Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom 2013 Tour Dates Announced
BEN & HOLLY’S LITTLE KINGDOM
LIVE ON STAGE FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME
FROM THE MAKERS OF PEPPA PIG
TOUR DATES FOR 2013 ANNOUNCED
26 OCTOBER 2012 PREMIERE at THE ORCHARD THEATRE, DARTFORD
An exciting new stage production for children, Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom, opens in 10 days time at The Orchard Theatre, Dartford on Friday 26 October, this year visiting a total of seven venues. With ticket sales going well, tour dates for 2013 are now announced with 44 venues currently confirmed. Further tour dates are still being added.
We are going on Saturday 27th October and we are all looking forward to it. I shall keep you all updated once we have been to Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom Live on Stage. If you would like to win tickets, there is a Competition to Win a Family Ticket on my blog.
From the makers of Peppa Pig and the producers of the two hugely successful Peppa Pig theatre tours comes this first ever stage version of the BAFTA award-winning TV animation, Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom. Currently a top favourite show for pre-schoolers, this charmingly magical animation airs on Nick Jr (since April 2009) and on 5’s Milkshake (since April 2010). Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdomis co-owned by animation studio Astley Baker Davies and has been a hit with audiences and critics alike. The series won a BAFTA award for Best Pre-School Animation in 2009 and a British Animation Award for Best Pre-School Series in 2012.
The Little Kingdom – where everyone is very, very small – is home to Princess Holly and her best friend Ben Elf. Holly is a young fairy princess who is still learning how to do magic properly and sometimes her spells don’t work out quite right. Ben is an Elf. Elves don’t do magic but they are very good at making things. Ben doesn’t have wings like Holly but he flies on the back of Gaston the Ladybird.
In this exciting new musical adventure, Ben and Holly have fun and games helping Gaston clean up his messy cave; they go on a trip to The Big World with tooth-fairy Nanny Plum; and still have time to plan a surprise for King Elf’s birthday party, complete with an unplanned jelly flood.
Packed full of games, songs and laughter, this is an enchanting and magical visit to the Little Kingdom, live on stage for the very first time. This beautiful story of elves, princesses and childhood innocence will delight all the family.
The cast is Danielle Black, Victoria Corlass, Claire Coultry, Nicky Cross, Kerry Gooderson, Nicola Hart, Matt Lewis and David Sandham.
Richard Lewis has adapted the TV animation for the stage and also directs. He also adapted and directed the two highly popular Peppa Pig theatre tours (2009 – 2011 and the current tour 2011 – 2012, both of which had sell-out West End Christmas runs at the Criterion Theatre) and the two LazyTown Live! tours (2007 – 2009).
Original music is by Mani Svavarsson, original lyrics by Matt Lewis, set design is by Simon Scullion, lighting design is by Matt Haskins and sound design by Ian Horrocks-Taylor.
The actors will wear masks in this production, created by Russell Dean, Artistic Director of Strangeface Theatre Company. Russell worked for a number of years with the award-winning Trestle Theatre Company as their designer and mask-maker. Other theatre credits include commissions for the long-running West End musical Billy Elliott and the Old Vic’s Bridge Project. For television he created masks for music groups such as the SugaBabes and Oasis as part of an ITV promotion for the Brit Awards in 1998. The masks he created of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to promote Channel 4’s The Deal (part of their 2003 ‘Tony Blair Season’) were also featured on the front cover of Private Eye.
Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom is produced by Fiery Angel and Limelight Productions (Fiery Light Productions) who also produced LazyTown Live!, Roald Dahl’s The BFG and the two Peppa Pig stage tours, Peppa Pig’s Party and Peppa Pig’s Treasure Hunt.
You can find out more information on Ben & Holly Live website.