rag doll and Professor Yaffle the wooden woodpecker will
all tread the Soho Theatre boards throughout the Christmas holidays.
Originally given life through stop-motion animation, the long-dormant
characters will be enlivened through puppetry and song in a production
aimed at children aged seven and under (and wistful adults).
Lovers of the original programme might react to news of a cross-genre
adaptation with some trepidation, but the ever-popular saggy cloth cat
rests in safe hands. Soho Theatre has played host to many adaptations
of high-profile children’s books for its Christmas show, such as Stick
Man by The Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson and That Pesky Rat by Lauren
Child, author of the phenomenally successful Charlie and Lola series.
Bagpuss will be produced by the Birmingham Stage Company, resident at
Birmingham’s Old Rep Theatre; a company that also has a successful
track record when it comes to transforming children’s novels into
family-friendly theatre. Previous productions include adaptations of
Philip Pullman’s The Firework Maker’s Daughter and Roald Dahl’s
George’s Marvellous Medicine, while its version of David Almond’s
Skellig will make its US premiere at the New Victory Theatre in March
2011.
Bagpuss will play daily at Soho Theatre from 9 December 2010 to 9 January 2011.
– Lydia Onyett
